Should we release the photos of the crime scene of the 5 soldiers

[Political Tiger]

killed by the other soldier the other day? Should we show the dead bodies of the 5 soldiers? The main argument I am seeing regarding the release of the abuse pictures is "we have a right to see them." How is this any different? It was done by a US solider whose superiors knew was troubled, and the crime was committed on a US base with a weapon supplied by the US government.

Soldier used other soldier's gun in attack

BAGHDAD, May 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. soldier charged with killing five soldiers at a stress clinic in Iraq apparently used a gun he took from another soldier, a military official said.

After wresting the weapon from the other trooper, Army Sgt. John M. Russell allegedly stole a military vehicle and drove to the clinic at Camp Liberty where he had been in a fight hours before, CNN reported Wednesday.

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. David Perkins, during a briefing in Baghdad Tuesday, said Russell also was charged with one count of aggravated assault after the shooting on the military base near Baghdad's international airport.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/13/Soldier-used-other-soldiers-gun-in-attack/UPI-66511242237542/

[bunnies]

1. Yep.

Show the effects of PTSD. Fine by me.

[mikelgb]

2. I don't have photos of that, but you and whoever else 'we' includes should definitely release them.

[Justitia]

3. Did he commit the crime as part of his duty? Part of following orders?

I hardly think this is a valid argument.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Yes. Showing the horrors of war is one way of stopping it.

Those soldiers were victims of war as surely as the countless dead Iraqis were.

[Marr]

5. You seem to be going out of your way to misunderstand this.

Surely you can see the difference between one man on a murder spree and a government-run torture program.

[dgibby]

7. I think you've nailed it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5647397

[Political Tiger]

11. I understand perfectly.

The argument being made is "we have a right to know" and/or "this was done in our name."

Well, as another person pointed out, they should be released to show the effects of PTSD. By all accounts that's what caused this. It wasn't a simple "murder spree" by an action caused by our government sending these soldiers into horrible combat situations for three to four tours of duties with little or no time off.

One could even make the argument that by treating our soldiers this way is akin to a "government-run torture program."

So let's see the effects of what happens when we push our soldiers to the limit. After all, "we have a right to know." Right?

[Marr]

15. You're stretching. A lot.

Some people are making the argument you describe about "having a right to know", and while they have a point, it's not the most compelling reason for releasing these photos. I think you know that, and I think that's why you've chosen to pretend it's the major rational being put forth.

The reason I want these photos released is that without pressure, there will be no accounting for the people in our government who broke the law. These photos will build the political will for tackling this vitally important task.

[lamp_shade]

6. NO!!!

[Oregone]

8. No, this will only enrage murder victims against murderers!

[Diclotican]

9. Political Tiger

Political Tiger

Yes, all the pictures should be known for most people have no clue what war is and what it does on the ground.. We are grown up with the "phantom pictures" from 10.000ft high.. But the reality on the ground... Never... Or very seldom..

That was the one of the reasons that the peace are been kept in most parts of europe for the last 60 year or so.. Because so many people was killed, and so many people who survived experienced firsthand what war was and what it could do to humans... Even that that generation is beginning to fade away now, most people in Europe tend to have a grudge against war in general.. If not we know it, we know a familiymember who experienced the whole thing..

And if americans really understand what war was, then US might stop using war as their first tool in the box.. It is always a hope that even US can recognize that war kills peopole... And are no Computer game..

Diclotican

[John Q. Citizen]

10. Yes, they are part of the public record and if someone wanted to sue for there release they

could.

Or we could decide we want to be like China or N. Korea and not have a right to see them. You know, the government could decide for us.

Which would you prefer?

[Mari333]

12. yes. show what war does. people need to see more then the sanitized version nt

[bigwillq]

13. Yes (nt)

[Uncle Joe]

14. There is a difference, this soldier will be prosecuted and it doesn't take national political will

to make the point of doing so.

However the previous mal-administration is using politics as a method for arguiing not to prosecute the powers; that drafted, legalized, and promoted the use of torture; the very instrument which produced the false witness as a means to wage the war based on lies that ultimately led to a multitude of atrocities including this particular soldier's meltdown.

In short, had Cheney/Bush not used torture to falsify reasons for going to war with a nation; that had nothing to do with 9/11 or Al Qaeda, those five murdered soldiers would probably be alive today.