Would you have believed what you saw in the photos had you not seen them?

[NNN0LHI]

I would not have believed what I saw in the photos from just a written report.

Don

[benburch]

1. Fog of War

I would have chalked some of that up as propaganda. It all has such a "Pulp Fiction" aspect to it that I would have assumed that it must be at least partially a fabrication.

Some times, lately, I suspect that events are being scripted by a hack author...

[the Kelly Gang]

2. I always though it was probably worse..and it seems it is

[TahitiNut]

3. I don't know how a Vietnam Vet ...

... wouldn't know that people (including military personnel) can do these things, ESPECIALLY when the 'leadership' harangues the world almost daily about the "evil-doers" and "terrorists." Just how many troops haven't heard that they're "hated because of their freedoms"?

When there's rot and corruption in the command structure, going all the way to the top, then these abuses (and worse) happen. This is part of the rotten moral sewage of war. I saw more than my share of morally corrupt officers - wannabe John Insane Waynes. One of the primary duties of the command structure is constantly policing itself and ensuring that abuses aren't encouraged and don't occur. With a 'volunteer' military, it can only be worse. (In fact, it's even worse with the civilians who gravitate to a war zone.) All too often, inciting a mob and rabble-rousing techniques are used as substitutes for 'leadership.'

See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1547613