Hearts & Minds of the Invader

Rue the day when your countrymen all vote for vets:

"There are no words to express my disgust at the video making the rounds today, of U.S. Marines apparently urinating on the dead bodies of the Taliban."

That's VoteVeteran Jon Soltz via AriannaOnLine®, speechless at the apparentness of it all. He does find words though:

"That's why I'm just as disgusted by right wingers like Pamela Gellar, who said, 'I love these Marines' and joked, 'Perhaps this is the infidel interpretation of the Islamic ritual of washing and preparing the body for burial.'"

You see, it's those right-wingers undermining the effort again.

"No matter what one thinks about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (and I have been plenty critical of them and how they've been waged), one indisputable fact is that most troops on the ground have tried their best to build the trust of the population. Believe me, it isn't easy."

Especially when you gotta go! Get it? It's a pun. If only everyone were indisputably critical. 'Cuz no good warrior...

"Understandably, Afghans and Iraqis looked at us pretty skeptically, if not outright as invaders."

Outright invaders? You don't say!

"Think this video isn't circulating in Afghanistan already? You think some young Afghan male who was on the fence about the insurgency won't be knocked off it?"

I can think of a few things that might disturb someone's balance in a war zone. Videos don't come immediately to mind.

"Trying these Marines, and laying down harsh punishment will be the next step in trying to prove to the people of Afghanistan that America, as a nation, is not represented by these Marines. There is no other choice."

Choice? No choice? Who the fuck is he talking to here?

"Those who would cheer on the disgusting actions of these Marines, only serve to compound the damage already done by them."

Oh. The right-wingers again.

No one will ever be able to get it into the thick skull of the do-good-war liberals (I never met a liberal who couldn't be eased into a few good wars) that without the killing fields, you got no pissing match. Circular justification aside, at least the "right-wingers" get that.