I've taken a deep breath while reading through these posts. I won't flame anyone although it seems to me that a few here deserve it.

This is why I was worried many months ago that we (military personnel) would be tagged as the "enemy" by our own people. What has happened in Iraq is a tragedy of the first order. The soldiers involved need to be held to the highest standard and I think if you spend a few minutes perusing the Uniform Code of Military Conduct (to which we in the military are subject) and the Manual for Courts Martial (both of which are available on the web) you will see that both are rather draconic when compared to what passes for civil law in the US. These are war crimes and should be dealt with but it IS NOT U.S. MILITARY POLICY to behave in this manner.

This is another sympton of the failed policy of this administration. This follows the extremely high rate of suicides and desertion as indicators that something is severely wrong.

The reason that the US did not sign on to the international court was because their are so many members of the UN that could use it to tie up our military forces, resources, and $$$ for the sheer joy of just doing so.

We do not "dehumanize" the enemy anymore. Although it would make it easier to pull the trigger, it leads our personnel to believe they are somehow superior and that the enemy is just a foolish animal that is predictable in his behavior. Troops are taught to believe that the enemy is just as smart as they are so that they are less likely to be caught by surprise when the enemy does something unexpected. We are taught to shoot center mass (more likely to kill).
Shooting to wound or maim is against Geneva convention as well.

How will the whistle-blower be treated? Hopefully his identity will be protected by those in power so that he can get back to his/her job without exposure. It is part of the military culture to rely on your fellow soldiers to have your back. It would be a very poor military tha taught each soldier you're on your own, look out for number 1. Unfortunately this may lead some to believe that the whistle blower is a rat. These types are the types that can't look at the situation and see that it was just, necessary and required for the individual to come forth. They are not the majority.

The military is made up of the greatest cross section of the U.S. possible. The military is your friends, neighbors, or their children. Unfortunately it also has a few "jail or the military" types that we do our best to weed out. It has the same problems that any large community will have including rape, murder, drug abuse, etc.

I will pray for our troops, for the innocent and for a few souls here that seem to need some psychiatric intervention as well.