War Crimes TV

[Hugabear]

This past weekend, I was browsing through the channels, and I came across something on the Military Channel called "Alpha Company - an Iraq Diary". It looks like it basically follows a military unit as they go about their business in Iraq.

Within just a few minutes after tuning in, I witnessed them going into an Iraqi family's house in the middle of the night, telling them that they had to leave the house, that the Army was going to use it as their base of operations while they were in the area. They promised to repay them after the whole thing was over - but who is to say whether that ever actually happened? Regardless, an entire family was put out on the street simply for the convenience of the US Army. Later on, I witnessed the same unit going into an Iraqi town, and rounding up every single male of "fighting age", picking out those that they felt were "high value targets" and leading them away to await trial. I watched as they ziptied an elderly Iraqi man as a toddler stood crying just a few feet away.

And it made me wonder - if this is the sort of routine treatment that goes on while television production cameras are present, what kind of shit goes on routinely when there are no witnesses around?

[mike_c]

1. the war against Iraq is an ongoing criminal enterprise...

...being committed in our names, while we debate the politics that has risen around it like a foul cloud.