Topic: Don't you know there's a war on? (Read 77286 times)

Thad · « **Reply #560 on:** March 12, 2012, 09:59:01 AM »

So uh for those not following the news since yesterday, a US soldier went nuts and murdered 16 Afghan civilians, mostly children. (Warning: linked article opens with a photo of one of the dead children.)

This is pretty much how the entire Arab/Persian/North African/Muslim world sees us at this point. It's a problem that's not going to be fixed within a decade, and certainly not by us staying in Afghanistan.

Thad · « **Reply #561 on:** March 16, 2012, 08:01:24 AM »

I heard on the radio today that the Accused's lawyer is saying that this was his fourth deployment and he'd been injured previously, including losing part of a foot.

Obviously I am not excusing what the guy did. He went door-to-door murdering children. He'll probably be executed for it, and I won't shed any tears for him.

But he shouldn't have been redeployed. And I can't help but look at the recent news of hundreds of soldiers being denied a PTSD diagnosis and thinking oh hey, I think maybe these two stories could be related in some way.

If we can make this a discussion about how our government has failed our troops, and about how we should get the fuck out of Afghanistan because we're doing more harm than good, then that'll be something good coming out of this tragedy. But I'm not holding my breath.

Büge · « **Reply #562 on:** March 16, 2012, 05:20:49 PM »

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-is-preparing-israeli-public-opinion-for-a-war-on-iran-1.418869

uh-oh

Mothra · « **Reply #563 on:** March 16, 2012, 06:04:51 PM »

Jesus. PLEASE not let this mean what I think it means.

Mongrel · « **Reply #564 on:** March 16, 2012, 06:51:01 PM »

Of course it means what you think it does.

:/

Shinra · « **Reply #565 on:** March 16, 2012, 07:48:17 PM »

At least it's going to be hard for the US to spin this as anything but open expansionist aggression from Israel.

Shinra · « **Reply #566 on:** March 16, 2012, 07:56:42 PM »

Quote from: Thad on March 12, 2012, 09:59:01 AM

So uh for those not following the news since yesterday, a US soldier went nuts and murdered 16 Afghan civilians, mostly children. (Warning: linked article opens with a photo of one of the dead children.)

This is pretty much how the entire Arab/Persian/North African/Muslim world sees us at this point. It's a problem that's not going to be fixed within a decade, and certainly not by us staying in Afghanistan.

I'm going to sound like a dick for pointing this out, but I think the only way that we can get ahead of this at this point in Afghanistan is to make a very, very public show of executing this piece of shit.

Preferably by finding a very tall branch and a very stiff rope.

Mongrel · « **Reply #567 on:** March 16, 2012, 08:02:33 PM »

Honestly the best option would be to just throw the guy to the locals and turn your back on whatever happens. That's not going to happen in any universe we know, but that's pretty much the only thing that would save face for the US on this.

Alternatively, as some people have pointed out, it's great opportunity/catalyst for just getting the fuck out ASAP and damn the consequences.

Both are horrible, really, but this situation's already well beyond horrible and has been for years.

Brentai · « **Reply #568 on:** March 16, 2012, 08:44:07 PM »

Yyyeah, neither public executions nor turning people over to the enemy really fit with "U.S. policy" though. Plus they both carry the unfortunate implication that U.S. forces can be made to buckle to demands if sufficiently embarrassed. You think nobody out there is above attacking their own people and making it look like the U.S. did it?

It's kind of sad, but the only thing to do now as I see it is to take a hard line against the victims and show some sack. Yes, this was a serious war crime, no, we didn't authorize it, yes, we're going to throw every book we have at this guy, and no we are not going to give him over to you, and P.S. fuck you sideways for even asking. I don't see you in any hurry to turn over all the people on your end who've attacked us over to U.S. custody.

After that it's pretty much not a question of "should we pull out of Afghanistan" but "how the hell are we going to?" Because I think the heads have got the message that the pooch has been royally screwed here, but just taking off tail-between-legs isn't going to help at all.

My guess is that we're just going to maintain a presence until the slated 2014 withdrawal date, but under orders to sit tight on the goddam base and not fucking do anything, ever.

Ted Belmont · « **Reply #569 on:** March 19, 2012, 08:14:39 PM »

While most of the media is desperately trying to make excuses for Robert Bales, Al Jazeera actually went and found the names of his victims.

Thad · « **Reply #570 on:** March 19, 2012, 08:55:52 PM »

Most of a world, most of a century, and a hot-button political issue away, Woody Guthrie nails it:

Arlo Guthrie & Emmylou Harris - Deportees

Goodbye to Mohamed, goodbye Shatarina
وداعا يا أصدقاء Nazar و Robeena
You won't keep your name through the bullets and flame
All they will say is the number sixteen.

...best I could do off the top of my head using Google Translate. Hope that comes across as heartfelt rather than illiterate/insensitive/maudlin/some other negative adjective. If nothing else, it's the right number of syllables.

Thanks to Al Jazeera for remembering what's important. He didn't know their names; to him they were just the Other and the Enemy. We need to be better than that.

Rico · « **Reply #571 on:** March 20, 2012, 11:12:53 AM »

I don't think it's so much trying to make excuses as humanity is really, really bad at handling random acts of violence. "He flipped and killed 16 people because he was in a war zone where no one wears uniforms and PS he got his foot blown off," is still absolutely horrific but it's at least a little comprehensible.

Thad · « **Reply #572 on:** March 20, 2012, 11:40:28 AM »

Yeah, "trying to make excuses" isn't quite accurate. But we DO have a tendency to focus on our own and treat the Other as a statistic.

Morning Edition had an interview with Muhammad Wazir today -- 11 of the victims were members of his family. (This goes to show that NPR is the last bastion of actual journalism in America -- occasional fuckups like the Daisey story and all -- and as such must be destroyed.)

Heartbreaking stuff, but the kind of thing you need to give a read or listen to.

Thad · « **Reply #573 on:** April 06, 2012, 02:17:38 PM »

Bosnia, 20 years later.

11,541 dead. Christ.

Now THAT was a military intervention that I think we made the right call on.

Büge · « **Reply #574 on:** July 19, 2012, 06:35:12 PM »

Omar Khadr still not returned to Canada, even though they said he would be

You know, it's interesting. Omar Khadr was 15 when it all went down. If he had fatally shot a police officer here in Canada, he probably would've been freed years ago.

Esperath · « **Reply #575 on:** September 11, 2012, 05:40:00 AM »

It's that time of the year again, folks!

Fox News's current top image, along with headlines such as "OPINION: Our Leaders Are Wrong, the War on Terror is Not Over", "EXCLUSIVE: Did Obama Administration Endanger Bin Laden Raid Heroes?", and "EXCLUSIVE: Connecticut real estate exec remembers his remarkable effort at Ground Zero in honor of lost pals".

The image actually struck me as a bit subdued for Fox News, so I took the liberty of spicing it up a little bit.

James Edward Smith · « **Reply #576 on:** September 11, 2012, 10:52:53 AM »

And they called the new tower BABEL, for that was where two angels confounded man's language and perception so he could no longer work together.

Büge · « **Reply #577 on:** September 11, 2012, 11:34:00 AM »

Quote from: Esperath on September 11, 2012, 05:40:00 AM

It's that time of the year again, folks!

Yes. Time to remember that this is the 39th anniversary of the Chilean coup-d'état.

Shinra · « **Reply #578 on:** September 12, 2012, 03:12:15 AM »

Militia forces in Bengazi, Libya stormed the embassy yesterday and killed the ambassador to the US and a number of DOD staff.

Among the dead was somethingawful's D&D moderator Vilerat. He was apparently on mumble moments before he died and pretty much knew it was coming.

Can we please just pretend these countries don't exist anymore?

Mongrel · « **Reply #579 on:** September 12, 2012, 04:51:54 AM »

The Vienna Convention doesn't seem to be getting much respect these days. Not exactly a good sign.

News:

Author Topic: Don't you know there's a war on? (Read 77286 times)