Antiwar.com Blog

War Criminal or Hero?

Former U.S. soldier Steven Dale GreenÂ was just sentenced to life in prisonÂ for his war crimes while “serving” in Iraq. It seems that Pfc. Green and three of his soldier friends went to the home of a 14-year-oldÂ Iraqi girl, killed her family, gang raped her, shot her in the face, and then set her body on fire.

This is absolutely horrible, and I don’t excuse it in any way. I think he should get the death penalty, as do many in Iraq. However, it should be said thatÂ if he had dropped a bomb fromÂ the stratosphere or launched a missile from afar he would be lauded as a hero. Why is it that, to many Americans, killing from five feet is viewed as an atrocity, but from five thousand feet it is considered to be a heroic act?

Yes, but what about the rape? Well, if torture is okay, then why should anyone have a problem with raping female Iraqis? Aren’t all Muslims terrorists? Hey, if it saves one American life then it must be okay. Right? That, unfortunately, is the attitude of many “conservative” Americans, including too many Christians.

“Mancow” Waterboarded

Radio host “Mancow” has apparently been defending the water torture. Perhaps those days are now over.

Preble, Hornberger: US Out of Afghanistan

Watch Christopher Preble (Cato) and Jacob Hornberger (Future of Freedom of Foundation) stand up for morality and truth in the face of Max “(Your) Blood and Guts” Boot and some other loser. Heroic. And overdue.

Face It, Progs: Obama’s a Dud

Rachel Maddow, on the other hand, appears to be a keeper. In the clip below, she explains how President Obama, principled opponent of prosecuting or even investigating past crimes, plans to lock people up for future crimes. Forever.

To be fair, that is literally progressive.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uuWVHT1WUY[/youtube]

Bring Your Daughter to War Day (humor)

I have to label this “humor” for people who either don’t get it or find it in bad taste. I have no taste, so here is a “news report” from The Onion:

Army Holds Annual ‘Bring Your Daughter To War’ Day

Deadly KBR Showers Came With $80M Bonuses

From Jeremy Scahill at The Nation today, a synopsis of explosive testimony before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee regarding contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root (former Halliburton subsidiary and by far the largest beneficiary of federal wartime funding, ever). According to the story, KBR received more than $80 million in bonuses for installing electrical writing in military facilities in Iraq — $30 million of that was paid after a soldier was killed by faulty wiring in one of the showers on base. According to Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J, 18 soldiers have perished under similar circumstances.

The take-home passage:

James Childs, a master electrician hired by the Army to review electrical work in Iraq during 2008, testified that KBR’s work in Iraq was the “most hazardous, worst quality work” he’d ever seen. He said his investigation found improper wiring in “every” building KBR wired in Iraq (of which there are thousands) and that KBR’s rewiring work in buildings that were previously safely wired resulted in the electrical system becoming unsafe. Childs said that KBR did not do any work “according to code.” He also testified that the same risks exist in Afghanistan, which he recently visited. “While doing inspections in Afghanistan, I found the exact same code violations,” Childs said.

For its part, KBR denies any culpability for the electrocution deaths.

Scahill quotes a former military official once in charge of such contracts, saying the bonuses were paid out of fear KBR would cease work, that they becameÂ “too big to fail.” That’s a big reason why hearings like these — as informative and cathartic they are — never result in any real action. Behemoths like KBRÂ have too many friends in Washington, andÂ have become utterly indispensable to Long War operations in the two-front theater.

The corporate war industry — first conceived by Republicans, long acquiesced to by Democrats — now full in its glory. These lawmakers, now twisted in frustration over electrocuted soldiers, have no one to blame but themselves.