Marine gets 15 years in Iraqi's death

On the flip side however you could argue that higher standards should be applied, particulally for a country such as the US, which presents itself to the world as one of the good guys.

Not to mention there are military implications. How many board members believe that they would continue to think well of a group of people who had just murdered one of their relatives*. One murder many have the effect of turning several neutrals or friendies, into hostiles.






*with the possible exception of mother-in-laws

 

Well, troops in combat do need to be held to a pretty high standard of behavior, IMHO. If they're not, then they become just another set of armed thugs. Having said that, they also need to be dealt with in a way that is sensible and understanding, given that they are, indeed, being sent into incredibly stressful and traumatic situations. I also believe that it doesn't help to lump all of the troops together with the bad apples or the ones who snap under the pressure, since most of the troops in Iraq do not commit atrocities of any kind. That fact seems to keep getting lost in the shuffle when incidents are reported by the media.

 

Interesting article in TIME this week about the accountability of contractors like Blackwater, and the implications it has on the policies of the American Army

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/ ... 92,00.html

Seems to imply that the US Army is suffereing for the antics of these 'cowboy' contractors