Troops Taking Pics With The Dead. So What?

[Katzndogz]

These pictures were taken two years ago. The LA Times held them for two years and only published them at the coincidental time that obma needs a distraction.

This is the worst kind of scurrilous. Simply the worst thing this administration has ever done. Just when I think obama has outraged me more that possible, he comes up with something new.

 

[Peach]

These pictures were taken two years ago. The LA Times held them for two years and only published them at the coincidental time that obma needs a distraction.

This is the worst kind of scurrilous. Simply the worst thing this administration has ever done. Just when I think obama has outraged me more that possible, he comes up with something new.

IF, and I mean IF the administration had anything to do with this, I AGREE.

 

[jillian]

Pretty much my reaction too, but political correctness infiltrated the military some time ago.

It's a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

It is in poor taste. However...this is what frustrated/tired/under-motivated/dejected young men do.
It is easy to forget that these are boys. My son will be 18 in 3 months...I could not begin to imagine him fighting in a war only a year and a half from now...nowhere NEAR old enough, but it is what it is. A lot of them are kids given unimaginable duties and orders to carry out.
I do not in any way blame them, nor for a second would support any kind of punishment whatsoever.

 

[High_Gravity]

It is in poor taste. However...this is what frustrated/tired/under-motivated/dejected young men do.
It is easy to forget that these are boys. My son will be 18 in 3 months...I could not begin to imagine him fighting in a war only a year and a half from now...nowhere NEAR old enough, but it is what it is. A lot of them are kids given unimaginable duties and orders to carry out.
I do not in any way blame them, nor for a second would support any kind of punishment whatsoever.

I read more about the people who posed with the body parts, it turns out they lost quite a few Soldiers in their unit to IEDS and suicide bombers, so I can understand the anger they felt.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

It is in poor taste. However...this is what frustrated/tired/under-motivated/dejected young men do.
It is easy to forget that these are boys. My son will be 18 in 3 months...I could not begin to imagine him fighting in a war only a year and a half from now...nowhere NEAR old enough, but it is what it is. A lot of them are kids given unimaginable duties and orders to carry out.
I do not in any way blame them, nor for a second would support any kind of punishment whatsoever.

I read more about the people who posed with the body parts, it turns out they lost quite a few Soldiers in their unit to IEDS and suicide bombers, so I can understand the anger they felt.

Absolutely. We may not like it...but we have never had to see/do what these guys have had to do. Give them a damn break. They are boys...fighting against an enemy that they cannot clearly identify...the same guy walking by them one day may be the same person who plants an IED that kills them tomorrow. That has got to create a strain that we know nothing of.

 

[JakeStarkey]

In today's headlines: Photos revealed of US troops posing with corpses


I'm getting tired of the media making a big deal of soldiers taking souvenir photos. That's the nature of war. It has always been done, it comes with the territory. I've seen much worse war souvenirs.

Is it unseemly? Maybe. But it's WAR!

Is it a little weird? Sure. But so is WAR!

Is it disrespectful? Yeah. But so is WAR!

Is it inciteful? Probably. But so is WAR!

I'm sure some thin-skinned, empathic, namby-pamby will ask, "What if the dead person were your son/brother/dad"?

To that I say, we have already seen what these animals do to our dead, and it isn't any nicer.

War is hell. If you didn't know that going in, wake the fuck up.

I am getting tired of civilians telling the military what the code of military conduct is or should be.

It ain't a friggin' deer hunt.

Chill out, guy.

 

[High_Gravity]

It is in poor taste. However...this is what frustrated/tired/under-motivated/dejected young men do.
It is easy to forget that these are boys. My son will be 18 in 3 months...I could not begin to imagine him fighting in a war only a year and a half from now...nowhere NEAR old enough, but it is what it is. A lot of them are kids given unimaginable duties and orders to carry out.
I do not in any way blame them, nor for a second would support any kind of punishment whatsoever.

I read more about the people who posed with the body parts, it turns out they lost quite a few Soldiers in their unit to IEDS and suicide bombers, so I can understand the anger they felt.

Absolutely. We may not like it...but we have never had to see/do what these guys have had to do. Give them a damn break. They are boys...fighting against an enemy that they cannot clearly identify...the same guy walking by them one day may be the same person who plants an IED that kills them tomorrow. That has got to create a strain that we know nothing of.

The mental damage being inflicted on our men and women in this conflict is really worrying me, eventually these men and women will return home and than what? how do you even begin to go back to living civilian life after seeing things like this?

 

[Katzndogz]

I read more about the people who posed with the body parts, it turns out they lost quite a few Soldiers in their unit to IEDS and suicide bombers, so I can understand the anger they felt.

Absolutely. We may not like it...but we have never had to see/do what these guys have had to do. Give them a damn break. They are boys...fighting against an enemy that they cannot clearly identify...the same guy walking by them one day may be the same person who plants an IED that kills them tomorrow. That has got to create a strain that we know nothing of.

The mental damage being inflicted on our men and women in this conflict is really worrying me, eventually these men and women will return home and than what? how do you even begin to go back to living civilian life after seeing things like this?

It is a question I have pondered for a long time. Compared to historical wars, this one is clean. Historical wars where men met on an actual battlefield and killed one one with swords, spears and axes were much more bloody. Yet, men went right back to herding, farming or crafting as they had before the war. The heads of enemies were put on pikes as a warning and to humiliate the enemy forces. We haven't exactly wussed up completely because of the gang wars in our own streets. There are stabbings that leave a body looking like hamburger, beheadings, burnings, disemboweling and dismembering. Whoever did it went right back to working at the burger stand, fixed your car, washed your car, smiled and sold drugs to your kids. There's no PTSD in the gang culture.

What makes men today so very different from men throughout history that their tender psyches can be permanently damaged in what is a relatively mild way of doing warfare. Certainly the muslims don't have this kind of disability. They have been killing one another in horrendous ways, then gone right back to the coffeehouse or goat herd.

 

[JakeStarkey]

"mild way of warfare" Another cretinous remark. Killing another person up close or distantly has an effect, son, and you are fool to suggest otherwise.

 

[High_Gravity]

Absolutely. We may not like it...but we have never had to see/do what these guys have had to do. Give them a damn break. They are boys...fighting against an enemy that they cannot clearly identify...the same guy walking by them one day may be the same person who plants an IED that kills them tomorrow. That has got to create a strain that we know nothing of.

The mental damage being inflicted on our men and women in this conflict is really worrying me, eventually these men and women will return home and than what? how do you even begin to go back to living civilian life after seeing things like this?

It is a question I have pondered for a long time. Compared to historical wars, this one is clean. Historical wars where men met on an actual battlefield and killed one one with swords, spears and axes were much more bloody. Yet, men went right back to herding, farming or crafting as they had before the war. The heads of enemies were put on pikes as a warning and to humiliate the enemy forces. We haven't exactly wussed up completely because of the gang wars in our own streets. There are stabbings that leave a body looking like hamburger, beheadings, burnings, disemboweling and dismembering. Whoever did it went right back to working at the burger stand, fixed your car, washed your car, smiled and sold drugs to your kids. There's no PTSD in the gang culture.

What makes men today so very different from men throughout history that their tender psyches can be permanently damaged in what is a relatively mild way of doing warfare. Certainly the muslims don't have this kind of disability. They have been killing one another in horrendous ways, then gone right back to the coffeehouse or goat herd.

We are in unchartered waters in this conflict, this is the first war in recent memory where Americans are deploying to war zones 5, 6, even 7 times, and this war is not even done yet, we won't even be able to fully access the damage until we are done in Afghanistan and god forbid another conflict breaks out in Iran or something.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I read more about the people who posed with the body parts, it turns out they lost quite a few Soldiers in their unit to IEDS and suicide bombers, so I can understand the anger they felt.

Absolutely. We may not like it...but we have never had to see/do what these guys have had to do. Give them a damn break. They are boys...fighting against an enemy that they cannot clearly identify...the same guy walking by them one day may be the same person who plants an IED that kills them tomorrow. That has got to create a strain that we know nothing of.

The mental damage being inflicted on our men and women in this conflict is really worrying me, eventually these men and women will return home and than what? how do you even begin to go back to living civilian life after seeing things like this?

Yet again another reason not to go to war unless you have the best interest of your troops legions above the interest of the enemy. You need to go in...ruthlessly kill as many as possible and get out.
This prolonged meddlesome Vietnam-style play war is hell on earth for those caught up in it.

And as a side note - this President has done nothing to ease this situation. Nada

 

[High_Gravity]

Absolutely. We may not like it...but we have never had to see/do what these guys have had to do. Give them a damn break. They are boys...fighting against an enemy that they cannot clearly identify...the same guy walking by them one day may be the same person who plants an IED that kills them tomorrow. That has got to create a strain that we know nothing of.

The mental damage being inflicted on our men and women in this conflict is really worrying me, eventually these men and women will return home and than what? how do you even begin to go back to living civilian life after seeing things like this?

Yet again another reason not to go to war unless you have the best interest of your troops legions above the interest of the enemy. You need to go in...ruthlessly kill as many as possible and get out.
This prolonged meddlesome Vietnam-style play war is hell on earth for those caught up in it.

And as a side note - this President has done nothing to ease this situation. Nada

Right now it feels like our administration is putting the welfare of Afghan civilians and troops over that of our own Troops, fuck we even let the enemy get the first shots at us before we can even return fire.

 

[Nosmo King]

We are not fighting a war of conquest. We are not fighting a war against a national government. We are fighting a terrorist group operating among indigenous people.

A lot of hard core john Wayne wannabes are champions of cruelty and war crimes all to be forgotten, forgiven and otherwise rationalized as the fog of war. But the reality is, as it has been since the 1950s, we are fighting to win hearts and minds. By doing this, we believe that we might be able to nip the terrorist instinct in the bud. How? By portraying ourselves as civilized, beneficent warriors rather than the barbarians we are fighting.

Incidentally, I find it curious that the Right shows justifiable outrage when one of our heroes is abused or some fourth century bit of 'justice' is meted out for a minor offense. yet when our soldiers show barbarian tendencies as they urinate on corpses or take "souvenirs" the same folks who were outraged are willing to dismiss the vulgarities with something that amounts to "Well, boys will be boys!" That's what sane people call hypocrisy.

 

[mudwhistle]

Obama's getting hammered.

He needs a distraction.

They drudge up 2 year old pics they've been going over for a month.

We're not like this they say (yes we are)

Maybe next they can find a vid of some troop Teabagging an Afghan.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

The mental damage being inflicted on our men and women in this conflict is really worrying me, eventually these men and women will return home and than what? how do you even begin to go back to living civilian life after seeing things like this?

Yet again another reason not to go to war unless you have the best interest of your troops legions above the interest of the enemy. You need to go in...ruthlessly kill as many as possible and get out.
This prolonged meddlesome Vietnam-style play war is hell on earth for those caught up in it.

And as a side note - this President has done nothing to ease this situation. Nada

Right now it feels like our administration is putting the welfare of Afghan civilians and troops over that of our own Troops, fuck we even let the enemy get the first shots at us before we can even return fire.

Well when Leon Panetta was named Sec. of Defense that spoke volumes about what this administration thought of our troops. Volumes.
Why not just make Jimmy Carter Sec. of Defense?

 

[Peach]

We are not fighting a war of conquest. We are not fighting a war against a national government. We are fighting a terrorist group operating among indigenous people.

A lot of hard core john Wayne wannabes are champions of cruelty and war crimes all to be forgotten, forgiven and otherwise rationalized as the fog of war. But the reality is, as it has been since the 1950s, we are fighting to win hearts and minds. By doing this, we believe that we might be able to nip the terrorist instinct in the bud. How? By portraying ourselves as civilized, beneficent warriors rather than the barbarians we are fighting.

Incidentally, I find it curious that the Right shows justifiable outrage when one of our heroes is abused or some fourth century bit of 'justice' is meted out for a minor offense. yet when our soldiers show barbarian tendencies as they urinate on corpses or take "souvenirs" the same folks who were outraged are willing to dismiss the vulgarities with something that amounts to "Well, boys will be boys!" That's what sane people call hypocrisy.

Putting other troops at risk is the issue, PLUS the LA Times printing the photos. I'd like to see some heat on the newspaper.

 

[Trajan]

This is an unconventional war,and we need to continue this show of force versus the enemy.
Los Angeles Times - California, national and world news - latimes.com
anyone complaining about it supports the enemy in my eyes.

How many soldiers will be put in danger over this latest incident? Calling me an enemy because I want soldiers of MY country to respect people - yes, even suspected terrorists - and their country? Fuck you. I'd call you an enemy, but I don't throw that word around lightly. You're an insane and possibly dangerous person; I have no respect for you or your kind.

oh I don't know, how many soldiers were put in harms way ( aside from the ones shot in the back of the head etc etc.) when that Koran was burned?


please direct me to the threads you commented there in, on that..........

if you produce some, I will humbly apologize.....

balls in your court.

 

[Trajan]

We are not fighting a war of conquest. We are not fighting a war against a national government. We are fighting a terrorist group operating among indigenous people.

A lot of hard core john Wayne wannabes are champions of cruelty and war crimes all to be forgotten, forgiven and otherwise rationalized as the fog of war. But the reality is, as it has been since the 1950s, we are fighting to win hearts and minds. By doing this, we believe that we might be able to nip the terrorist instinct in the bud. How? By portraying ourselves as civilized, beneficent warriors rather than the barbarians we are fighting.

Incidentally, I find it curious that the Right shows justifiable outrage when one of our heroes is abused or some fourth century bit of 'justice' is meted out for a minor offense. yet when our soldiers show barbarian tendencies as they urinate on corpses or take "souvenirs" the same folks who were outraged are willing to dismiss the vulgarities with something that amounts to "Well, boys will be boys!" That's what sane people call hypocrisy.

so, cutting off someones head, now equates to having a picture taken with bodies?

 

[Peach]

Some FORMER Generals say this incident will hurt the never ending war:

Experts: Photos of U.S. soldiers handling corpses very bad for war - CNN.com

My question remains; why did the LA Times publish the photos, and why isn't the newspaper getting any condemnation?