"my son's not violent"If you recall, the latest US soldier (Sgt. Russell, on his 3rd sunny tour of Iraq), number 3 675, to lose his marbles, went to his barracks, grabbed a gun and killed 5 other soldiers. Okay. That seems very easy in a barracks at war. There are weapons everywhere, soldiers are trained to use them, and they're under stress to stay on the
top 10 kills score sheet.
Today: add 5 friendlies for the sarge
If this were to happen down your street, the perp would be considered violent by his own granny. But, in a war, things are different. Nevertheless, and here's the punchline, the soldier's dad said:
"my son's not violent"
Reality check:
Dear Soldier's Dad, I'd like to ask some questions if I may:
1. Did your son sign up for the army? You know, that employer with all the military hardware...press a button- obliterate a city...the one that teaches you how, when and where (but not why) to kill people...the one suffering under the military industrial complex?
2. Did he or did he not kill dozens if not hundreds of Iraqis?
3. Do those Iraqis count as people to you, or are they ALL just non-human 'terrists' and 'towel-heads' to you?
4. Would you like to reconsider your comment above?
-Costick67 ( 8^P
Struth!
if you doubt, checkitout: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090513/ap_on_re_us/us_iraq_shooting_suspect
[there's a wonderful quote about soldiers being 'broken']
By SCHUYLER DIXON, Associated Press Writer Schuyler Dixon, Associated Press Writer – Wed May 13, 12:14 am ET
SHERMAN, Texas – The Army sergeant accused of killing five fellow soldiers in Iraq was typically not a violent person, but counselors "broke" him before the gunfire erupted in a military stress center, his father said Tuesday. Wilburn Russell, 73, told reporters that his son, Sgt. John M. Russell, was treated poorly at the stress center and had e-mailed his wife calling two recent days the worst in his life.
"I hate what that boy did," said the elder Russell, speaking in front of the two-story suburban home his son is buying with his wife. "He thought it was justified. That's never a solution."
The 44-year-old soldier has been charged with murder and aggravated assault in the Baghdad slayings Monday, which his father said came just weeks before the end of his third tour of duty in Iraq.
His father said the younger Russell, an electronics technician, was at the stress center to transition out of active duty. He said his son was undergoing stressful mental tests that he didn't understand were merely tests, "so they broke him."
"His life was over as far as he was concerned. He lived for the military," the elder Russell said. "We're sorry for the families, too. It shouldn't have happened."
The soldier's son, John M. Russell II, said Tuesday that he has communicated with his father by e-mail regularly. In the last message he received from him, on April 25, his father sounded normal and planned to be back in Texas to visit in July.
"He's not a violent person," he said. "For this to happen, it had to be something going on that the Army's not telling us about."
[there's a wonderful quote about soldiers being 'broken']
By SCHUYLER DIXON, Associated Press Writer Schuyler Dixon, Associated Press Writer – Wed May 13, 12:14 am ET
SHERMAN, Texas – The Army sergeant accused of killing five fellow soldiers in Iraq was typically not a violent person, but counselors "broke" him before the gunfire erupted in a military stress center, his father said Tuesday. Wilburn Russell, 73, told reporters that his son, Sgt. John M. Russell, was treated poorly at the stress center and had e-mailed his wife calling two recent days the worst in his life.
"I hate what that boy did," said the elder Russell, speaking in front of the two-story suburban home his son is buying with his wife. "He thought it was justified. That's never a solution."
The 44-year-old soldier has been charged with murder and aggravated assault in the Baghdad slayings Monday, which his father said came just weeks before the end of his third tour of duty in Iraq.
His father said the younger Russell, an electronics technician, was at the stress center to transition out of active duty. He said his son was undergoing stressful mental tests that he didn't understand were merely tests, "so they broke him."
"His life was over as far as he was concerned. He lived for the military," the elder Russell said. "We're sorry for the families, too. It shouldn't have happened."
The soldier's son, John M. Russell II, said Tuesday that he has communicated with his father by e-mail regularly. In the last message he received from him, on April 25, his father sounded normal and planned to be back in Texas to visit in July.
"He's not a violent person," he said. "For this to happen, it had to be something going on that the Army's not telling us about."
pic from fotosearch.com
