In the past, there have been several disscussions about possible war crimes commited by soldiers in Iraq, where a large portion of the thread seems to hold the idea that while reprehensible, it is understandable that these things occur in combat. As a former soldier, I would like to comment again on this theory, in light of the new charges against us soldiers regarding the rape of a woman and killing of her and her family.
the article is here
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
I would like to point out that crimes are crimes. While it is quite clear that no one has been convicted yet, they army itself feels that this case is substantial enough to warrent charges and a full investigation. These actions, if they are proven to be true, are a horrible crime that only serves to make life more difficult for every service member in the middle east.
My hope is that at this point, people can now see that the excuse that "the situation led to it" is a poor excuse for ANY war crime. to treat a war crime in such a manner is to fall into the arms of anarchy and chaos. war crimes, where ever they occur are wrong. they are not acceptible, and saying that the situation is at fault, or that it is understandible does NOT do anything to alleviate or end the underlying problem that led to the crime in the first place.
All of these crimes need to be taken seriously and the individuals involved MUST be held accountable for their actions. They must be procecuted to the fullest exent of the law. There is NEVER an excuse for war crime. There are no justifications for it. This is the very reason we should have stuck by the geneva convention from day 1 and obeyed to the letter; It sets a standard of conduct that the international community has agreed is appropriate. I fully expect a civilied nation ( or one that preports to be, such as the US, although I have some doubts) to set a higher standard than the behavior of OBL, Al Queda or anyone else.
War crimes are war crimes. Always. If this incident occured there is no excuse for it. I dont care what the insrugents did, I do not care what was occuring, it was wrong. You are never going to convince me there was some justification for this. there wasn't. Sometimes there are moral absolutes.
And if that is so, perhaps we ought to examine the Bush Cheney doctine of pre-emptive war, which btw, was outlawed by the treaty of westphalia in 1648, if I remember correctly.