massacre coverup?

[miriam_e]

Those of us in Australia can watch a documentary on SBS at 8:30pm on Tuesday 14th January. It details an investigation into the disappearance of about 3,000 Taliban soldiers who surrendered. There is some evidence they may have been trucked out into the desert by the Northern Alliance and massacred under the watchful eye of US troops.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I will post this anonymously for obvious reasons.

As a crisis counselor, I have helped numerous veterans deal with their feelings. One theme seems to repeat from every war. "We lined the prisoners up against the wall and killed them in cold blood." The most recent to tell me such a story was a very messed up soldier from the last war with Iraq. It wasn't posttraumatic stress he was dealing with, but plain old-fashioned guilt for doing things he knew were wrong.

This is the way of soldiers and war. Conquerors rape, murder, and pillage, no matter how "righteous" their cause. Even police often go berserk after a high-speed chase and shamelessly brutalize their prey.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Yes. It is a major problem and one that should be given more weight when considering war. People think that a war is not "worth it" if too many people come home in body bags, but largely skip over the life-changing way it brutalises all those involved. In recent years some coverage has been given to the innocent bystanders (though not enough in my opinion), but very little has been made of how it transforms the "boy next door", (who is really no different from you or me) into a frantic murderer who is capable of the most insane actions.

War really is hell. We shouldn't ever consider getting involved unless all other avenues are exhausted and there is absolutely no chance of avoiding it. It really isn't worth it.

The current gung-ho attitude of swinging into battle on a politician's say-so with no evidence and with such doubtful results seems to me like playing with fire after bathing in lighter fluid.