We Need the Whole Story

The headline reads, "US Soldier Kills Unarmed Iraqi." Video footage is shown, where an Iraqi insurgent is covered with a blanket, and a soldier shoots them while they are laying down, defenseless.

Seems like a blatent murder when told that way. The showcasing of the brutality of American soldiers. The full story, paints a different picture, especially when you take the time to walk in a person's shoes.

You've been in battle attacking the city for days. Gunfire has been coming out of no where, as you fight your way deeper into the city, to restore order. The day before, you saw one of your friends get killed by a booby trapped body. Your shirt sleeve is stained with his, and others blood. You were lucky the day before. The bullet you took to your face was just a small wound. Two inches different, you would have been going home in a body bag, for a closed casket funeral.

Your group is taking heavy fire from a building, and after a break in the shooting, rush in to take it. While securing a room, you notice one of the bodies is breathing. The person is covered with a blanket. You aim your rifle at them, and call out that they appear to be breathing. After several yells, you see a twitch in the blanket over the body. You don't know if the person has a gun hidden under the blanket or not. Your reaction is to......

I don't think I would take the risk of getting shot in the situation. I think I would have done exactly what the soldier did. I would have shot them. It is war. People die in war. Its a side effect of a bunch of people shooting bullets, throwing grenades, stabbing, launching missles, and dropping bombs on each other. Any normal person would have done the same as that soldier.

I sure as hell hate this war. We shouldn't have invaded Iraq. I support my soldiers though. The media puts out crap like this one to try to make a name for themselves, at the expense of others. Now we have a huge scandel, over what is a natural reaction by someone in that situation. I'm just glad that they didn't release the soldiers name. He needs to be sent back stateside, and get some psychiatric therapy. I think his mind has taken all it can of the evils of war.