Good!
You may or may not have seen the video of the U.S. soldiers teasing Iraqi children with a water bottle. If you have a low tolerance for human cruelty, I’d recommend against watching it.
Almost as bad as the fact that they did this in the first place is the fact that they decided it was funny enough to capture on video and share. Jerks. I imagine they didn’t think that someone it was forwarded to would put it on YouTube, or that it would wind up getting the publicity it has.
However! The good news is that people at the Pentagon saw the video and are now investigating. (Link to another blog). Good. I only had the stomach to watch the video once, because it made me so angry. Let’s hope there are some consequences for these assholes.
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The thing about this and the other things we’ve seen come out of this war always leave me with the question “If this is what we know about, what’s going on that we don’t?”
In a way, I guess I look at this and think, I went to school with people who did far worse than this on any given day. We have a society full of people who do far worse and are never held accountable. Look at the people who put these guys there in the first place…
Now, consider this… Imagine if there were another part of this video, something that could be very real and happens a lot over there… Imagine if where this video ends, these guys decided finally to stop and toss out a few bottle of water, and one of those kids that worked so hard to chase down the truck wasn’t doing it for the water, but for the chance to get close enough to set off the bomb strapped around his body. Or perhaps a sniper in a building nearby puts a few rounds into the guys sitting in the back of the truck there…
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying what they did is right, and I am still angered by it. I guess where I stop is when I think they shouldn’t be there in the first place, and while as idiotic as what they did is, what is probably waiting for them around the corner is far worse. And when I say them, I mean not only the guys in the truck, but the kids who chose to pursue them as far as they did, and the sad part is, all of this is over a simple bottle of water being teasingly dangled from the back of a truck traveling through what could at any moment seem more like hell than some peaceful street where kids are playing.
The thing about this and the other things we’ve seen come out of this war always leave me with the question “If this is what we know about, what’s going on that we don’t?”
In a way, I guess I look at this and think, I went to school with people who did far worse than this on any given day. We have a society full of people who do far worse and are never held accountable. Look at the people who put these guys there in the first place…
Now, consider this… Imagine if there were another part of this video, something that could be very real and happens a lot over there… Imagine if where this video ends, these guys decided finally to stop and toss out a few bottle of water, and one of those kids that worked so hard to chase down the truck wasn’t doing it for the water, but for the chance to get close enough to set off the bomb strapped around his body. Or perhaps a sniper in a building nearby puts a few rounds into the guys sitting in the back of the truck there…
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying what they did is right, and I am still angered by it. I guess where I stop is when I think they shouldn’t be there in the first place, and while as idiotic as what they did is, what is probably waiting for them around the corner is far worse. And when I say them, I mean not only the guys in the truck, but the kids who chose to pursue them as far as they did, and the sad part is, all of this is over a simple bottle of water being teasingly dangled from the back of a truck traveling through what could at any moment seem more like hell than some peaceful street where kids are playing.
I have heard others say that at any other given moment, those same kids could be throwing rocks at the vehicles. That well may be true. Those soldiers have a crap job in a crap place, every single day. I do get that. But if we’re going to win the hearts and minds of these people, it’s not going to be by taunting their children. It’s a bad situation all the way around. No need to make it worse.
I have heard others say that at any other given moment, those same kids could be throwing rocks at the vehicles. That well may be true. Those soldiers have a crap job in a crap place, every single day. I do get that. But if we’re going to win the hearts and minds of these people, it’s not going to be by taunting their children. It’s a bad situation all the way around. No need to make it worse.
I concur – there is no need to make it worse.
It’s easy for us to point a finger at that and say how awful it is. But if taunting kids with a bottle of water is going to make even a small difference in winning the hearts and minds of these people, then we don’t stand a chance.
I concur – there is no need to make it worse.
It’s easy for us to point a finger at that and say how awful it is. But if taunting kids with a bottle of water is going to make even a small difference in winning the hearts and minds of these people, then we don’t stand a chance.
Wow. I hadn’t seen that yet. It’s amazing how cruel a person can be, yet think instead of being mean, that the situation they are putting the victim in is hilarious.
Wow. I hadn’t seen that yet. It’s amazing how cruel a person can be, yet think instead of being mean, that the situation they are putting the victim in is hilarious.
Thanks for the warning. I won’t be watching teh clip. 🙁
Thanks for the warning. I won’t be watching teh clip. 🙁
You know, I thought I was the only one who heeded those warnings! When the TV says, “the following contains scenes that may be disturbing to younger viewers blah blah blah” I usually change the channel. When I don’t, I usually wish that I had!
You’ve probably already seen this, but if you want nicer fare from YouTube, there’s always the Free Hugs video. 🙂
You know, I thought I was the only one who heeded those warnings! When the TV says, “the following contains scenes that may be disturbing to younger viewers blah blah blah” I usually change the channel. When I don’t, I usually wish that I had!
You’ve probably already seen this, but if you want nicer fare from YouTube, there’s always the Free Hugs video. 🙂
I don’t turn the channel when something comes on TV usually, because, I dunno, I’m either already not paying attention or it’s a show I’m watching for that kind of thing anyway. Mind you, I avoid the news like the plague so I get “news” in doses, not one jam-packed hour of bad news with an occasional gut-wrenching “good” news. But I figured, Tvini is saying this is disturbing, I trust that. And the content isn’t something I want to expose myself to. I believe what you said, I just don’t need to see it as well.
I haven’t seen that clip but I’m gonna!
I don’t turn the channel when something comes on TV usually, because, I dunno, I’m either already not paying attention or it’s a show I’m watching for that kind of thing anyway. Mind you, I avoid the news like the plague so I get “news” in doses, not one jam-packed hour of bad news with an occasional gut-wrenching “good” news. But I figured, Tvini is saying this is disturbing, I trust that. And the content isn’t something I want to expose myself to. I believe what you said, I just don’t need to see it as well.
I haven’t seen that clip but I’m gonna!