May 19, 2004

Don't Do That

Apparently, one of our military helicopter pilots mistakenly shotup an Iraqi Wedding Reception. Now, I'm not condoning the killings, but someone needs to explain why this keeps happening. Iraqis know there's a war going on, right? I mean, they must have occasionally noticed the 150,000 troops walking around, right? They might have even seen reports of the same thing happening in Afghanistan. So ya gotta think they'd realize firing weapons into the air isn't the best idea.

Now I know what you're going to say, it's their custom and we should respect it. Screw that. That's the same argument as stepping in front of a moving bus just b/c you're in a crosswalk. Actually, it's even worse than that argument, but in either case, even if you are right, you're still dead.

When you think about it, there's only 2 ways to avoid this problem. Iraqis can stop firing rifles after wedding ceremonies, or you can tell U.S. troops to hesitate when taking fire until they can confirm it's not a celebration. Out of the two choices, only the former won't end up getting our troops killed.

I'll go so far as to say the pilot isn't to blame at all. In fact, if I was in charge, I'd order pilots to shoot people celebrating until they learn.

All this leads to my next question: Why are there so many weapons in Iraq anyway?

Did everyone in Iraq own an M-16 before the war, or did they hand them out when the war started? Maybe they just raided stock piles after the country fell into chaos, who knows? If everyone did own a small arsenal before, how could Saddam remain in power?

Ok, I'm sure everyone reading this will send me hate mail for lack of sensitivity (For a grand total of 3 emails!). [14:14]

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