On ZeroHedge this morning, one of the articles is about another leaked video from a military operation. This one is from Afghanistan, and it clearly shows a US soldier firing his shotgun at the driver of a civilian truck that is not a threat.
The videos are quickly being erased from YouTube, but another site has made copies of the damning few seconds. You can read about the incident and see more images and video here.
Supposedly, the military is investigating the incident, but I doubt much will be done as other past videos have demonstrated. If anything, the person leaking the video is punished, not the idiots doing stupid and unethical things within it. Obviously, these crimes need to be investigated, and appropriate action should be taken.
These crimes occur on a regular basis, and they seriously undermine the US military's reputation around the world. How can they argue that they are there defending individual liberty and the freedom of the Afghan people while shooting at and harming civilians on a regular basis?
The simple answer is that is not why the US military is there.
Incidents like these create more "terrorists" too. Every civilian casualty creates more and more resistance fighters. That's the objective too. It assures that the fighting will continue forever.
I'm reminded again of the Restrepo movie's scene where a captain orders a rocket attack on a village. No resistance fighters are killed--only women and children. Then the captain's unit is ambushed as it leaves.
They are shocked by the brutality of the counterattack, and one soldier's throat was cut with a knife. The enemy got that close. It was personal. Is there any wonder why? What would you do if someone blew up your loved ones? I know what I would do.
