The Fog of War

I hear all these discussions about the Marine who killed a wounded terrorist differently now. I was never on the side of the people who condemned the Marine. But I think I used to think of it as a fierce game between the critics and the defenders. Now it makes me very sad. Even though I did not know JP Blecksmith personally, I am more deeply and thoroughly aware that what is going on in Iraq is not a video game. If you make a mistake, you cannot just cancel the game and start over. The Geneva Conventions were adopted in hopes of keeping war contained. They were a statement that all Is NOT fair in war. And because they were about containing war, apparently, they explicitly say that protocols relating to treatment of the wounded only apply when the enemy combatant himself or in the collective have ALSO been following the rules.

One thing everyone is agreed on is that these combatants didn't follow any of the rules, that they consider the Western tendency to follow the rules a weakness to be exploited.

What makes me so sad is that 1) at a time when our troops should be hailed and celebrated and thanked over and over and over again, this garbage, obscene arm-chair critique of a young man who has laid his life on the line for you and me, is going on.

I think to myself, What is wrong with these people? It is the left that treats this all as seriously as a videogame or a high school debate. They have no care for the consequences of what they say or do. It is the same feeling I get when I see abused or neglected children. I ask myself, how could an adult do this? These Marines are not children and they can take care of themselves, but nevertheless I ask the left how can you be so hateful toward the people who have protected you from a terrorist attack for the last three years?