Imagine being followed around every second of every day by a guy with a rifle pointed at your head. Now imagine that this guy hates you, blames you for the death of his children, and believes with this whole heart that you are an agent of satan himself. Imagine that this guy was constantly saying how much he is going to enjoy killing you, and that he is going to kill you any minute.
How long could you put up with that? If you knew with 100% certainty that the guy would kill you, how long could you remain in a normal state of mind? The man is in a bubble. You cannot hurt him, chase him off, or strike back at him. How do you remain sane? How do you react to the knowledge that the guys buddies are actually pulling the trigger on YOUR buddies every day? Are you honestly saying that it wouldn't affect you?
I have both family and friends in Iraq, and I've had this conversation with them several times. The looks on their faces when they really start describing what it's actually like on the ground is downright creepy.
Our budget for this war needs to include a LOT of funds to help some of our soldiers get back to normal after this war ends. Some people deal with stress better than others, but I'm quite sure that a lot of our soldiers are going to come home with serious issues that need to be worked out.
OK, and your point is? (See comments on post #)
How long could you put up with that? If you knew with 100% certainty that the guy would kill you, how long could you remain in a normal state of mind? The man is in a bubble. You cannot hurt him, chase him off, or strike back at him. How do you remain sane? How do you react to the knowledge that the guys buddies are actually pulling the trigger on YOUR buddies every day? Are you honestly saying that it wouldn't affect you?
Actually, no I won't say it wouldn't affect me. Being on deployments affects anybody. Being under the threat of terrorism affects anybody. Being at risk affects anybody. But there is a difference between "affecting" me and committing gang rape and murder. Sorry, I don't see that as an excuse.
I have both family and friends in Iraq, and I've had this conversation with them several times. The looks on their faces when they really start describing what it's actually like on the ground is downright creepy.
I can imagine it is. Why don't you ask those family and friends if the stress they've gone through would justify murder and rape? Or perhaps just a little pillaging?
Our budget for this war needs to include a LOT of funds to help some of our soldiers get back to normal after this war ends. Some people deal with stress better than others, but I'm quite sure that a lot of our soldiers are going to come home with serious issues that need to be worked out.
I will agree with you that the servicemen coming back will definitely need to have some assistance. The decompression period is really tough. From my past experience, the highest period of spousal and child abuse from troops in my units was within about six months after return from a deployment. I'm sure this one will even be worse.
Having said that, please keep in mind I AM NOT DENIGRATING ANY SOLIDER OVER THERE. I am denigrating using combat stress as an excuse to justify rape and murder. I do not regret posting the crybaby...because it represents a typical liberal psychobabble trick to try to blame something else as justification for criminal behavior.
Rationalizing the behavior of the (if found guilty) scum that perpetrated this crime devalues the professionalism of the other 139,996 troops that are serving their country honorably. Allowing these (if found guilty) scum to use some psychobabble excuse to justify their (if found guilty) criminal behavior sends a message to the rest of the troops that they don't really need to be as professional as they have been...because they won't be held to account.