Haditha was plainly an example of soldiers doing what they were trained to do in a situation that no level of training can ever fully prepare you for. Interestingly enough, it is legal in many parts of the United States for an armed civilian to fire upon and injure or kill an individual who is invading that person's home regardless of whether or not the invader is armed or posing a threat - but we expect our soldiers, in combat, to ask what may be hostile individuals with bombs strapped to their chests if they would kindly surrender before blowing themselves and possibly a half-dozen others across the landscape.
Given the treatment that the case has received in the media, I'd say it bears no small resemblance to the scenario played out in the film. While the government has certainly not brought full weight to bear on the individuals involved, it has no call to do so.
Abu Ghraib, on the other hand, is an example of the most deplorable conduct in what can be accurately described as a non-combat situation. POWs mistreated in every possible way, terrible prison camp conditions, etc.
While the conduct at Abu Ghraib can't be related to the film, the prosecution of those involved can be related. The government hammered those soldiers involved into the ground, using them as scapegoats for what has been all but definitively proven to be systematic abuses going nearly all the way up the chain of command. We *KNEW* that the conditions at Abu Ghraib were deplorable, yet the military did *NOTHING* to stop them, and in many cases even *ENCOURAGED* the mistreatment of the prisoners held there. While the actions of the troops deserved prosecution, they were forced to shoulder the entire weight of the events at the prison, which is similar to what Childers faces in the film.
The tone of your post makes it obvious that you're one-sided on the issue, and I'm going to guess that no one in your family has served in combat. Keep in mind that a combat situation is unpredictable at the very BEST, and a complete clusterf* at worst. It is made even worse when your enemy looks and dresses exactly like the civilians you are supposed to be protecting.
Unless you've been in a situation where you are forced to make life-and-death decisions in a split second for not only yourself but for a dozen others with you, you need to try and keep a more open mind. While I agree that *many* offenses committed by the military are overlooked, it doesn't make it OK to use those unpunished offenses as fuel for someone else's fire.
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Navaros
17 years ago
The government hammered those soldiers involved into the ground
Hammered them into the ground? Didn't most of the guilty parties in that get off with either no punishment at all, or simply a meaningless slap on the wrist? What punishments specifically are you referring to in regards to making it true that the government "hammered those soldiers into the ground"? Based on what I've read of those incidents, in fact the exact opposite is true. Barely anything was done by the government to punish the guilty soldiers in those incidents to a degree which is appropriate for the magnitude of their crimes.
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