American troops will now have to undergo 'ethical training' in the wake of the alleged massacre in Haditha..
That's really going to do a lot of good.. sure. It might placate some of the softer radical groups, but it will be scoffed at, as it should be, by those who pull the strings.
Now, picture this. You have a young, corn-fed boy of a man, a 'Jolly Green Giant with a gun' who's been sent thousands of miles away from his home, to face intensive attack by insurgents who look exactly like the civilians..
Sound familiar?
Now these boys wander into a ville, and one of their buddies, maybe someone they grew up with, is blown to shreds by a bomb. They have no idea now who the enemy is, or where the next attack might come from. They lose it, and in doing so commit an atrocity.
The name Lt. William Calley, and a place called Mai Lai comes to mind.
While not condoning the murders of innocents, one must keep in mind the immediate pressures of being in harms way, constantly.
Truth be told, the wars the United States has committed troops to recently, in neither case were sufficient actions taken to prepare it's fighting forces for that which they have encountered.
War is Hell. For everyone.
Those who fight it from the comfort of an office in Washington are responsible for this mass murder, at least, if not more, than the boys who pulled the triggers.