Monday, May 10, 2004
I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN...
It seems everywhere I turn, I hear scapegoating charges; a willingness to downplay the crimes; and a general "understanding" of how these reservists could've done what they did. Balderdash.
Just a few of the excuses I'm hearing:
1. The reservists were not properly trained. This is total BS. Reservists get the same training as anyone else. Besides, how much training do you have to have in order to think that putting naked human beings in a pyramid wasn't proper conduct...then, how much more training do you have to have to not take pictures of the "display?" This is just silly. It excuses the reservists of a basic understanding of right and wrong. I don't have ANY military training...and I would have said something or questioned the order and/or refused if given an order to put human beings in a naked pyramid.
2. Morale problems due to length of time in Iraq. You're kidding me right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the reservists seemed to be enjoying themselves based on the smiles they had in some of the photos. Could this just be another example of the "instant gratification" syndrome among young people today? The knowledge that you could be serving our nation in a time of war if you sign up for the military (active, reserves, national guard, etc) is nothing new. I realize you maybe didn't think you'd serve a year in a foreign country...but s*it happens...suck it up.
3. The failure of the military. This is rich...I love it when a Press Release in March of 2004(!!!) becomes major news in May of 2004 and somehow it's the military's fault for not following up and the chain of command is not doing their jobs. Folks...the only thing NEW about this story is the addition of the photos. A headline in March of 2004 (Washington Post for crying out loud) detailed a military investigation into the matter. In fact, the entire report has been available on-line since March! Read it HERE.It doesn't sound like a cover-up to me...sounds like the media found it finally.
4. Rumsfeld should resign. Yeah...like all those apologies worked to stem the tide of criticism...this will do the same thing. Fail. This is a political witch hunt for someone with something more than a few stripes on their sleeves. The people responsible should be removed from responsiblity (they have), face charges (they are), serve jail time (they will), and be discharged from the military (dis-honorably, I might add). Unless Don Rumsfeld gave the order himself (which still should have been questioned by the troops), there's no reason for him to resign.
I'm sure there will be more and more to come...can't wait for the video.
It seems everywhere I turn, I hear scapegoating charges; a willingness to downplay the crimes; and a general "understanding" of how these reservists could've done what they did. Balderdash.
Just a few of the excuses I'm hearing:
1. The reservists were not properly trained. This is total BS. Reservists get the same training as anyone else. Besides, how much training do you have to have in order to think that putting naked human beings in a pyramid wasn't proper conduct...then, how much more training do you have to have to not take pictures of the "display?" This is just silly. It excuses the reservists of a basic understanding of right and wrong. I don't have ANY military training...and I would have said something or questioned the order and/or refused if given an order to put human beings in a naked pyramid.
2. Morale problems due to length of time in Iraq. You're kidding me right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the reservists seemed to be enjoying themselves based on the smiles they had in some of the photos. Could this just be another example of the "instant gratification" syndrome among young people today? The knowledge that you could be serving our nation in a time of war if you sign up for the military (active, reserves, national guard, etc) is nothing new. I realize you maybe didn't think you'd serve a year in a foreign country...but s*it happens...suck it up.
3. The failure of the military. This is rich...I love it when a Press Release in March of 2004(!!!) becomes major news in May of 2004 and somehow it's the military's fault for not following up and the chain of command is not doing their jobs. Folks...the only thing NEW about this story is the addition of the photos. A headline in March of 2004 (Washington Post for crying out loud) detailed a military investigation into the matter. In fact, the entire report has been available on-line since March! Read it HERE.It doesn't sound like a cover-up to me...sounds like the media found it finally.
4. Rumsfeld should resign. Yeah...like all those apologies worked to stem the tide of criticism...this will do the same thing. Fail. This is a political witch hunt for someone with something more than a few stripes on their sleeves. The people responsible should be removed from responsiblity (they have), face charges (they are), serve jail time (they will), and be discharged from the military (dis-honorably, I might add). Unless Don Rumsfeld gave the order himself (which still should have been questioned by the troops), there's no reason for him to resign.
I'm sure there will be more and more to come...can't wait for the video.
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