"There was a boy of about 12-years-old. He was no more than 20 metres
[65.6 ft] away when the Yank opened up. There were all these civilians around.
"He [the pilot] had absolutely no regard for human life.
I believe he was a cowboy. He'd just gone out on a jolly."
Replies: Talking
The American Army and the American public treat this whole thing as a game:they don't recognise human suffering unless the victims are of their own nationality. Myself and, I'm sure, the majority of the British public recognise that all of the American forces in Iraq are there "on a jolly". Members of the American military seem unable to comment on the situation without resorting to ridiculous Hollywood metaphors about 'Hammertime' and 'daggers pointed at the heart of the regime'. Do they not realise how ridiculous this makes them and their country sound to any educated mind? This is a serious situation which their childish comments serve only to trivialise. The American armed forces seem little more than boys with toys: people expect them to behave as professionals when most are just the sort of young men who tank up on beer before firing handguns in their backyards: little wonder we're seeing so many blue-on-blue incidents. It's all just a duckshoot to these boys: Iraqi civilians provide the perfect target practice and if the British get in the way, well hell, it's a war, Dammit!"
Posted by Will Dunhill @ 04/04/2003 09:23 AM EST
I hardly think than anyone, regardless of their nationality, from the coalition is 'going out on a jolly'; that's just sick. All of our boys, both on the ground and in the air, are over-worked and under-slept. It likely was poor-judgment as well. However, to insinuate that it was some sort of a 'cowboy' attack, a sort of reckless, unconscientious is quite a testimony of how one must feel about Americans rather than the pilot's actual intentions.
Posted by American @ 04/02/2003 11:11 AM EST
