Out of the blue

Listen to Out of the blue

Did that massacre of Afghan civilians come out of nowhere?

In the Independent of London, columnist Robert Fisk — and he has been a relentless critic of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, just so you know — Fisk points out that the massacre that led to the arrest of Sergeant Robert Bales might not have been out of the blue.

He reminds us that last month, rioters killed two US soldiers in reaction to the Koran burnings and American troops were angry about it. Angry enough that General John Allen, who commands the international force, went into the field to deliver a stern message (February 20, 2012):

“Now is not the time for revenge. Now is not the time for vengeance. Now is the time to look deep inside your souls, remember your mission, remember your discipline, remember who you are, and come through this together as a unit.”

He must have known his troops were seething, otherwise, why would he show up in person to say that?

Last week, when I talked to Bales’ attorney, John Henry Browne, I asked him:

“Any American soldier could have snapped in this way?”

“Well, certainly I think that’s probably true.” -Browne

But that’s the last message we want to send to the Afghans, so let’s hope it turns out that some war-induced mental illness was to blame.

Although, that might raise a moral dilemma. Because if Robert Bales is deranged due to a war-induced mental illness and he gets treatment instead of punishment, then how do we treat Taliban fighters who attack civilians? There are Taliban who’ve known nothing but war all their lives. Should we be fighting them or counseling them? When’s that withdrawal date again?

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