Quote:
Originally Posted by RIJIMMY
But IMHO its as wrong as kids spray painting grafitti on a school building, nothing more. Reprimand them and let it be.
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I think that's exactly the wrong way to look at it.
If you don't make an effort to maintain ethics in warfare you're no better than they are. It is certainly possible to be an ethical warrior, in fact its critical to provide a moral foundation for your actions.
This doesn't mean in the heat of battle someone might kill out of rage or hatred. Hell, I'm sure at times it's even encouraged. But outside of this there needs to be respect for the fact that the enemy is/was a human being as well. Even OBL was treated with dignity, partially out of PR and also because it was the right thing to do.
What these guys did was send the message that in their eyes the Taliban are sub-human. That's a lot different than vandalism Jimmy.
Yes, stuff like this happens in war. The intensity, adrenaline, testosterone, stress, maturity etc... but they always look at the leadership don't they...
-spence