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Wish he'd shot and killed the guy. Then it'd probably be a non-issue.

Absolutely. I know of two veterans who have told me stories a lot worse than this. One was a WWII vet who fought on the western front. He told me that, although we took a lot of German P.O.W.'s, the German with SS insignias they stood a pretty good chance of being taken into the woods and shot. Another guy was with Army Intel in Korea. He told me that they would get a bunch of North Koreans into a room. They would find the toughest guy and the one crying for his mama. They'd put a pistol to the tough guys head and start asking him questions. Usually the tough guy spit at them and blam, brain matter all over the wall. The guy crying for his mama would be asked next and he would tell you his hometown, his sisters name, his favorite color, where the troops were etc...

Both guys were honest as the day was long and both told me that the hollywood depiction of war was crap.

The sad thing is that the guys in Iraq are probably a lot less likely to push the envelope in getting the Iraqis to talk because they don't want to wind up like this poor guy.

The problem is, this guy got caught. Those guys did not.

I dont dispute your stories. I've heard them myself from uncles and even my dad. However, they knew it was wrong (against orders) when they were doing it. They also knew that no one was going to turn them in.

My guess (and its just a guess) is this guy was not well liked by those he was working with. My guess is that the other folks in the room have a lot more stories to tell. My guess is that this guy is not the guy some folks are portraying.

Barbaric treament of prisoners is not acceptable. It is against the rules. What THEY do to us is not the point. It is how we conduct ourselves. That is what makes US better than them, in my opinion. And yes, sometimes that costs lives.

And Yes, I have roomates, and classmates in that theater as I type. And it doesnt change my position at all.