Mexican....If you'll take a good look, you'll see that was my point at the very outset of this thread. The blame is not with the soldiers or the crowd but with those who have put them in the position. These soldiers were on a razor's edge and used to the idea that some of their numbers had been killed by grenades and suicide bombers. The Iraqis were equally keyed up and wanting to be sure that the US got the message. Put yourself in either set of shoes, boots, sandals, or bare feet.

In one of our threads on VietNam I explained that I went to jail because I did not want to be put in such a position as I am not a pacifist. Then I wrote:

I'd also like to change the thought process a bit as some of us looked at the situation then and other situations too, not as something worth dying for, but was and is it something worth killing for? That was at the heart of my thinking then and still remains so today. I am not necessarily a pacifist, though I admire many. However, if you have a gun and I have a gun and we're trying to kill each other, rest assured I am going to do my damndest to kill you first. This is what young people are asked to do in any war. I came to the belief that there was nothing worth killing for about VietNam. Others came to a similar realization after they were there and hence the abundant cases of post traumatic stress. Others wars are different and each one must be decided by the people involved.....Is it worth killing for? If you are going to put me in the situation of killing someone else before they kill me, you better have a damn good reason so I can live with myself afterwards.

I think that still applies for Iraq as well.

Spaw