Troops Taking Pics With The Dead. So What?

[Peach]

Since none of you cheerleaders are THERE, it is easy to forget this may cause loss of MORE troops lives!

Wouldn't be a problem if we weren't there. Why are we still there?

You two have been led to exactly where the newspaper wanted you to go.

Not wanting more Americans to die is wrong? I do not approve of the newspaper printing the pictures to begin with.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Posting the photos is morally wrong, injures the war effort, puts our soldiers in harm, and is being used by the far right wing nuts as a talking tool.

Those of us who were combat military don't give any sense of entitlement to arm chair career civilians who are spouting off like tea kettles.

This is bad stuff. Our soldiers should not do that. Photos should not be posted.

 

[Peach]

Posting the photos is morally wrong, injures the war effort, puts our soldiers in harm, and is being used by the far right wing nuts as a talking tool.

Those of us who were combat military don't give any sense of entitlement to arm chair career civilians who are spouting off like tea kettles.

This is bad stuff. Our soldiers should not do that. Photos should not be posted.

I agree on both points.

 

[mudwhistle]

People sometimes do crazy shit when they're in a war-zone.

Try it sometime and see how it feels.

 

[Trajan]

Posting the photos is morally wrong, injures the war effort, puts our soldiers in harm, and is being used by the far right wing nuts as a talking tool.

Those of us who were combat military don't give any sense of entitlement to arm chair career civilians who are spouting off like tea kettles.

This is bad stuff. Our soldiers should not do that. Photos should not be posted.

Posting the photos is morally wrong, injures the war effort, puts our soldiers in harm, and is being used by the far right wing nuts as a talking tool.

Hummm, I wonder what your reaction was when the Times et al wanted the abu ghraib pictures, not the ones they already published but ALL of them published...?

and as far as far right wing nuts, well, you were just given an example of the msm attempting to do same and there was NO silence form the left, so here is your lesson for the day in slobbering hypocrisy.....eat up.

 

[Peach]

People sometimes do crazy shit when they're in a war-zone.

Try it sometime and see how it feels.

Public reporting of horrid acts can inflame an already bad situation also.

 

[regent]

As replacements we were given a speech, later called the grumpy speech. The officer told us not to mutilate the enemy dead or wounded, not to mistreat the prisoners, not to shoot civilians for sport, all that could make the enemy even grumpier than they were already.
It was good advice and I think we all tried to follow it, and we did find the enemy grumpy enough without adding to it.

 

[The Gadfly]

With all due respect, I don't care to ask ANYTHING of supposed "allies" who are willing to shoot me in the back at the first opportunity.; personally, I'd rather just straight up kill the sonsofbitches to begin with, and be done with it. As for those barbarian savages, they are not in my book, even deserving of the title "human"...because they aren't. All they are ,is a target to be destroyed, and if someone wants a trophy, so be it. We ain't exactly fighting anyone who pays any attention to the Geneva Convention here, nor are we likely to; so given how they treat OUR personnel, NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, I'd just as soon be as rough on them as possible. Those animals do not and never will understand kindness, as anything but weakness; the only thing they respect and fear, is superior brutality.Anyone who got the idea from Vietnam that "hearts and minds" works, as a strategy, needs to have his head examined, no matter what his rank. That's bullshit, and I say that from first hand experience in the matter. You get the enemy by the balls, and his heart and mind will follow! I know many of you disapprove of the way we left "death cards on dead VC and NVA. Know why we did that? Because we KNEW it intimidated and frightened them, that's why! What needs to be done, with that shithole known as Afghanistan, is to destroy anything in it remotely useful as infrastructure, smash anything bigger than a mud hut, burn anything that will burn, poison the damn poppy fields, poison the wells, and let whatever survives out of those savages go back to tribal warfare, seeing as that's all they are good for.Those worthless creatures are not and never will be our friends, so kill all we can, contaminate the landscape to make it useless to terrorists, and leave the place as an example of what happens when you mess with us. I don't care what the rest of the world thinks, and I for sure don't give a damn what a bunch of permanent civilians think. YOU want it done YOUR way? Then YOU put on the uniform, and put YOUR ass on the line fighting YOUR way! You way of handling the enemy, makes as much sense as petting a rattlesnake, and then being surprised when it bites you! It's time to take the restraints off our troops, let them fight the war like a war, not a gentlemen's game, take the stars off the shoulders of the ass-kissing political generals, and put them on the shoulders of some real SOB's who know how to get the job done. Let the politicians and the striped-pants and lace-shirt crowd from Foggy Bottom butt the hell out, and let them run the war. Those of you condemning a few pictures and war trophies mostly have zero experience as a trigger puller, so why do you think you know the first thing about combat? YOu try killing or being killed for a year or so, then you can have an informed opinion, after you figure out that war isn't moral or immoral; all it is, is either killing, or being killed. You stupid civilians have screwed up every war since Korea, with these foolish notions that you can make any war nice, clean and antiseptic. You can't, not and win, so give it up.

 

[eots]

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 **** up.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arug8oTINos]Trolling for Walleyes with Crankbaits - YouTube[/ame]

 

[The Gadfly]

Posting the photos is morally wrong, injures the war effort, puts our soldiers in harm, and is being used by the far right wing nuts as a talking tool.

Those of us who were combat military don't give any sense of entitlement to arm chair career civilians who are spouting off like tea kettles.

This is bad stuff. Our soldiers should not do that. Photos should not be posted.

I saw much worse in Vietnam, and I'm willing to bet you have too. I suggested to my guys they not do that, but so long as it was within the lines, I let it go. Of course, we didn't have the internet around back then, so there wasn't much danger of anyone's personal "souvenir album" being widely circulated; but I don't recall any trouble over it. I didn't have to look at too many VC atrocities, to stop thinking of them as human; I don't recall any lectures on "having compassion" for them, and I didn't. Killing them was like shooting rats in a garbage dump; not enjoyable, but somewhat satisfying. I haven't lost one moment's sleep over that aspect of it.

 

[freedombecki]

I bet your dads and granddads all had similar pics from Vietnam, Korea, and WWII.

It's morbid, ugly, and indecent. But they were placed in morbid, ugly, and indecent situations for long periods of time. This stuff is a twisted kind of outlet. Gruesome therapy.

No one likes it, but there it is.

Not mine. He served in Korea, WWII, and had some assignments in the cold war. He didn't bring home so much as a buddy picture. He did what he had to do, didn't want to ever think of that part of his life again, and didn't bring gruesome pictures back. Neither did any of his friends.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Posting the photos is morally wrong, injures the war effort, puts our soldiers in harm, and is being used by the far right wing nuts as a talking tool.

Those of us who were combat military don't give any sense of entitlement to arm chair career civilians who are spouting off like tea kettles.

This is bad stuff. Our soldiers should not do that. Photos should not be posted.

Posting the photos is morally wrong, injures the war effort, puts our soldiers in harm, and is being used by the far right wing nuts as a talking tool.

Hummm, I wonder what your reaction was when the Times et al wanted the abu ghraib pictures, not the ones they already published but ALL of them published...?

and as far as far right wing nuts, well, you were just given an example of the msm attempting to do same and there was NO silence form the left, so here is your lesson for the day in slobbering hypocrisy.....eat up.

We are not talking about Johnny's reactions, Trajan, we are talking about yours. My reaction was the Times never should have published the photos from Abu Graib. The soldiers should have been immediately relieved, investigated, courtmartialed, and either put in prison or sent home with dishonorable discharges.

The talking attempts of the far right here are pathetic. We can't do a thing about the left but we can police up our trash in the GOP and those who wish to ally with us.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Posting the photos is morally wrong, injures the war effort, puts our soldiers in harm, and is being used by the far right wing nuts as a talking tool.

Those of us who were combat military don't give any sense of entitlement to arm chair career civilians who are spouting off like tea kettles.

This is bad stuff. Our soldiers should not do that. Photos should not be posted.

I saw much worse in Vietnam, and I'm willing to bet you have too. I suggested to my guys they not do that, but so long as it was within the lines, I let it go. Of course, we didn't have the internet around back then, so there wasn't much danger of anyone's personal "souvenir album" being widely circulated; but I don't recall any trouble over it. I didn't have to look at too many VC atrocities, to stop thinking of them as human; I don't recall any lectures on "having compassion" for them, and I didn't. Killing them was like shooting rats in a garbage dump; not enjoyable, but somewhat satisfying. I haven't lost one moment's sleep over that aspect of it.

Yes, I know guys who took ears etc as trophies plus looted the dead. Yes, the internet was not around. Yes, I understand the mental set of dehumanizing the enemy: it makes it much easier to deal with them. However . . . we do have the internet, we do have a foreign civilian population to interact with, and everyone who served in Vietnam knows exactly what that means. You don't piss them off unnecessarily. The photos should not be published, and the guys need to know they can't do the trophy shoots. This isn't deer season.

 

[SayMyName]

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 **** up.

It's my understanding that the original story had the reason why the soldiers shared these photos. The were tired of the suicide bombers and wanted to draw attention any way possible to how unsecure their base was.

Besides, I have to admit, I got me a couple of old death card photos myself. It's a young man thing. I suppose I should get rid of them once I ever find them again in that box in the closet with all my old war momentos. Soldiers have been taking and keeping them for decades.

 

[Peach]

I bet your dads and granddads all had similar pics from Vietnam, Korea, and WWII.

It's morbid, ugly, and indecent. But they were placed in morbid, ugly, and indecent situations for long periods of time. This stuff is a twisted kind of outlet. Gruesome therapy.

No one likes it, but there it is.

Not mine. He served in Korea, WWII, and had some assignments in the cold war. He didn't bring home so much as a buddy picture. He did what he had to do, didn't want to ever think of that part of his life again, and didn't bring gruesome pictures back. Neither did any of his friends.

Nor did my father, to my knowledge; he had photos of the years between wars I saw. Out at sea, with the flags, then the machine. He was a signalman.

 

[g5000]

Wouldn't be a problem if we weren't there. Why are we still there?

You two have been led to exactly where the newspaper wanted you to go.

Not wanting more Americans to die is wrong? I do not approve of the newspaper printing the pictures to begin with.

That is not what you said. You clearly stated you wanted us out of the war, not that you were against Americans dying. There is a huge difference.

Americans died in WWII. Would you have said "Why are we still there?" the day after D-Day?

You clearly see this war in Afghanistan as being wrong for us to be involved in. Publishing these photos helps to push you toward that belief, as does all improperly balanced reporting which brings us more information about American atrocities than it does about the war itself and why we are there and what is really going on.

So don't give me this "not wanting more Americans to die" switcheroo crap.

 

[g5000]

I bet your dads and granddads all had similar pics from Vietnam, Korea, and WWII.

It's morbid, ugly, and indecent. But they were placed in morbid, ugly, and indecent situations for long periods of time. This stuff is a twisted kind of outlet. Gruesome therapy.

No one likes it, but there it is.

Not mine. He served in Korea, WWII, and had some assignments in the cold war. He didn't bring home so much as a buddy picture. He did what he had to do, didn't want to ever think of that part of his life again, and didn't bring gruesome pictures back. Neither did any of his friends.

My father in-law was on a swift boat in Vietnam. He had a shoebox filled with trophy photos. Various body parts and such.

 

[regent]

In combat I think one goes through stages, one of the first maybe is fear, and perhaps the second is that one feels a little more confident and macho and in this stage the picture taking and body-parts- souiveneering takes place. All evidence of one's heroics. Later, all that machoism goes and one only wants to do his job and survive. I'm sure the army has all those stages written down, and I'd love to see what they are, but for now those are my unscientific interpretations.

 

[Peach]

You two have been led to exactly where the newspaper wanted you to go.

Not wanting more Americans to die is wrong? I do not approve of the newspaper printing the pictures to begin with.

That is not what you said. You clearly stated you wanted us out of the war, not that you were against Americans dying. There is a huge difference.

Americans died in WWII. Would you have said "Why are we still there?" the day after D-Day?

You clearly see this war in Afghanistan as being wrong for us to be involved in. Publishing these photos helps to push you toward that belief, as does all improperly balanced reporting which brings us more information about American atrocities than it does about the war itself and why we are there and what is really going on.

So don't give me this "not wanting more Americans to die" switcheroo crap.

No, I never wanted the US IN IRAQ.

 

[SayMyName]

In combat I think one goes through stages, one of the first maybe is fear, and perhaps the second is that one feels a little more confident and macho and in this stage the picture taking and body-parts- souiveneering takes place. All evidence of one's heroics. Later, all that machoism goes and one only wants to do his job and survive. I'm sure the army has all those stages written down, and I'd love to see what they are, but for now those are my unscientific interpretations.

Good point. I would share my own, but surely Gunny could as well.