Comments on: “You Came Too Close, We Lit You Up” – The Lethal Warriors Come Home http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/ Firedoglake weblog Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:09:33 -0600 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: marg http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944660 marg Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:45:38 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944660 <p>These horrors are consistent with what I heard first-hand from a marine while he was in Iraq. Although I live 40 miles from Colorado Springs and teach the wives of many Army soldiers from Fort Carson, the base of the units in the Gazette’s story, this was from a Marine whose mother was in my class and who brought CDs to class that he sent her. He worked as a scout who went first into areas to be searched with his computer and reported back what he found, so he always had access to technology to record events and communicate with his family. </p> <p>I remember she said that before he enlisted, he was a quiet boy who loved bubble baths and wouldn’t have hurt a fly. Then he was trained to kill. One vivid video I saw showed his comrades gunning down civilians because they happened to try to cross the street, and “anyone who was out was of doors was suspected of being a terrorist.” The worst was what apparently repeated, or at least repeated, behavior when one of his buddies died. They’d make a display of his boots and then go out and kill any Iraqi they saw–several of them– to vent their rage at the death of their friend. If these pictures had been made public at the time, there would have been hell to pay. I was horrified and thought they should be, but they were not mine to publicize.</p> <p>He ended up doing two stints in Iraq. I doubt he’ll ever be the tender-hearted boy who took bubble baths again. So — the stories from the Colorado Springs Gazette do not surprise me at all.</p> These horrors are consistent with what I heard first-hand from a marine while he was in Iraq. Although I live 40 miles from Colorado Springs and teach the wives of many Army soldiers from Fort Carson, the base of the units in the Gazette’s story, this was from a Marine whose mother was in my class and who brought CDs to class that he sent her. He worked as a scout who went first into areas to be searched with his computer and reported back what he found, so he always had access to technology to record events and communicate with his family.

I remember she said that before he enlisted, he was a quiet boy who loved bubble baths and wouldn’t have hurt a fly. Then he was trained to kill. One vivid video I saw showed his comrades gunning down civilians because they happened to try to cross the street, and “anyone who was out was of doors was suspected of being a terrorist.” The worst was what apparently repeated, or at least repeated, behavior when one of his buddies died. They’d make a display of his boots and then go out and kill any Iraqi they saw–several of them– to vent their rage at the death of their friend. If these pictures had been made public at the time, there would have been hell to pay. I was horrified and thought they should be, but they were not mine to publicize.

He ended up doing two stints in Iraq. I doubt he’ll ever be the tender-hearted boy who took bubble baths again. So — the stories from the Colorado Springs Gazette do not surprise me at all.

]]> By: ThreshingMachine http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944659 ThreshingMachine Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:41:26 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944659 <p>Here’s another look at why troops come home f’d up.</p> <p>Torture photos you may not have seen. (warning: graphic, sorry if offensive)</p> <p><a href="http://csaction.org/TORTURE/TORTURE.html" rel="nofollow">http://csaction.org/TORTURE/TORTURE.html</a></p> Here’s another look at why troops come home f’d up.

Torture photos you may not have seen. (warning: graphic, sorry if offensive)

http://csaction.org/TORTURE/TORTURE.html

]]> By: ThreshingMachine http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944658 ThreshingMachine Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:38:32 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944658 <p>I don’t know why Maj. Gen. Mark Graham handed over command of Fort Carson last week. There’s a story there.</p> I don’t know why Maj. Gen. Mark Graham handed over command of Fort Carson last week. There’s a story there.

]]> By: ThreshingMachine http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944656 ThreshingMachine Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:50:16 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944656 <p>Thank you, Siun. I hope you didn’t stay up too late.</p> Thank you, Siun. I hope you didn’t stay up too late.

]]> By: Mary http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944655 Mary Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:29:35 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944655 <p>Way epu’d, but thanks for this post Siun.</p> Way epu’d, but thanks for this post Siun.

]]> By: hoipolloi http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944614 hoipolloi Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:21:10 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944614 <p>Did she say the commanding General was leaving Fort Carson as a result of being promoted?</p> Did she say the commanding General was leaving Fort Carson as a result of being promoted?

]]> By: ThingsComeUndone http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944527 ThingsComeUndone Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:18:10 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944527 <p>Siun repost in the morning the FDL vets need to weigh in on this civilians can’t.</p> Siun repost in the morning the FDL vets need to weigh in on this civilians can’t.

]]> By: Siun http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944522 Siun Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:25:06 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944522 <p>Thanks mls - I will take a look at that - sounds like it’s on the same wavelength.</p> Thanks mls – I will take a look at that – sounds like it’s on the same wavelength.

]]> By: mls78 http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944421 mls78 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:51:28 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944421 <p>I couldn’t find anything from Rolling Stone, but maybe this article from Counterpunch <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/smith02202007.html" rel="nofollow">Structured Cruelty</a> written by Sgt. Martin Smith, USMC, ret. is it. It speaks about how the military purposely worked out how to get recruits to kill since “humans are instinctively reluctant to kill”.</p> I couldn’t find anything from Rolling Stone, but maybe this article from Counterpunch Structured Cruelty written by Sgt. Martin Smith, USMC, ret. is it. It speaks about how the military purposely worked out how to get recruits to kill since “humans are instinctively reluctant to kill”.

]]> By: Siun http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944240 Siun Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:20:53 +0000 http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/27/you-came-too-close-we-lit-you-up-%e2%80%93-the-lethal-warriors-come-home/#comment-1944240 <p>annamissed - it’s always a special gift to have a link to your work. Thank you.</p> annamissed – it’s always a special gift to have a link to your work. Thank you.

]]>