War crime? Or very hard decision?

[6trn4brn]

Dang I was hoping this thread would progress further as I am fascinated with this conversation. Both side of the argument have merit. I am proud to be a member here at WIX and see that we have some very intelligent and vocal members.

Counting myself out as one of the more intelligent ones here, if we are going to go back in history to look at atrocities, why not look at what our military leaders did to the American Indians? Or, when the revolution was taking place, guerilla style tactics were the norm.

War is Hell and it is ugly. No one knows how they will react until face to face with the dealer of death. Atrocities in any form commited by anyone is wrong, but it does seem that to the victor of any war, less attention is paid for crimes comitted.

That is my one cents worth...now back to the WARbirds

[Randy Haskin]

Randy you seem to object to the term "thug" that someone used. It certainly fits many Japanese soldiers, many Nazis ones, and unfortunately sometimes our own guys.

The statement was made without qualification, meaning -- soldiers are thugs -- which I heavily object to.

I am not sure which incident you are focusing on with talk about a woman or a child shooting our soldiers with "AK-47"; but that has no relation to what happened at My Lai.

No, I am referring to incidents in Mogadishu in '93, plus numerous incidents in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have personally witnessed this scenario -- a burkha-wearer shooting with an AK-47 at NATO troops -- in Afghanistan.

[Bill Greenwood]

This post started out with specific incident about shooting Japanese troops in the water. I was reading a book about the RAF and one pilot was transfered to Pacific and was ordered to strafe Japanese troops in invasion barges. He did it, but was sort of sickened with the affect that the eight guns in a Hurricane had on defenseless bodies. He had attacked German troops on land, but they always had someplace to hide or at least try to get away. In this book there was no big moral debate, rather just the personal feeling.

[muddyboots]

It's interesting to see what ideas people who have never had to pull the trigger and kill another human being in combat have on this subject.

Innocence is a good thing, Randy. As insulted as I get, I try hard to remember that their innocence was bought at my expense. That they can call me a thug, or worse, is at my expense. I wouldn't have it any other way. It an honor, in an odd way.

[muddyboots]

No, I am referring to incidents in Mogadishu in '93

Yes, it happened. They also used kids as shields, with results being what you would expect. I did not ask to go there, I was asked to go there. And when I was presented with situations which were not of my making, I was forced to deal with them. That I live with the results today, 15 years later, should say something about my status as a "thug".

But I do unde4rstand what was meant. Was are started by thugs. It's up to us who ends them.

[jmkendall]

"Thugs killing thugs". I take deep offense from that statement. I am a twenty seven year veteran of the US Army. I am not a thug. I don't have a criminal record. I don't have any kind of record. I was a Life Scout in the Boy Scouts. An adult leader. I have done my fair share to help my fellow man.

I am not a thug.

Sgt Joseph M. Kendall