Town rallies behind convicted soldier
After he's found guilty in the execution-style murder of 4 Iraqis, friends and family campaign for leniency.
Leahy and his unit were driving toward a village when they were fired upon. They were not sure where the shots were coming from, but discovered four men and followed them to a nearby house where they found weapons. They then captured the Iraqi men, blind folded them, and tied their hands behind their backs and were shot execution-style. It was questioned whether they should take the Iraqi men back to base; however, the soldiers thought there wouldn't be enough evidence to withhold them. Two weeks prior, two soldiers in their unit were killed by militiamen. Soldiers testified that an officer said these murders were a retaliation against the two soldiers killed.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-iraq-soldier30-2009jun30,0,2638861.story
In my opinion, this case is crap. Prosecutors have no idea what it is like to be in a foreign country, risking their lives every day. They don't know the feeling of adrenaline that pumps through a soldier's veins as he is being shot at. They do not understand the stress of a soldier as he has to not only protect himself, but everyone around him, and on top of that, abide by strict rules that make his job even harder. This type of thing happens all the time in war, but yet we can't do anything like it because it is so heinous and vulgar. How are these troops supposed to do their jobs while being tied on a leash allowing them to only "fight so much?"
Until these men who sit in an air-conditioned building with their expensive suits actually enlist and go out and fight, they have no right to judge a soldier's actions.
You seem to have a strong viewpoint. Your brother is in the marines right?
ReplyDeleteI half way agree with you. I don't agree with the prosecutor. These guys should not spend life in prison. I don't think they should be allowed to run around and kill whoever they want, but these guys should not be punished in a way they are being punished.
If their punishment is just severe enough to make the point not to do it again, and it shows other military personnel that it's not okay to do those things, that's the line that should be drawn.
You guys scare me. I don't understand how anyone could in any way condone the actions of Sgt Leahy and his men. In earlier times, in other wars, Leahy would be facing a firing squad.
ReplyDeleteJust because a person is wearing a uniform and is in a combat zone does not make him exempt from the basic rule of law. What Leahy and his men did was cold-blooded murder, no less barbaric than the video-taped executions perpetrated by al Quaeda and other terrorists.
What those men did dishonors all of us who wore or still wear the uniform.