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He and the father may have an open relationship that allows them to talk about it, but I would bet that if the father had been raped he wouldn't want his son to ask him about it in front of 500 people.

The father's screwed up regardless. He defends the boy by saying all he was asking was a "fair, hardball question". WTF? Who does he think this POW is, some guy running for office?

Like father, like son. The son got his attention at assembly (I bet a bunch of his contemporaries snickered at the rape question); now dad is getting his attention via the media...can't ya just see Greta interviewing dad?

I have mixed feelings about this.

The question was in poor taste. If it was my son asking it, he would be punished.

However, the POW was speaking at what amounted to a public forum, and he opened the session up for questions. He should be prepared for insensitive questions from immature kids, and it looks like he handled it well.

One of the consequences of the War on Terror that doesn't get a lot of press is that there are a lot of young Americans getting a first hand look at Islam. A good chunk are not career military, being from the reserve and guard. They are the kind of people that are going to gravitate to leadership positions in society, and what they saw "over there" is going to be a powerful influence on how they act and think when it comes to dealing with militant Islam.

Should the reality of what they have seen be filtered when they are asked about it? That is a tough question. My father was a POW during WWII, and he told me that when he came home and was asked about what he had been through, an honest answer often met with disbelief, so for much of his life he kept silent.

My own experiences in OIF were tame, but if somebody asks me what I think of our enemies, I tell them in no uncertain terms.

The brutality of our current enemy knows few limits. I don't think that fact should be hidden or glossed over, but in this case I think respect for the dignity of the veteran should override the morbid curiosity of the kid asking the question.

In a general sense, however, I think we are not focused enough on how brutal and evil our enemies are. We castigate ourselves for mishandling the Quoran at Gitmo, they saw off heads and target children with suicide bombs.