US Soldiers Trade Iraqi Dead Photos for Porn (This can't be true, can it?)

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by sleepyjeff

Why is it awesome?

Why do people need to know about this?

In the end, what exactly are you hoping this story will accomplish?

It's awesome that the MSM is picking up on this story that started off as info on a blog. It's awesome that between Katrina and this, someone's teaching CNN reporters how to be journalists again.

People need to know about this so that they will not be so stunned when they realize that people aren't throwing roses at our feet in Iraq because of us doing sh!t like that over there. People need to know that we do things there that we accuse other countries of doing.

I'm hoping this story will accomplish wiping off those smug smiles off of those soldiers faces by having them brought to trial for what they did. Lyndie England isn't smiling so much these days. It's the same type thing in my opinion. This time it's gloating over someone that just died. That's just inhumane and moronic in my opinion.

An ostrich can bury its head and think everything's fine, but being in the dark is being in the dark.

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

It's awesome that the MSM is picking up on this story that started off as info on a blog. It's awesome that between Katrina and this, someone's teaching CNN reporters how to be journalists again.

People need to know about this so that they will not be so stunned when they realize that people aren't throwing roses at our feet in Iraq because of us doing sh!t like that over there. People need to know that we do things there that we accuse other countries of doing.

I'm hoping this story will accomplish wiping off those smug smiles off of those soldiers faces by having them brought to trial for what they did. Lyndie England isn't smiling so much these days. It's the same type thing in my opinion. This time it's gloating over someone that just died. That's just inhumane and moronic in my opinion.

An ostrich can bury its head and think everything's fine, but being in the dark is being in the dark.

1- Katrina happened after this was first "investigated"...I doubt if any major shift in the world of journalism has occured here much less an awesome one...but that's just my opinion.

2-Who would be stunned? Every leftist media outlet in the World has been reporting every conceivable little "atrocity" that the Americans have commited since this War began.......how on Earth is this one going to "soften" the blow? Including what these very few individuals did in the pronoun "We" sounds like an indictment of the entire US Armed services( or even our whole nation?)...I am sure this was just a mistake but would like clarification.

3-Putting thousands of US troops in harms way just to wipe off a few smiles(especially when one considers that these smiles can be wiped clean without the danger)??

Chicken little can scream and scream but the sky still ain't fallin---I don't know what that means but just trying to keep the theme flightless

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by Motorboat Cruiser

In my opinion, the actions are what damages the military image, not the reporting of them. No improper actions, no story. If a certain segment of the military doesn't want to be perceived in the way they are, they need to clean up their act. They can't be taking pictures of their prisoners on leashes, naked, and stacked up to the ceiling... or dead and trading them for porn.

You are shooting the messenger.

I agree but find me a group of 100,000+ individuals who act as saintly as would be required to escpape a agenda driven media?

If the messenger has a malicious agenda he deserves to be shot!

[Prudence]

Originally Posted by sleepyjeff

I agree but find me a group of 100,000+ individuals who act as saintly as would be required to escpape a agenda driven media?

You don't think that the photos described, presented in that context go beyond individuals not acting "saintly"? I don't consider it my place to micromanage the military. However, some actions are sufficiently egregious that I consider it my right and duty to object.

[Name]

Originally Posted by Prudence

You don't think that the photos described, presented in that context go beyond individuals not acting "saintly"? I don't consider it my place to micromanage the military. However, some actions are sufficiently egregious that I consider it my right and duty to object.

Agree, especially when it is the military that often times is the face of the United States and its citizens to everyone else.....

Not to shift this in another direction, but we can live in our own little isolated island for only so long. As much as it may suck, we live in a growingly more and more one world economy. What the rest of the world thinks of us as a society, can and will affect how it does business with us. And with the state of the amount of imports in relation to the amount of exports, well, we need all the good publicity we can get. A couple of bad eggs out there doing stupid things, is not good for our PR.

And back on the topic.....

Tis better for our media to report on this and make major news of it, thusly keeping the PR a bit better in control, then for them to have said nothing and have another countries media report on it, and have that country blow it farther out of proportion then our own media may or may not have. I think it is excellent PR for us to hear from our own sources firsthand and allow us as citizens to be outraged by the behaviour of our military peoples, so that the rest of the economic world may see that maybe they will want to do more business with us. Or do we like importing more then we export?

Or I could be entirely thinking way off tonight. But I like the argument, and I am sticking with it.

[Scrooge McSam]

Originally Posted by sleepyjeff

3-Putting thousands of US troops in harms way just to wipe off a few smiles(especially when one considers that these smiles can be wiped clean without the danger)??

Apparantly not.

Did you catch that story about the army cancelling the investigation into this mess?

The Army Criminal Investigation Command in Iraq conducted the preliminary inquiry within the past week but closed it after concluding no felony crime had been committed and failing to determine whether U.S. soldiers were responsible for the photos and whether they showed actual war dead, Army officials said.

LOL Couldn't determine whether U.S. soldiers were responsible for the photos and whether they showed actual war dead?

And we're supposed to trust these idiots? These are the minds that took us into this war. Truly stunning.

Perhaps they could ask the soldiers in the US army uniforms pointing at the dead bodies. THEIR NAMES ARE EMBLAZONED ACROSS THEIR CHESTS IF THAT MAKES IT ANY EASIER TO IDENTIFY THEM.

Oh, and after that, check with Lyndie England to see if people participating in this kind of ghoulish freak show are responsible for their actions.

But this is even more telling...

"We're not blowing this off," Curtin said. "If the Army thinks it's in its interest to investigate something, we will"

It's not in the best interest of the army to investigate. There it is.

Sleepy, your faith in the army to handle this appropriately is misplaced.

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by Name

Tis better for our media to report on this and make major news of it, thusly keeping the PR a bit better in control, then for them to have said nothing and have another countries media report on it, and have that country blow it farther out of proportion then our own media may or may not have. I think it is excellent PR for us to hear from our own sources firsthand and allow us as citizens to be outraged by the behaviour of our military peoples, so that the rest of the economic world may see that maybe they will want to do more business with us. Or do we like importing more then we export?

Or I could be entirely thinking way off tonight. But I like the argument, and I am sticking with it.

You know, I didn't consider this. Perhaps this would be the lesser of two evils. It's just that I see so much what can only be described as glee from the left* everytime something like this is reported.....to me this kinda proves that they are not after justice but something a little more political.

It's horrendous and disgusting what these inidviduals(I can't call them soldiers as they gave up that privilege) did and ultimately any thing negative that happens to our troops because of this should be laid at their feet but if these reporters were doing this story for anything less then just plain journalism then they too will share in the blame

*mostly leftist media not anyone here really.

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by Scrooge McSam

.

Sleepy, your faith in the army to handle this appropriately is misplaced.

Find me a police force of any city over 100,000 which has never mis-handled a single crime. They are there first and foremost to win a war....policing themselves, although important, is not nor should it be their primary concern.

[Scrooge McSam]

Originally Posted by sleepyjeff

Find me a police force of any city over 100,000 which has never mis-handled a single crime.

There's not one. That's why it is so important to have a free press.

Originally Posted by sleepyjeff

They are there first and foremost to win a war....

Yeah, a war that was never properly declared. Congress slinked under the table and sacrificed their responsibility, not to mention their collective balls, to give one man the power to drag us into this idiotic mess. Where is the declaration of war?

We are there first and foremost to prop up the political and ideological aspirations of a fool who was planning to invade Iraq before he was even (s)elected. This same fool (or "disgusting individual", if you prefer) told us he was bringing in Osama "dead or alive". Osama bin Laden is the guy who runs the organization responsible for 9/11, for those of us who haven't been paying attention. Months later after getting his stupid little war with Iraq he tells us that he just doesn't spend that much time thinking about Osama. Our president (and it would appear, half our population) doesn't spend much time THINKING, period!

We are there because some people can't tell the difference between Al Queda and Iraq. I swear the next person that tells me we're in Iraq because they attacked us is gonna get it right between the eyes. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!

We are there because we were lied to. And we'll be there until the people who supported this man and believed his lies about restoring honor to the White House stand up and call this man what he is... a lying warmongering fool who should be impeached immediately.

I won't be holding my breath.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by sleepyjeff

Including what these very few individuals did in the pronoun "We" sounds like an indictment of the entire US Armed services( or even our whole nation?)

They represent us when they are in uniform. They are "we" over there. They, the US soldiers, are torturing people in Abu Ghraib and beyond, yet we were supposed to be there liberating people. We don't have a leg to stand on when we are being hypocritical.

Look at the pictures. These soldiers act like their playing a video game or something.

I agree with that Turkish activist's reamark to Karen Hughes who is trying to improve the US reputation in the Middle East.

There is "no chance for America to make its image better … while the war in Iraq is still going on (and) people are dying every day,"...

She's right, Hughes is out of touch... The 5 week vacation cowboy (Bush) and his supporters are out of touch. Harsh as they may be, stories like these can put things into perspective.

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