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Attila the Hun and Me

At the risk of appearing to excuse any wrong-doing that may have taken place in Haditha, it bears pointing out that war is a risky venture at best. A civilized country places it's civilized citizens in harm's way with nothing but their training, weapons, and protective gear, and asks them to execute a WAR in a civil manner. Things are bound to go wrong, badly wrong, a small percentage of the time.

On my best day, in day-to-day personal/political conflicts, there are probably times when, if I were Attila the Hun, I would stop the diplomacy and just shred the very fiber of the mortal being in front of me out of sheer frustration. Okay... maybe that's just me... The point is that we ask our troops to do very dangerous things: they put their lives at risk on a 24-7 basis in warzones; they watch their compatriots die in battle; and, then we (in the safety of our homes) are outraged when their emotions overwhelm their training and they (allegedly) go on a rampage? I don't find this the least bit surprising but maybe I'm a realist. Punish them if they are guilty but save your outrage for someone who commits heinous crimes when his life is not threatened 24-7 and he's not watching his friends dropping dead next to him.

While I will await the official verdict on the incident in Haditha, I cannot help but feel for all of the men and women serving honorably and professionally in a warzone who must now watch the sensational reporting on this incident. A few Marines who are now under investigation will throw a scorching light of distrust and disgust on all of our troops. This will happen regardless of the final verdict in the investigation and/or trial of those Marines. It behooves us all to remember that we ask a lot of our troops and 99% of them deliver above and beyond what we ask of them. God bless and keep them all.

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