Monday, May 25, 2009

On This Memorial Day: Reflection on Iraq

Whether you agree or do not agree with a U.S. presence in Iraq, I want to honor the lives of U.S. soldiers who while serving in the military gave their lives. We won't forget your sacrifice to defend the world from a environment filled with oppression and terror.

I would also like to specifically honor those who have fought with honor. Even though some press would explicitly estimate that over 600,000 Iraqis died purportedly at the hands of coalition forces over the course of the last six years I would like to remind those harbingers of untruth that even now in 2009 the Haditha massacre remains unproven (Time magazine said of this event, "Human-rights activists say that if the accusations are true, the incident ranks as the worst case of deliberate killing of Iraqi civilians by U.S. service members since the war began." 15 people died horrible deaths.) Not to minimize, but if this is the worst case of deliberate killing in the entire Iraqi conflict while those who perpetrated it should be severely dealt with, it says something quite admirable about American soldiers at war. Like I said, who ever participated in that situation (if any US soldiers did) should be dealt with severely. But the fact that such attrocities are not happening says something about the quality of the people who are serving.

I don't know how Time magazine can say what it says while the Lancet survey claims so many violent deaths?

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