A Point Worth Arguing?
This weekend's violence was some of the worst in the past six months in Iraq. More US soldiers were killed and a Shia militia went on a shooting rampage in a Sunni neighborhood. This morning a bomb in Baghdad claimed more lives.
On top of all this, the military has arrested yet another soldier in the rape/murder of an Iraqi family. Interestingly, it seems the military is very interested in the age of the girl allegedly raped and then shot by US forces. Her birth certificate says she was 14. However, some neighbors said she was 15 or perhaps closer to 20. The military is hot on the trail of this information. I can see why. It is one thing to be a rapist and a murderer. Quite another to be a rapist, murder and pedarest.
As George Will poinetd out a while ago, this is precisely where the hostile occupation of a country leads us. It is where Algeria led the French, India led the British and Vietnam led the United States. It is a place where hairs must be split in the face of catastrophe. A place where every new atrocity must be defended with increasingly attenuated arguments.
There are people who supported this war and continue to support it. There are people who voted for George Bush in 2004 because he would keep us safe. These people are businesspeople, parents, neighbors, boyfriends and girlfriends. Many of them will tell you they go to church each Sunday and proudly call themselves Christians. They are people right at the center of American life and they appear morally depraved.
On top of all this, the military has arrested yet another soldier in the rape/murder of an Iraqi family. Interestingly, it seems the military is very interested in the age of the girl allegedly raped and then shot by US forces. Her birth certificate says she was 14. However, some neighbors said she was 15 or perhaps closer to 20. The military is hot on the trail of this information. I can see why. It is one thing to be a rapist and a murderer. Quite another to be a rapist, murder and pedarest.
As George Will poinetd out a while ago, this is precisely where the hostile occupation of a country leads us. It is where Algeria led the French, India led the British and Vietnam led the United States. It is a place where hairs must be split in the face of catastrophe. A place where every new atrocity must be defended with increasingly attenuated arguments.
There are people who supported this war and continue to support it. There are people who voted for George Bush in 2004 because he would keep us safe. These people are businesspeople, parents, neighbors, boyfriends and girlfriends. Many of them will tell you they go to church each Sunday and proudly call themselves Christians. They are people right at the center of American life and they appear morally depraved.
posted by Jack Reed at 1:29 PM
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