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The security of our troops is paramount. I would not trade a hundred thousand wounded terrorists for a single Marine, soldier, sailor, or airman. There is a time and a place for fine, high-minded sentiments. Combat isn't one of them. Life and death decisions are made in the blink of an eye. Choose wrong, and not just you die, but your squadmates die with you. That is the greatest fear of any troop, choosing wrong and getting your buddies blown up.

Your assesment of this situation is dead wrong. We can do everything right, perfect in every respect, and still be condemned for it. You advocate placating the very people who hate us, regardless of what we do, thereby putting the people on the sharp end in ever greater danger. Think about that before you spout off about conduct.

Your comprehension appears to only exceed your accuracy. I don't advocate anything. I certainly don't "placate" terrorists.

This Marine will be judged by his fellow Marines after a thorough investigation. That is the way it should be. Frankly, fellow Marines, with all the facts, will be in a far better position than you or me to Judge what happened here.

My point is -- we don't shoot wounded, unarmed, nonthreatening enemies. That's what separates us from them. If it turns out that the Marine was justified by some action about which we do not yet know -- that will be great.

One can certainly argue from his words that he perceived some threat.

I have not been in combat -- and it is not for me to judge his decision making. But I don't need to be in combat to say that we don't shoot people without a reason.

Of this I am sure -- an investigation is warranted. I hope it comes out well.

In the meantime -- as my original post indicated, this clip is being played around the world -- further undermining our troops, our reputation, and our moral standing. None of that is good.

In the end, if the facts justify the shooting, then screw what everyone thinks. But I am damn sure we here at Freerepublic can't make that call yet.

Semper fi