BREAKDOWN IN COMMON SENSE AND DISCIPLINE: TOO COMMON IN HISTORY OF WAR

BREAKDOWN IN COMMON SENSE AND DISCIPLINE: TOO COMMON IN HISTORY OF WAR

By Kevin Stoda, in the Philippines Dateline July 29, 2009

The story in today's THE GAZETTE of Colorado Springs notes, "With each roadside bombing, [Colorado Unit] soldiers would fire in all directions "and just light the whole area up,' said Anthony Marquez, a friend of Freeman in the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment. "If anyone was around, that was their fault. We smoked "em.'"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090727/ap_on_re_us/us_soldier_slayings

The problem of not holding officers and presidents [or vice presidents] accountable for bad behavior certainly led to the Colorado unit in Iraq running amok and killing and hurting so many Iraqis needlessly""i.e as well as doing all this with an apparent (at the time) belief of untouchability. Many of these same American soldiers will suffer in the USA for years to come with their consciences and memories. Iraqi victims will suffer even more, of course. Leaders who set the standards must be judged by juries and courts for those decisions. This is the American way. Perpetrators who make the decisions""starting with former President Bush, Vice President Cheney and several serving generals in the USA armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq""need to be brought to the U.S. courts so America can begin to forgive and move on.

The story, entitled "Soldiers in Colorado Slayings Tell of Iraq Horrors" from Colorado Springs is the sort of story Filipinos recall from WWII""whether from actions of the Japanese occupiers or from the supposed [American] saving forces. At least that is the case of memories in Lingayen.That Colorado tale concerns: "soldiers from an Army unit that had 10 infantrymen accused of murder, attempted murder or manslaughter after returning to civilian life described a breakdown in discipline during their Iraq deployment in which troops murdered civilians, a newspaper reported Sunday."

Moreover, the article writer adds, "Some Fort Carson, Colo.-based soldiers have had trouble adjusting to life back in the United States, saying they refused to seek help, or were belittled or punished for seeking help. Others say they were ignored by their commanders, or coped through drug and alcohol abuse before they allegedly committed crimes, The Gazette of Colorado Springs said." This is not an uncommon story in times of war (and due to be expected repercussions of war), but American stories that create myths about American purity of motive and action have made it worse in the days since WWII when the US first really began bombing and attacking foreign enemies in mass targeted and untargeted slaughters.

THE BEACHES OF LINGAYEN