[/caption]It is the old spurious refrain of the typical American soldier getting off in killing innocent civilians when he is in the war theater.
The Guardian is reporting that among the many secrets leaked via Wikileaks, in thousands of documents, is the allegation of war crimes - against the Afghan civilian population by American soldiers.
These are the most outrageous charges made against the U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and I must confess my bias because I am a veteran, and for the life of me I do not understand what would possess soldiers to do something so despicable.
Why is it that the United States soldier has a blood lust on the battlefield, but it seems to be sated when he is back home in the United States? I have served, so did my father and countless others I know. When did we develop this persona, void of empathy for the civilians in the war zone? And why since our service do we no longer have the urge to kill innocents? Do they give us some sort of pill to keep us in check, or an intense psychological debriefing?
No country fights like we do, with the rules of engagement tying the soldiers’ hands and many losing their lives adhering and enforcing what the suits at the Pentagon say.
Are there soldiers who give credence to some of Wikileaks claims? Of course, but no more so than that small group one would find in the general population. Every anti-social behavior found in the general population is found in the U.S. military, but just how we do not judge the general population collectively for the misdeeds of a few, do not do so to the military. The vast majority of U.S. soldiers do not get off in killing innocents civilians, otherwise, if that were the case, why confine this pathology to the war theater.
What kind of system do we have in place when thousands of intelligence documents can be leaked to the craven animals at Wikileaks? Moreover, what kind of soldier would put his fellow soldiers in harms way by leaking these important intelligence documents? There must be a serious overhaul of the data we are storing and the protocol must change as to who has access. In addition, serious penalties must befall those who would attempt to leaks said documents to the tea drinking loafer wearing jockeys at Wikileaks and the like.
I have the good fortune to have served this country and to be an attorney, and I do not give any credence to the argument about First Amendment rights and such perverted jurisprudence ilk. No reading of Lemon or New York V. Sullivan – the two seminal Constitutional cases in this area of law - can justify what was given to Wikileaks. Even more sickening is the fact that Wikileaks and the cowards who leaked our secrets will get away with it. I wonder when the book version of the leaked documents is scheduled to be published.
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