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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Re: 16 Civilians, Including 9 Children, Shot by American
Mine is leaving for #13 soon out of 10 years. That's no excuse.
I'm going to ETA here and not delete the rest because, hey, I said it. I reread this and now realize you weren't accusing the responders in this post of not caring about American service members, but rather Karzai, and I get that. I agree with you. I haven't liked Karzai really ever, and I don't think he cares when American service members die. So I'm tracking. I apologize for taking your post personally. Good old narcissism from me. I'm sorry. /ETA
Are you kidding me?! You don't think I'm angry and upset when American service members are killed? I was at a memorial service a week ago because one of the kids in that crash was one of H's. Much like you, I have had to wonder multiple times over the last year if this crash meant my husband was dead. I'm not saying my husband has a fancy job, he doesn't, but I know fear, and I know sensitivity. But there is a damn huge difference between a service member/American official in Afghanistan dying and a civilian (or multiple civilians). This is not who WE are supposed to be. It's exactly who I expect the Taliban to be. My husband volunteered to go, we prayed for him to get a deploying unit. I don't think any one of the 16 civilians killed prayed to be involved in war, and I don't think any of the children had volunteered.
I don't think it's fair to say that you're ashamed of people for wanting to turn him over. As I said earlier, I can't get on board with that, but I understand why people would. My H doesn't really work with the civilian population, but SF folks do, and regular infantry does. And my H is outside the wire on an almost daily basis, and gets stuck at super remote places sometimes, so I would like very much if the civilian population is as on our side as much as we can get them. The people calling for him to be turned over, I believe, are doing so for two reasons. One, because it's true that if this happened on our soil, we would prosecute him all by ourselves, and people would be circling the courthouse with pitch forks. Two, because they have the mission front and center in their minds. Turning him over would further our mission in Afghanistan. It simply would.
I can't get on board because I believe he would be tortured and killed, I don't think he would get a fair trial, and I agree that it would jeopardize every service member who fires a weapon (or not, really) in country, and I can't support that.
And now, I really think I need to step away from this post.
lol no worries
I changed my name
Why are we talking one BSC dude and assuming it's a statement on the entire military? We try hard not to do that with other people, other religions, other organizations.
It's a terrible, shiitty thing and we needs to look into this further to find out if his battle buddies and COC acted appropriately but we shouldn't be taking these things are representative of the military or America as a whole.
Who is this collective "we" you keep referencing? Of course this isn't who we are, just as 9/11 isn't who muslims are, Casey Anthony isn't who 20 year old mothers are, and Cujo isn't who pit bulls are.
Click me, click me!
Also, we shouldn't turn him over to the local justice system because we're talking about a nation that has no qualms about stoning a woman for burning dinner.
I think the best way would be to do the trial in Afghanistan, allow Afghani witnesses to participate in the process by giving testimony, and going from there. Let justice be served and don't allow ourselves reactionary and non-sensical responses.
The fact of the matter is that the overall picture in Aghanistan is fuuked. It's not as if this one event is what's screwing us over there. So handing him over isn't going to make one dent in our perception.
As for being on the Koran, as ridiculous as it is, we do have free speech and we can't compromise our values and rights as Americans just because some people choose to express those rights in ugly ways. See Westboro Baptist Church.
Click me, click me!
Wouldnt it be nice if the local population didn't decide to provide aid and comfort to the other side based on this sort of thing? Wouldn't it be nice if this crap wasn't recruitment fodder for the other side? But it is. This BS scares me precisely because this affects the mission. It's obtuse to think it doesn't.
Service members don't have free speech. I don't care what a jerky pastor does, but I do care what US troops do.
Now you're just being hyperbolic and putting words under my fingertips. There's a fine line between passionate and hysterical. Be careful you don't cross it.
Click me, click me!
Thanks for the advice.
No worries Stan. You're right, I am not accusing those in this thread, more like the general public, Karzai, and the gov't.