American Gappers

An Editorial I'm working on.

As an average person with your basic education and experiences I feel an overwhelming gap in explanation between the military and civilian worlds. For example “The Killings in Haditha” story on 60 minutes this past Sunday.

It is reported that 24 Iraqi civilians were killed needlessly by a 25 year old Sgt. Frank Wuterich and three others after a road side bomb killed a fellow soldier.

In the attempt to secure the area Wuterich admitted to shooting five Iraqi men in the back that refused to cooperate with their demands and were attempting to flee.

As your average American we may think this to be an outrage. Here in the U.S. by our laws it certainly would be. We would assume the men are leaving and are no longer a threat. That is not the case in Iraq. They most definitely could still be a threat and go on to kill many more innocent soldiers.

Iraq is not the U.S. and these soldiers are not policeman.

They are trained to do a job, one job. A job that if they take the time to discern the advantages and disadvantages of a situation (as policeman here at times can afford) their life and the lives of their men will be the ones taken while deciding. These soldiers are taught to recognize such circumstances and proceed with trained responses. That simple and that quick.

Those Iraqi men knew that if they did not comply with the U.S. troops what the consequences may entail. They too made choices that would affect lives.

These young men sent to war torn countries are under stress to become judge and jury. All they have and all they know is to survive the day with exactly what they have been instructed to do a million times over.

I feel we civilians are not given proper explanation and turn a blind eye to the differences of life here in the U.S. and life in a war zone.

While attending to their wounded Sgt. Wuterich and his men were subject to sniper fire. They tracked to the best of their ability the house in which the fire originated and as trained would proceed to “take” the house. In taking the house procedure is very different than what we would expect here at home. They do not stand outside with megaphones and ask them nicely to vacate. They do as trained and take it by force. Yes, there were civilian casualties. Yes, it’s awful.

Scott Pelley asked, now SSgt. Wuterich in the interview with 60 minutes was he sorry? What response was he expecting? When he replied that he would make the same decisions over again Mr. Pelley seemed to be appalled and said surely not, there are dead women and children. Wuterich stated that he was just doing his job and so were the men under his command.

I find it ridiculous to assume that such men have no remorse, no heart nor soul and do not feel for the human beings they deal with day to day. Dead or alive. The Sgt. so much as said so when he mentioned he did not want to sleep for the things he may dream.

I feel if you put a uniform on president bush and put him in the same predicament as these young men see everyday I guarantee he would do exactly what the men there before him instructed him to do in order to stay alive just as these honorable marines did.

We average Americans who don’t have the education and experiences to go by have no idea why the things we hear and see on the news and its programs happen and the decisions behind them. We fall into the gap of misinformation put into a format to lead us to believe things are as they seem based solely on our perspectives. The powers that be count on that very thing.

This is a travesty to our military forces to their families and ultimately U.S. citizens. We can not make informed decisions based on twisted facts. I have been lucky to know people who when asked direct questions give pointblank straightforward opinions and answers.

It is true that the men and women that serve our country in quandaries such as these do not come back the same people. They may look the same outwardly but inside it’s a whole different world just as it is in Iraq.

P.B.

Your average Joan

Author's Note

Would love some honest feedback.