The Department of Defense is investigating a video that allegedly depicts soldiers cruelly making an Iraqi boy run a long distance in the hopes of getting a bottle of water. They’re heard laughing throughout the video and even chuckling when they finally drop the water, only to be picked up by someone other than the boy who tried so desperately to get it. This is just one of a bunch of videos that have been circulating the Internet showing stupid troops trying to entertain themselves by taking the dignity from those they’re supposed to protect.
I can’t convey in words how much it makes my blood boil when I watch a video, or read a news article about troops abusing their power and treating helpless human beings like animals. I started really getting upset with some of fellow service members when I read about the four soldiers that raped and murdered a 14 year old Iraqi girl and her family. It made me even more infuriated when one of the guilty, Spc. James P. Barker, admitted his role in the massacre and then only received 90 years with the possibility of parole. Are you kidding me? 90 years is what a man who murders his cheating wife might get, but not a US soldier who took part in the rape and murders of multiple children. The judge should have thanked him for having the courage to admit his role and implicate his fellow soldiers, and then hung him high.
Yes, he should have been hanged. He and his friends were given the great responsibility of protecting a people that had been through not only a tyrant, but an unnecessary invasion and occupation. When you are an occupying force, you literally have the power to take and give life, and when you abuse that, you should be killed. I don’t think I’m crazy for saying this. I’m a Sailor, and while I may not be in combat right now, I’d hold myself to the same standard. We choose to enlist for various reasons, but at the core of it all, we are here to help people who cannot help themselves. If we turn around and abuse our power, we not only ruin lives, but we shame ourselves and all of our brothers and sisters who gave their lives for the ground we walk on. If you seriously can’t take it anymore, and you feel being in Iraq is making you want to kill innocent people, then get your ass to medical and get the fuck out. If you don’t and you betray the trust and faith that’s inherently placed on your shoulders, then you should hang.
Comments 14
why dont you talk about something the people care about like the us kids who are 18 that are soldiers in iraq dying everyday in sted of being a bitch and talking abut a little kid running for water its not that bad bro
USA OIFII VET
Posted 30 Nov 2006 at 8:09 pm ¶I agree.
I also smell Gingerbread right now. Hmm.
Posted 30 Nov 2006 at 9:36 pm ¶Gutta: The heart of my post was in regards to major atrocities, like the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl. The little kid running for water was just a segway into a larger problem. The only people who take anything away from the people that risk their lives over there, are these types of idiots. Nothing was meant to blame troops as a whole, I’m a service member myself, why would I hate on my brothers-in-arms?
Posted 30 Nov 2006 at 11:29 pm ¶Thats a quality post, found your blog from the harijuka pics you posted.
Yeah and no one should be blocked from viewing youtube.
Posted 05 Dec 2006 at 7:12 pm ¶hey sweetheart, i know this has nothing to do with ur post but i just wanted to say thanks for the flowers, they’re beautiful(u didn’t forget). anyway, im on my way out to celebrate, so ill talk to you soon & hope ur doing well. thanks again, cyaa*
Posted 06 Dec 2006 at 7:14 pm ¶Well said.
Posted 13 Dec 2006 at 2:34 am ¶I will try my best and not insult you sir. First of all, let me say it is not right what the soliders did in both cases. However, you are talking about an American solider who did something but you didnt even look at both sides. People never look at both sides. Its called, cause and effect. We see the effect but what was the cause. Apparently you don’t know cause you made this blog. You ever heard of combat stress. Probaly not, cause the only Navy sailors in combat are seals. Im not trying to insult you but really. There are only a hand full of sailors that can actually relate to what the average solider goes through. To go even futher, cause I know you don’t get it yet, imagine facing death almost everyday. Pulling security, doing patrols, mortars coming in your camp everyday. Second, imagine you seen your best friend who is closer than a brother, die in front of you and not to mention other co-workers. Third, imagine being gone away from your family. Whoever that may be your mom, dad, wife and kids AND lets imagine that this is not your first time in Iraq. Lets pretend he just got some bad news recently from home. Just think for a second who the solider might blame. The reason for most of the things going bad in his life is these Iraq’s. The solider might breakdown and start hating the Iraq’s. And on that day it all came out in the wrong way and he made a bad decison. And YOU sir, would hang him. I would expect as much from someone who sits on a boat all day or whatever you do. Not trying to insult you but I think you don’t have a right to say he should be hung. Maybe the death penalty. And being hung is one of the worst ways to die. Have some compassion. If anyone should die, I would say those who kill and/or rape other soliders. That’s who should die but nobody should be hung. Its called cruel and unusal punishment. Who hangs people anyway? There is only one type of person I can think of who would want to HANG somebody. What kind of person are you; sailor.
Posted 29 Dec 2006 at 5:54 pm ¶There are more than a few thousand Sailors currently on the ground, and thousands more off the coast supporting OIF/GWOT operations. Everyone gets stressed, but no amount of stress, even combat stress, can justify rape and murder. A mistake? Are you serious? They didn’t accidentally plan to go into the house, rape the young girl and then murder her family. That wasn’t a mistake. It was a conscious choice by soldiers who couldn’t live up to the standards they swore to uphold. Make no mistake about this, they are criminals who are unfit to wear the uniform.
You can’t insult me because you obviously have no idea what you’re talking about. SEALs aren’t the only Sailors on the ground in Iraq/Afghanistan. Corspman provide the medical care for Marines, Seabees are building schools, runways, etc. EOD teams are disposing of explosives and weapon stockpiles. Riverine forces are being deployed to patrol the various waterways. Sailors do security for oil terminals and other key assets. Thousands of Sailors are filling Individual Augmentation (IA) billets in support of various operations. Sailors are also off the coast providing around the clock air support operations, so let’s not try and imply that the Army is taking on all the weight.
If you’re stress to the point that you’re going to rape and murder someone, talk to somebody and get the fuck out. If you decide to stay in and then commit those acts, you deserve the death penalty.
Posted 29 Dec 2006 at 6:51 pm ¶Man get a life. You are on a boat not on the ground. What the fuck do you know about it? Having a little fun with the kids is not so bad. I was there for 375 days and I had good times and bad times messing around with the little kids and even when you are done having some fun ,the kids still love the U.S. The comment of we should be hung for doing these types of things is very extreme. Til your ass is there and riding around for hours and hours, watching your friends die, getting shot at and blown up, just shut up. I am happy that I saw this web page because I think people like you should get a civilian job. If you cant take it get out or maybe you should go join the SEAL’s so you can see what we see every day. Have fun on you nice safe ship sailor.
Posted 11 Jan 2007 at 3:40 pm ¶Before you comment, READ THIS FIRST!
This article uses one example for the justification of my feelings, the rape and murder of a young Iraqi girl. The example I used of soldiers teasing kids and the “outcry” it got is just how I opened the article. I do not, and will never, think they are the same thing.
Now, I’m getting annoyed at the typical ground pounder responses of “you’re on a ship, you don’t know.” I understand the Army has lowered its education standards and whatnot, but dear god people, use a little common sense. The article is not slamming the military, or the Army. I have much respect for the fine Soldiers and Marines on the ground, but don’t for one instance try and bash the brave Sailors that support you, or are on the ground. True, I’M not on the ground, but let me tell you something you may not know, it’s difficult for us to get over there. I’ve tried twice, both being denied because the Navy manning is so jacked up right now. For those who think I have no right to say anything negative about the people over there, let me ask you something, WHY THE FUCK DID YOU JOIN THE ARMY? If it wasn’t to support FREEDOM, as in speech, and democracy, then you’re in it for the wrong reasons.
In case what i wrote was too much to digest, here it is again. 1) Teasing kids and murder are two different things. 2) Don’t talk shit on Sailors just because we’re not primarily on the ground. One Team; One Fight.
Posted 11 Jan 2007 at 9:08 pm ¶YEAH. Damn, that turned me on!
Posted 17 Jan 2007 at 5:37 pm ¶Just a quik note all you ground pounders there are more navy personell serving on land in country than on shipboard (the first time in US history by the way)11,450 at last count as opposed to about 10,000 ship board. I am serving in Iraqi freedom now and while my base of ops is Arifjan I work for the Third Army (NARMY Navy troops volunteering to serve augment duty with army units) provost so I go on missions up north plus I have 30 years of broken service going back to the evacuation of vietnam. Also my first ten years were as a grunt in the FMF USMC. so far in this war I have lost 3 good friends 2 Seabees and one a HM (medic) just in the last year and a half. So you can take that only seals stuff and shove it any fool can look at the casualty list and know that is bull! Also after thirty years of service both in civilian and military law enforcement it has become clear that when disipline and good order are lost the war follows. Let the Hadjiis commit the atrocities we can not get away with it the press is against us.. if you do not believe me wait a year or two like I said I started about the time of the evacuation of vietnam so as they say been there done that
Posted 23 Jan 2007 at 10:42 am ¶Note to #7:
When a person is hung, the knot is supposed to break the neck. I’m no physician, but a broken neck is a pretty quick death.
Interesting idea of higher standards. When the military is in Iraq, trying to prove to the Iraqis that it wants to help them, it doesn’t help matters when the soldiers of the occupying force are seen being above the law that those they are liberating are subjected too. I’m hesitant to say that perhaps the laws of the occupied nation should apply to the occupying force for obvious reasons… but, within reason, it would make sense - provided that none of the laws were in conflict with moral values or laws of the occupying nation. Generally speaking, this would mean that whenever the crime overlapped with the law of the occupied country and the home nation, that the applicable law would be that of the occupied country.
I don’t know much about Iraq, or even American history, but I keep thinking there are an awful lot of parallels between the Revolutionary War and this one. This time guess who the guys wearing red are?
P.S. I’m Canadian, and a civilian, so excuse my ignorance. And I know that Canada is only in Afghanistan, but we all hope for the best in both countries.
P.P.S. Are people really this adverse to change in the military? Jim raised serious questions about responsibility. It’s tough to answer these in a media war, but justifying an act, or blindly ignoring them because of a difference of opinion is ABSOLUTE FOOLISHNESS! If this is the opinion of a sailor, how much more do people think these thoughts run around in the minds of the Iraqis?
P.P.P.S. And if this war fails with the US troops pulling out, where does it leave the States? A mounting debt, vastly reduced international opinion, the same tactics cropping up in the next generation of battles? Questions CAN NOT be answered after troops pull out, they must be asked NOW, answered NOW, and in this time there is NO WRONG QUESTION.
-end of rant
Posted 16 Mar 2007 at 9:03 pm ¶I am a Marine and have been to Iraq 3 times, and Afghanistan once, all four times in combat roles, and I agree with Jim completely. If you are so stressed by combat that you would even consider committing any kind of war crime, you need to seek help immediately. I understand that taunting kids isn’t committing rape or murder, and are low level stupidity that may not even warrant any punishment, but you need to understand the second and third order effects of your actions. That kid will be a young man some day soon, and we may still be in Iraq when he is. His attitudes towards the U.S. may or may not be so favorable at that time. Even if we are not in Iraq when he becomes a man, what are the perceptions of his parents when they see you taunting the kid? How would you react to a foreign occupier taunting your kids in your home town when you don’t have clean water to drink, and you can’t provide for your family? That boy’s father probably wouldn’t join the insurgency because of that one incident, but over time he might be swayed to join them. At the very least he might not be so inclined to give you intelligence about foreign fighters in your area of operation because his life is in danger when he provides info on the insurgents, and he can’t trust you. That lack of intel could cause you or one of your brothers to be killed by an IED that you could have prevented from being implanted.
Posted 24 Dec 2007 at 12:45 pm ¶We have to understand information operations. That video of those Soldiers taunting that boy likely made it to an insurgent website where they will use it as propaganda to recruit foreign fighters. Not everything is information operations, but everything has an information operations impact. Think about your actions and ask yourself whether or not those actions will have a positive or negative impact, and what the larger effect of a negative impact will be. I too have to constantly remind myself to put myself in the Iraqi’s shoes because it is very easy to become jaded and angry.
I am not suggesting that you drop your guard. I tell my Marines that they are to assume that every Iraqi wants to kill them, and to be prepared to kill them at a moments notice, but to treat them as best friends. It’s the old Don Corleone concept of keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer, and most Iraqis are not your enemy and just want to live their lives in peace.
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