Don't Kid Yourself, This Is What All Wars Are Like
by James Glaser
September 20, 2010

Wars don't ever have a "good" side and a "bad" side. Wars bring out the worst in both sides, and our troops are no exception. Here is an article that shows what happens to troops no matter which side they are fighting for.

Published on Sunday, September 19, 2010 by Reuters

U.S. Army Charges 5 Soldiers Over Afghan Murders: Report

WASHINGTON   Five U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Kandahar province have been charged with murdering three Afghan civilians, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.

In its early edition, the Post cited Army charging documents as saying the infantry personnel, including one staff Sergeant, murdered the civilians between January and May of this year.

The Post cited military court documents and interviews with people familiar with the case to allege the killings "were committed essentially for sport by soldiers who had a fondness for hashish and alcohol."

The accused, who also include seven other members of the 5th Stryker Combat Brigade charged with lesser offences, denied wrongdoing through lawyers and family members, the newspaper reported.

The five members of the platoon accused of murder began talking about creating a "kill team" in December 2009 and murdered their first victim on January 25, 2010, in the village of La Mohammed Kalay in Kandahar, the Post said.

The soldiers were assigned at the time to provide security for a meeting between U.S. officers and tribal elders.

Pentagon officials were not immediately available for comment.

(Writing by Todd Eastham; editing by Matthew Jones)

I don't know what percentage of career military personal are alcoholics or drug addicts, but from my time in the Marines, I can say it is very high. (No pun intended.) Every military base has a liquor bar for the officers, another for non-commissioned officers, and still another for the enlisted ranks. I am sure like the drug use by our troops in Vietnam, drug use in Afghanistan is skyrocketing. Its war, you are going to die anyway, so why not indulge? That is how most service men feel, and after several tours, you can't stop.

Drugs and alcohol dull the brain and make killing and any other crime seem more like sport than something evil. Crime and war go hand in hand. It has always been that way, and it will always be that way. War is a crime that brings the evil out in those who fight in them.

George Bush'a war in Afghanistan has been a gross waste of blood and treasure, ours and theirs. Barack Obama has continued that waste. It is time to end it now!

Free JavaScripts provided
by The JavaScript Source