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[DY_nasty]

I don't get what these individuals think when they do this shit. Do they not realize doing this sort of stuff means that someone, somewhere else may face the consequences of a pissed off response?

It's sad that individuals that do this sort of thing make the armed forces get blasted.

I'm sorry, but if I stumble across the amazing ironic remains of the cell that is responsible for dozens of deaths within my unit and hundreds of civilians that have nothing to do with the fight, I'd hesitate to say that I'd act like a better man... just gonna be honest about that.

Besides, its not like they could hate us more anyways.

 

[Vilix]

I don't get what these individuals think when they do this shit. Do they not realize doing this sort of stuff means that someone, somewhere else may face the consequences of a pissed off response?

I'm not condoning what these soldiers did. But, someone, somewhere else will always be pissed off by something that someone else does, did, or didn't do, and will do something in retaliation. It's bullshit, but that's humanity. Fortunately, this act is the exception to how far civilized society has come.

 

[Lazy Jones]

Stupid thing to do but is it really that disrespectful considering they were suicide bombers?
I´d have more sympathy if they were civilians.

Although the reason there are sucide bombers there is because of a foreign power (USA) occupying their country.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Is it weird that I'm not as upset because its the remains of a suicide bomber?

No.

 

[Invisible_Insane]

We're asking for too much of these soldiers. It's certainly tasteless behavior, but I can't image having to spend all that time under those conditions, and at the same time being expected to maintain conventional ethics.

We really need to get the fuck out of there.

 

[TheNatural]

I'm sorry, but if I stumble across the amazing ironic remains of the cell that is responsible for dozens of deaths within my unit and hundreds of civilians that have nothing to do with the fight, I'd hesitate to say that I'd act like a better man... just gonna be honest about that.

Besides, its not like they could hate us more anyways.

So don't take a photo? I don't see why people take photos of the stupidest shit that can cause problems when it's easier to just NOT take one.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Not really upset about this. Fuck suicide bombers.

 

[Invisible_Insane]

So don't take a photo? I don't see why people take photos of the stupidest shit that can cause problems when it's easier to just NOT take one.

Spend a year being shot at in a FOB before you talk that talk.

 

[Kinyou]

US troops just can't stop having fun in Afghanistan.

I don't think any other army would behave any different.

German soldiers once posed with skulls in afghanistan, so yeah, it's just the whole fucked up war business.

But like the soldier said, those photos show a lack of leadership and discipline. So while nobody got hurt this time, who knows what stupid shit someone might do next.

 

[XenoRaven]

Is it just that service attracts these kind of guys or is something going on over there to warp people like this?

It's both. As mentioned before, a lot of people join the military because they have trouble fitting in anywhere else. Some people join out of sense of duty, some people join for benefits, but a good number join literally because they want to shoot people and blow things up. The other side of it though is that while these images may appear disgusting to us, these guys have killed people, have seen their buddies killed, and have been expected to be around dead bodies. When you're around that type of violence enough, I would imagine holding up a severed leg for a picture doesn't seem that gross to you. Add in the stresses of a combat area and the fact that we're dealing with guys that have lost friends to the type of tactics these suicide bombers employ and this sort of thing seems much less bizarre.

I really don't think it's about the training. Every bit of training I've ever received has drilled into me that you absolutely DO NOT do things like this. It's unfortunate, but war changes people. And if there's someone there that's already predisposed to this kind of behavior it makes for a bad combination.

 

[DY_nasty]

So don't take a photo? I don't see why people take photos of the stupidest shit that can cause problems when it's easier to just NOT take one.

Making a photo album of how I got through my trip to a hell hole might keep me sane(r) in the long run.

 

[Des0lar]

They shouldn't do it and yes it looks bad to other nations but I don't want to see anyone get seriously punished for not respecting the remains of a suicide bomber. They do not deserve our respect.

Do I really have to quote Gandhi?
"An-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye ... ends in making everybody blind."

The US needs to be a moral role model, not piss off more local population. Respecting the dead is one of the easiest way to appeal to the locals, because every culture does this in some way.

 

[EYEL1NER]

I think its the process that breaks them down and builds them up to be soldiers.

I can't see how it could be that at all.
The process of breaking them down and building them up is the whole point of Boot Camp and Basic Training. Since everyone goes through that, it seems like we would have a lot more fucked up servicemen and women with damaged psyche than we do.

 

[speculawyer]

Attacking a Pakistani border post, peeing on Taliban bodies, going on a rampage against civilians, and now this?

I almost get the feeling that the troops are trying to sabotage this mission. Just get it over with now. We are not helping.

 

[speculawyer]

but he isn't part of any enemy army, so it does not apply. Nor does it matter. Do you think these assholes who are blowing themselves up are going to factor in how we treat their dead into how they treat ours? Nah.

I guess that means it would be OK to torture them too, eh? Ooops, we already slid down the slippery slope.

If you become the animal that you are fighting then you have lost your war.


This war has become unwinnable at this point. Get out.

 

[mckmas8808]

Seriously?! WOW! That's bad.

 

[Dyno]

Attacking a Pakistani border post, peeing on Taliban bodies, going on a rampage against civilians, and now this?

I almost get the feeling that the troops are trying to sabotage this mission. Just get it over with now. We are not helping.

That's the thing. Even if this stupid photo op with body parts ("What did you do in the war daddy?") isn't offensive to you it's going to be very offensive to the Afghans, even if they are not Taliban supporters. It's just a dumb thing to do. It really works against your intrests and even your survival.

 

[Skeyser]

What worries me is that they have fun playing with dead bodies, that's a bit weird.

 

[OverHeat]

Who care the parts are from people who decided to die as weapon. Its only meat to me.

 

[ironichaos]

Do I really have to quote Gandhi?
"An-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye ... ends in making everybody blind."

The US needs to be a moral role model, not piss off more local population. Respecting the dead is one of the easiest way to appeal to the locals, because every culture does this in some way.

So true.

They attack the World Trade Center killing our friends, family, and loved ones.

We send in our guns and drones to bomb their villages, killing their friends, family and loved ones.

They retaliate by strapping bombs on their backs.

We retaliate with more guns and drones.

Round and round we go, where we stop....well, we don't, until someone takes the moral high ground. Unfortunately I think war is too profitable.

 

[alphaNoid]

Is it weird that I'm not as upset because its the remains of a suicide bomber?

Nope, I don't give a shit either.

 

[DY_nasty]

Do I really have to quote Gandhi?
"An-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye ... ends in making everybody blind."

The US needs to be a moral role model, not piss off more local population. Respecting the dead is one of the easiest way to appeal to the locals, because every culture does this in some way.

Moral role model?

You know these guys will happily give away ten fighters and twenty civilians to dent one stryker right? What kind of role model can you be when you got assholes putting bombs under wounded civilians waiting for red crescent to show up?

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

Have you been over there? Can you be sure they aren't?!

Whoa, talk about wagging the dog...

 

[Mr. B Natural]

Spend a year being shot at in a FOB before you talk that talk.

What does this have anything to do with being stupid and not being able to think 1 step ahead in the game of life or understanding your own damn mission's political and moral objectives? Or, are you implying getting shot at makes you stupid...cause I would argue the opposite.

Reality check: the criteria for getting in this oversized military is abysmal, and just about any idiot these days can be given a gun and ride the bored in the desert - overstimulus! - boredom - stimulus! - boredom - stimulus! roller coaster that is modern combat in a pseudo war.

You wanna see a teen do something dumb? Bore them and then watch them try to amuse themselves.

There are a lot of good people in the military, but they do their thing and then go home, many of them even better as people after doing their time. No news there. But this is not MIT, this is a military complex. This is 1% of the entire countries population and not the top 1% but any 1% they can recruit. Too many of these folks join the marines for the benefits. Too many of them don't have a choice, or so they think.

My good marine friend still tells me stories of his marines blasting holes into camels for live gun practice, playing "games" with live ammo, gas and other just horrible shit. Why did they do that? They were bored, they were kids, they were sexually frustrated and, too many of them, were morons with egos that they couldn't stroke. A lot of bad apples because this country will take any apple that wants to put on a suit.

I told my friend his experience in the war was a lot like the movie Jarhead, but he refuses to watch the film and I understand why.

 

[goomba]

Question. If the US was invaded and occupied by a far superior military force would you support American suicide bombers acting out of resistance ?.

 

[ironichaos]

I guess that means it would be OK to torture them too, eh? Ooops, we already slid down the slippery slope.

If you become the animal that you are fighting then you have lost your war.


This war has become unwinnable at this point. Get out.

Winning? What is the definition of winning? How can we win something when our leaders never gave a definition for winning. It's an endless war, like the war on drugs. It was never winnable. It's perpetual, no end. There will always be bad guys in the world. All we're doing in Afghanistan is manufacturing more, by killing their friends and family, enraging them to become the next generation of hatred. It needs to stop...but judging from most responses in this thread, people just don't care. So we continue the "war", now a decade later.

 

[DY_nasty]

Question. If the US was invaded and occupied by a far superior military force would you support American suicide bombers acting out of resistance ?.

Be sure to include the idea of blowing up shit that has no military importance just for the fuck of it.

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Looks like we're on a roll winning Afghani hearts and minds. Keep at it!

Couldn't find them, but they got the hands, head and legs

Bad, but eh. I suppose it helps them cope with the very traumatic things they see. Like police joking about crime scenes.

 

[Devolution]

But rape victims are the crazy ones.

 

[SpectreFire]

Somewhere, the 101st is laughing their asses off.

 

[Vilix]

Question. If the US was invaded and occupied by a far superior military force would you support American suicide bombers acting out of resistance ?.

Resistance like the French resistance against Nazi Germany? Nope. Resistance as in strapping a bomb to your back and discriminately killing more local civilians than they do the occupying force? Yes.

 

[Acheron]

Question. If the US was invaded and occupied by a far superior military force would you support American suicide bombers acting out of resistance ?.

Make sure to add that they seem more interested in killing other Americans from different ethnic and religious groups and the vast majority of damage and death is inflicted on fellow countrymen.

 

[TheNatural]

Spend a year being shot at in a FOB before you talk that talk.

I don't need to spend a year anywhere to know common sense, thanks though. Do silly shit, but don't record it or keep a record if it, how hard is that?

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

Is it weird that I'm not as upset because its the remains of a suicide bomber?

Me neither.

 

[Staccat0]

Resistance like the French resistance against Nazi Germany? Nope. Resistance as in strapping a bomb to your back and discriminately killing more local civilians than they do the occupying force? Yes.

I keep reading this, and I think you have it backwards.
I only mention it, because people in this thread seem really concerned with attacking analogies and semantics rather than having a discussion.

 

[TheNatural]

I keep reading this, and I think you have it backwards.
I only mention it, because people in this thread seem really concerned with attacking analogies and semantics rather than having a discussion.

You think that's only in this thread?

 

[squidyj]

its hard to tell troops to follow the geneva convention when they're the only ones even attempting to respect it

its really hard to tell troops to respect an enemy that has no problem slapping a bomb to a pregnant woman

So I guess the only time to worry about following it is when it's easy to do so?

 

[Always-honest]

war is disgusting. These soldiers are probably scarred for life.

 

[Gattsu25]

Is it weird that I'm not as upset because its the remains of a suicide bomber?

I'm having trouble giving a fuck about the remains of a suicide bomber. Fuck suicide bombers.

I'm more disgusted that anyone would pose with rotting flesh, in the first place.

 

[Tragicomedy]

I was deployed to Afghanistan when the original Afghan "kill team" story broke in Der Spiegel early 2011. What a tragic, terrible mess.

The irony of everything, if you want to call it that, is that there was very limited response from the Taliban and the local population to that news story. We were prepping for chaos and it never came. It wasn't like the story was neglected by the news or anything, it just didn't cause any significant backlash. The same thing happened more recently when that soldier went rogue and killed a bunch of innocent civilians. Very limited backlash inside Afghanistan.

Conversely, when pastor Terry Jones said he had burned the Quran there were mass riots all over Kandahar, Mazar e Sharif, and Kabul. Hell, people overwhelmed a NATO compound up in MES and killed multiple ISAF personnel, including two women.

Dead Afghan civilians: little outcry, no action.
Burned book: mass violent demonstrations, killings.

Priorities, man. Priorities.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Question. If the US was invaded and occupied by a far superior military force would you support American suicide bombers acting out of resistance ?.

Yeah because Americans would embark on a campaign to terrorize its population and prevent girls from going to school.

 

[crazy monkey]

Yeah because Americans would embark on a campaign to terrorize its population and prevent girls from going to school.

that was not the question.

 

[Dominican Power]

Y'all do know that these "suicide bombers" are considered martyrs by their ilk right? They celebrate them. They may not might mean shit to you or I, but to them they do.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

that was not the question.

It renders the question moot, sinces it an invalid comparison.

 

[Gattsu25]

Y'all do know that these "suicide bombers" are considered martyrs by their ilk right? They celebrate them. They may not might mean shit to you or I, but to them they do.

Not everyone there approves of the bombers and almost no one here does. Hard to drum up sympathy.

 

[Sky Chief]

Who cares?

 

[goomba]

Yeah because Americans would embark on a campaign to terrorize its population and prevent girls from going to school.

I'm pretty sure most Afghan's feel more terrorised by the occupying force than they do the resistance to the occupying force.

 

[theignoramus]

I wouldnt want to have a beer with anyone who posed with mutilated corpses, suicide bomber or not.

 

[Vilix]

I'm pretty sure most Afghan's feel more terrorised by the occupying force than they do the resistance to the occupying force.

I'm pretty sure Afghans feel quite terrorized by both.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

I'm pretty sure most Afghan's feel more terrorised by the occupying force than they do the resistance to the occupying force.

That's mostly from your Anti American worldview.