but this statement is at best naive, and at worst seems strictly a self-centered view:
"They chose to be combative," Beiring said. "I am not convinced we broke any rules."
Every animal has a natural right of self-defense. When one is placed in a position where either death or the threat of death is perceived as imminent, survival instincts surface. These instincts are outside of the thought processes, that's why they're called instincts.
Of course they chose to be combative. Once jailed, the jailer has natural animal responsibilities to keep prisoners safe. The Geneva Conventions appear, to me at least, to address this adequately. That politicians spin and spin (making new anti-torture legislation) to makes it seem like the Geneva Conventions did not address the issue of torture.
Lower-level troops such as Beiring are being ground through the political meat grinder as those at the top refuse to take responsibility for at least their lack of oversight, and at most, their direct orders that were to be followed by those lower in the command chain.
With the break-the-law scandals in the White House and the routine money-laundering of the GOP congress, I feel confident in my understanding of precisely where those orders that troops such as Beiring followed, originate.