- Death in Afghanistan...
Been thinking on this... it's hard to get past.
A US Army Staff Sergeant kills 16 civilians in a fit of rage... to include women and children.
Am currently reading,
"Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades," by Sean Parnell.
It's his account of his tour in Afghanistan, as a platoon leader, with the 10th Mountain Division.
A quote from his book:
(An IED has just destroyed a HMMWV while on patrol.)
"The villagers watched the entire event. In his turret, Chris Brown saw Cole die and unleashed a barrage of obscenities at the villagers. They knew the bomb had been planted; that's why they'd come outside. They wanted to see what happened. Nobody had warned our platoon, despite the fact that we'd been bringing aid supplies to the village all summer long."
There's no love lost here...
not when it seems that we're fighting their war for them.
Just as it once seemed in Vietnam.
The same cultural, and political, dynamics that had much to do with the My Lai massacre are in play with this incident.
- A vicious enemy.
- An indifferent population.
- An inept local army.
- A, so-called, neutral country offering asylum to enemy forces.
Watching friends die for no tangible reason warps thinking and builds rage.
Seeing whole villages of local people who remain either detached or hostile towards your efforts... something's gotta snap.
(Also contained in this book are tales of Taliban atrocities being committed every day and not being reported on by any media... or the ISAF officials in charge. Why is that?)
Just my $.02 worth.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
18 MAR 12
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Hey, your writing style has beats or music. Did you know that? Yup, I agree, I think we've come a long way since the days of My Lai where there was only utter condemnation of the atrocious and murderous rampage, but no one bothered to ask why, or even shake their head over the conditions that led to it. I think everyone is upset over the conditions that were set --his personal life, his military life, the stresses, his injuries, and PTSD that culminated in this murderous tragedy.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm with you. I don't cut him any slack either. And I don't cut our society that much either when it comes to the conditions that led to it.
Thank you for the Kudos.
DeleteI'm a drummer... guess I write what I hear in my head.