War brings out the worst in people. It perpetuates a vicious cycle of committing wrongs to avenge wrong doings, creating nothing but more animosity and bloodshed between battling nations.
This is the reality of our current conflict in the Middle East. For more than seven years we’ve been killing thousands of men, women and children in the name of national security. Yet U.S. violence against the Middle East has made us just as guilty as the enemy, as we continuously execute innocent civilians and helpless prisoners in the name of vengeance.
We are becoming what we hate.
Is it understandable why soldiers want to retaliate after they lose a friend in the heat of battle? Of course. That isn’t the question, though. The question is; should these retaliatory actions against helpless people be tolerated?
Two recent events show this dilemma in blinding red, white and blue. The first incident occurred on Nov. 4, 2008. Anthropologist Paula Loyd, a member of the Human Terrain Team, was brought in to observe and interview an Afghan detainee by the name of Abdul Salam. According to The Associated Press, Salam doused Loyd with gasoline and set her on fire without provocation.
After finding out how badly Loyd was burned, former military contractor Don Ayala shot and killed Salam in retaliation. Last week, Ayala was found guilty of manslaughter, but was given a sentence of five years probation and a $12,500 fine. Judge Claude Hilton found that this was the right punishment for the crime.
“The acts that were done in front of this defendant would provide provocation for anyone who witnessed the scene,” Hilton told msnbc.com.
Now if American soldiers are forgiven for justifiable acts of bloody vengeance, should Afghan soldiers be let off the hook for similar acts against U.S. military personnel who “deserved” to die? This is why violence never works as a solution.
The second incident is a clear-cut case of unjustifiable brutality. Last week, former Army Pfc. Steven Dale Green was found guilty of raping and murdering a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing her family. He now faces either death of life in prison.
According to the AP, Green’s defense team had asked jurors to consider the “context” of war, saying “soldiers in Green’s unit … lacked leadership.” Defense attorneys also said the Army missed signs that Green was struggling after the loss of friends in combat, and offered little help to him and other members of his unit.
It is right that Green be punished, but there is little doubt his vicious acts were at least provoked by the horrors of war. If that’s the case, why is he getting the book thrown at him while Ayala is receiving only probation?
Obviously, these cases differ tremendously. Ayala killed a man who set an innocent woman on fire while Green raped and murdered a young girl and her family without provocation. Violence is violence, however, and we simply cannot condone vigilante bloodshed because we believe it is justifiable.
It is hypocritical for us as Americans to excuse unjust crimes committed by our soldiers and condemn the same acts of violence implemented by our enemies in the Middle East. Just as we don’t tolerate civilian beheadings and other acts of torture, we cannot allow the murder of prisoners and innocent civilians.
This is why war never solves a goddamn thing.
They let detainees have gasoline and lighters? You’re right, what the hell sort of war are they running?
What we are becoming is a country of nitwits who do nothing but talk on the phone and blog all day. Facts? Silly things to be manipulated any way we like. Ish.
I can tell that the author of this will have a long a prosperous career in the media. He or she has effectively taken isolated incidents and broadly applied them to the whole military. That’s called taking the exception and making it the rule. Way to go! You have completely insulted the whole military with statements like “we’ve been killing thousands of men, women and children in the name of national security” and “we continuously execute innocent civilians and helpless prisoners in the name of vengeance.” The great thing is when you are a reporter in the opinion section, you don’t have to be responsible for your statements! A bit of advice for your career: don’t bring up points damaging to your own story like the fact that the US has prosecuted those individuals who acted out of line. Especially if one gets life in prison.
“This is why war never solves a goddamn thing.” – except Fascism
I can’t think of any time during these last two wars when unruly acts by American soldiers were excused. In fact the insulting and torturing of Iraqis at Abu Graib has gotten just as much press and has been condemned just as harshly as any beheading. So to say that American soldiers have been excused of their crimes, I’d say would be an exaggeration. And while our current wars are easily shot down as unneccesary which I won’t disagree with, some wars throughout history were against obvious acts of aggression or dictatorship. Let’s not forget that extremists have learned how to use the media in their favor by covering their locations with innocent civilians and families in order to play the victim card when they are attacked.