Sunday, December 2, 2007

More on Justice in the Middle East

Hmmm, if 50-1000 lashes is a suitable punishment for rape in Saudi Arabia, what's a fair penalty for stealing some lumber in Iraq... Let's see what these US Army tankers have to say... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJC1unnuwds&feature=related ... Oh, wait, the title of this note should probably have been "More Injustice in the Middle East"... Rubbish...

5 comments:

Cleitus the Black said...

Hmmm, another possible title could have been "Moron Justice in the Middle East".

Hmmm, is it bad form to comment on one's own posts? Like Ash Williams said, "Good? Bad? I'm the man with the gun."

Diodotus said...

Well! Our tax-payer dollars hard at work. Good thing we take prevention of looting so seriously.

irprof said...

One of the great truths of warfare is that when you take a bunch of 18 year old males, move them far from their families and others who might provide some moral supervision, give them guns, and set them loose, they will act in ways you don't want. We all know this but leaders always ignore its consequences. No one should be surprised...its as if you gave a tank to a frat house. Its not evil, just lack of maturity.

Diodotus said...

I'm not sure I buy this. Not all 18-year-olds behave this way, and some older soldiers behave badly too - as do female soldiers of all ages.

Isn't the military unit the substitute for the family and the institution responsible for providing "moral supervision"?

irprof said...

Of course the military provides moral supervision, but I suspect (and not having been in the military, I don't claim to be an authority) not the same way that your parents or neighbors do. Lets face it...being in the military is a different world, albeit one with strict rules and morals of its own. All I am really saying is that young men (and women) are immature and can have weird ideas about what "justice" means (God knows I did at that age): give them tanks and surround them with like-minded people, and shit happens. They are no worse than my old brothers at Beta Theta Pi, and probably rather better; but they are also more heavily armed and farther from home.

To be even more clear: I am NOT criticizing the military. My point is to criticize the people who send soldiers to remote parts of the world and don't understand the consequences of that act, despite centuries of lessons. "We are shocked, SHOCKED to discover that if you invade and occupy a country with heavily armed 19-year-olds, not every single member of our military acts like a boy scout at a jamboree. Who'd have thunk it???"

 
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