However, you have to get your facts straight.

Vietnam was fought by a drafted army. The one thing we have learned about a drafted army is that too many folks often either freeze or go psycho-killer.

Some of the actions taken in Vietnam by our troops were less than honorable. Some sadists end up with Sgt. stripes and commit war crimes against civilians.

However in a war where civilians would lead you into an ambush or point you to a path where a minefield lay - the innocent and the guilty are quickly blurred into a common enemy.

The wedding party were firing weapons into the air. I'm pretty da-n sure that the pilots of that plane thought they were under attack by small arms fire. You want to paint them into some of the Vietnam-era civilian slaughterers who started to get kicks out of their tours of duty.

If they thought they were under attack - you act fast. You don't wait for a stinger to be launched and blow your heavy and slow plane into bits and pieces. They used their firepower in what they believed was self-defense.

That's war. It's horrible.

They probably feel bad enough as it is. A soldier is not a detective. They don't have the luxury of time to check out threats and find out who's the bad guys and who are the good guys.

It's a terrible incident - but does not meet the threshold of war crime. Unless you want to change your definition of war crime to apply to every soldier or pilot whose bullets or bombs killied a civilian.

That's a lot of war crimes.

Karzai is alive today because of the same fast response time of our special forces. Don't think - react. React the way you have been trained. You have to be faster and aim straighter than the terrorist aiming at you. If you have time to think you're probably dead.

As for the bulldozed troops all wanting to give up - that's a nice bit of fiction but it's not true. The republican guard did not give up. The second stringers - the ill trained civilians gave up in droves. They were also permitted too. Long before the war was won - US forces were accepting surrender from thousands of Iraqi troops.

Why should we let some folks surrender and bulldoze the rest? Clearly we either let folks surrender or we did not. Either we value Iraqi lives or we do not.

Anyone who wanted to give up, could - however if they were firing until the speeding bulldozers were within 10 yards and then raised there hands to surrender - well it was probably too late then. Yes, when folks realize they are losing and want to surrender - they shouldn't shoot.

Shooting at US warplanes is also very stupid. Unfortunately in these regions intellectual development has been stifled for so long that such common sense and consequences eludes many.

I wish I could help you alleviate your resentment for how you feel for having fought for your country when asked to.
While your intentions are noble - they are not applicable to the scenarios you mention. Find me a sadist cutting down unarmed women and children for the sport of it, or a tank commander who wanted to use some Iraqis white flag as target practice for his 120mm shell.

Then we will have a war crime.

You so badly want to believe that the government is overjoyed to create wars and slaughter innocent Iraqis, muslims or ethnic people in general that you fail to see the real picture.

Just like someone who worked alongside a corrupt cop - you now think all cops are on the take. It's just not true.

Noble intentions.

Wrong war.

SDAI-Tech1