Text 5509, 145 rader
Skriven 2004-11-30 14:56:00 av VERN HUMPHREY (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av BJöRN FORSSTRöM
Ärende: Breaking News!
======================
BF> VH> I take it you have never been in combat?

BF>No and I'm proud abot it.

Cowardice is nothing to be proud of.

BF> VH> And you have never been in Iraq?

BF>No, have you?

Yes.  Also in Egypt, Syria, and a few other countries int this region.

BF> VH> You are getting your ideas from the media, and using terms of peace, no
BF> VH> war to discuss the problem.

BF>And the problem with that would be.....?

That:

        1.  You don't know what you're talking about.

        2.  You have done nothing to contribute to a solution.

        3.  You are guided by prejudice.


BF> VH> Would you rather we wait until we're over-run?  Who would defend you,
BF> VH> then?

BF>Defend me from what?
BF>We have no known enemys.

No?  How long will Sweden be free of terrorism if it succeeds in
overrunning the rest of Europe?

BF> VH> Again, you've never been in combat, have you?

BF>No, but what's that got to do with it?

It means, you have no idea what you're talking about.

BF> VH> If he kills YOU, you certainly can't ask him if he was pretending or no
BF> VH> can you?

BF>I would make sure before doing anything.

Tell me how you do that.  You've got one second -- too late!!  You're
dead!

So sorry.

BF>BF>>and where in the
BF>BF>>Military
BF>BF>>Rule-book does it say: Shoot first and ask questions later?

BF> VH> Again, you've never been in combat, have you?

BF>Again, no.

If you had you'd know that second only to valor, caution is a soldier's
greatest virtue.  (Apologies to Colonel Karl Brumback.)

A friend of mine and I were discussing it not long ago -- he said
something that I've heard from every combat veteran I've ever known,
"It happens just like THAT!!"

In combat, your life can be snuffed out in the snap of a finger.  A
simple mistake -- simply craning your head too far forward, or stepping
over a "dead" man (as I did once) can end your life before you know what
happened.

In this case, the enemy was a terrorist -- a war criminal.  He was not
in uniform, not answerable to a command that was responsible for his
actions, he was fighting from inside a protected place (a mosque) and
part of an organization which -- as a matter of policy -- engaged in war
crimes such as boobytrapping corpses, feigning surrender, and using
grenades while pretending to be dead or wounded.

He was not entitled to expect that a Marine would put his own life at
risk on the presumption that this criminal had suddenly decided to do
something honorable -- like surrender.

BF> VH> We can't help what they think.  Look at your own tone -- although you h
BF> VH> no combat experience, you automatically condemn us.

BF>SIGH. I don't condemn you, only that that soldier could have done something
BF>else to secure that prisoner then to shoot him.


And you know that, how?  What personal experience of yours tells you
that he "could have done something else to secure that prisoner?"

BF> VH> Are you a mind reader?  Can you read our soldiers' minds?

BF>No, can you?

I am one of our soldiers.  I served for 22 years, and as a retired
regular, remain on the rolls of the United States Army.

BF>BF>>Hadn't it be better to evacuate the building and call for backup before
BF>BF>>shooting
BF>BF>>around?

BF> VH> No.  I repeat, you have never been in combat, have you?

BF>This is getting very annoying.
BF>NO I HAVEN'T!!!!!

Then where do you get the authority to tell us what men in combat should
do?

BF> VH> Then you didn't hear the Marine say, "He's faking it!"

BF>Nope.
BF>And how could he be so sure? Proven fact is that he wasn't, isn't it?

He only needs a reasonable suspicion -- he isn't required to put the
life of a war criminal above his own.

BF> VH> Another Marine was killed that same day by an Iraqi who was faking it.

BF>And that give you the right to kill whom ever you like=

And that is a stupid remark -- it shows your prejudice.

You say "And that give you the right to kill whom ever you like."  You
ASSUME therefore he killed the man because he LIKED to kill him.

He killed him because he had reasonable suspicion that his OWN life, and
that of his comrades, was in danger.


BF> VH> In combat, you can die in the twinkling of an eye -- to hesitate is to
BF> VH> die.

BF>Yes, in combat I'm sure it is but not in securing a room filled with unarmed
BF>prisoners.

You're sure?  Based on what personal experience?

Explain how you, who have never had such experience, know more about it
than men who have been in combat, been wounded, and worked all their
lives dealing with military problems.
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