Strategypage writes about a clear case of the American military being found guilty of "Fighting While American:"
The commander of an American helicopter gunship unit whose troops were pilloried in the media in 2010 for “murdering civilians” has now (since he is retired) gone public with his side of this story. The retired commander pointed out that the U.S. Army did conduct an investigation and cleared any of the helicopter crews of any crimes. ...
The mass media generally went along with the "it was murder" line, while more knowledgeable journalists and military personnel pointed out the fact that this was a legitimate combat operation, and that the journalists (who were not in the employ of the terrorists) were being very foolish to accompany armed terrorists on a combat mission.
I asked years ago how our troops could fight under a microscope when their every action in the heat of battle could be scrutinized even years later?
With everything digital, Snowden and Wikileaks shows how easily information acquired could be publicized.
Our troops fight very clean. They put to shame the "Greatest Generation" who fought World War II and committed many crimes during fighting the war that would have been war crimes had we lost.
The scale of enemy (and Soviet) atrocities was far greater than anything our troops did (and our cause was so much better), but in today's world, we'd be horrified at what our grandfathers did. They can be grateful that technology, the press, and expectations were far different than today.
I hope our military treats this information seriously and keeps it close to the chest. Our troops (and the people they help by fighting) deserve that protection.
