When Allen West spoke out in support of the marines who peed on corpses, and are now in a whole lotta trouble, he knew he would be misquoted, ridiculed, lied about, etc. At least I guess he had to know this, but he has a strong ethical core. I’m not really a Republican, but I know a genuine statement when I see it. I would need to research Allen West further to support him in any type of candidacy, because I’m not big on following the crowd. I like to know what I am getting into. But I DO KNOW THIS.
We all know about the marines who urinated on the corpses. We’ve seen the video. We are all appalled, and dammit, we wish someone had taught them better.
But wait. Maybe we did. THIS IS WAR, people. This isn’t your nice little senate seat, in your nice little oval office, with your nice, cute, young little administrative assistant. This is not high school. Acne and beastly children who bully are NOT the worst these marines will endure. Most of these kids probably had great parents, who taught them right from wrong. Some of them may have come from broken families, with no real strong, positive male role model. Some of them might have come from unfortunate circumstances, and joined the military as a way to pay for college, because there was no other way to do it. Some of them were hopelessly indoctrinated from boot camp.
We don’t know.
What we do know is this: they fucked up. Big time. Ever made a mistake? Aren’t you glad you weren’t videotaped doing it?
There are people shooting at these guys almost every day. They WATCH their buddies be blown to bits. They are pumped full of “the cause” they are fighting for, and we forget that they are HUMAN. That “the cause” is not even our cause; the war not our war. Not everybody is a politician, and remembers to ensure the videotape and the camera is turned off when we make mistakes.
The people they went there to “free” do not like them. That’s always a warm and fuzzy feeling, isn’t it? They KNOW what Osama Bin Laden did. They know what the Taliban did and still does.
They never KNOW what is going to blow up, literally, in their faces tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. Did you sit around your warm fire this year, and celebrate Christmas. They didn’t. They were AT WAR. A war that does not belong to us. But we have convinced them it does, and so they fight for “us.” They willingly put their lives on the line every day, and they are JUST KIDS, most of them.
You know, as well as I do, that young boys mature later. Did they make a HUGE mistake.? Damn straight. Is it appalling? Why yes it is. Should they be punished? Absolutely. But let the punishment fit the crime. Who is their leader, and where was he/she? (I know it’s a he. Just had to throw that in there.)
As for Allen West, he put it into perspective for all of us, as a former member of the armed services. And HUFF POST? You owe him a HUGE apology. You took his entire email out of context, and did not publish the most important parts of it. I have never boycotted a news zine in my life, but I might start now.
Please, protect your journalistic integrity. Get rid of this “unsigned” piece that is far from unbiased.
Rectify this situation.
Here is what Rep. Allen West, R-Fl, did say:
Tags: allen west, huffington post, marine incident, marines, punishment, shooting, shrapnel, urinating on corpses
