If supporting the troops means supporting these yahoos

[WI_DEM]

who apparently have gotten carried away with war and killing innocent civilians, pregnant women and children then forget it. Of course they take their cue from the top with the kind of "Bring 'em in dead or alive" credo that Bushit spread around--the cowboy mentality from the biggest fricken coward ever to serve in the oval office. In the end he is the one responsible for their actions by putting them in this kind of situation.

[bryant69]

1. He is partly responsible

ANd they are partly responsible - This doesn't seem to have been a situation where "things happened fast and we made a terrible mistake" in which case almost all of the blame goes to those who put our soldiers in these impossible situations.

They apparently did this over several hours. It wasn't a mistake. So those soldiers who did this have to take a heaping helping of responsibility as well.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[JuniperLea]

2. We don't have enough information to make a judgment, imho

The troops are spread thin and are at the breaking point, if you want to believe Murtha and other generals with vast experience. This action could easily be a form of trauma. Bushie and Rummie and Condie and Cheney... the usual culprits.

[Waya]

3. Here lately.....

...it becomes harder and harder to support the troops. I have to remind myself on a daily basis that it isn't ALL the troops who do this. But it gets more and more difficult to separate the 'good' from the 'bad'.

This is what Bush has done. I don't fool myself into thinking that Bush cares one bit about how many civilians get killed - hell, he probably feels the more the better, children included (nits make lice, you know). It's only when it is uncovered, then he worries, not about the people, but what it will do to his rep, his poll numbers, his image, etc.
This is what happens when you put people into impossible, horrific situations (not excusing it by any means - those Marines should have the book thrown at them). This is the result of years of 'dehumanizing' the 'enemy'.

These aren't isolated incidents - I don't believe that for a minute - it seems to be more a matter of 'policy' on the part of the Bush Regime - until it is made public.

I hope Bush's God can forgive him and his henchmen - because nobody else can.........

[Stinky The Clown]

4. The same was true in Viet Nam ........

" ... it becomes harder and harder to support the troops."

War fucks with your mind. Team spirit in the military is a key to an effective action. A snapped mind will cause others to snap. Some really snap, others are predisposed to such action and do so under the cover of snapped mind. Every incident is different, yet each is the same. My Lai or Haditha. Very different yet exactly the same.

In all cases, it is also true that it is limited in scope to a very few.

When the war is seen as unjust or ill conceived - or based on lies - the 'snap' is more likely to occur. There will be more incidents that come to life.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. As a whole, I support the troops. Invariably, as in any other

profession, there will be some who break the rules and these I don't support. I can't imagine the pressure that these soldiers are under, but you cannot condone the killing of civilians as it appears happened in Haditha. If they are found guilty of the actions they are accused of, they must be punished, along with their superior officers who were responsible for them.