As a soldier on my second combat tour in Iraq I can tell you there's no happiness in the killing of an enemy. The happiness comes from surviving the encounter. The happiness comes from knowing that particular enemy won't threaten anyone again. There's also an incredible adrenaline rush during a firefight, which is almost euphoric..unless you happen to be getting shelled.

Anyway unless you've experienced it the General's words probably won't make much sense. And to "American Waster", you know exactly where we are. If you have some desire to square off against us get in line and you'll be dealt with.

No, seriously, you guys need it bad.

"Yes, wifebeaters are fair game in the USA, especially to the relatives of the wife, and almost always if the relatives are in the military."

"I’m mystified that you would have a problem with that. Or are you telling us more about yourself than you realize?"

and

"I should hope that wife-beaters of any stripe/origin would be fair game."

Unfortunately, a typical American over-reaction. The General and I said "slap" which you turned to "beat" which then quickly ramped up the suitable punishment to "shooting". This is what the justice system would call a "disproportionate response".

"Yes, it is funny to demean the enemies one wishes to defeat."

Using psychological methods on the "enemy" is one thing but thinking that it is "funny" to kill anyone is very troubling.

To Boyd:

"it makes perfect sense to me that a Marine would enjoy killing the Taliban. In fact, if he doesn’t he’s probably in the wrong job."

One would expect soldiers to be competent at their jobs, especially when its a "kill or be killed" scenario but for someone to enjoy killing another human being (for any reason) indicates to me that they are 'one sick puppy' and I, for one, would not feel comfortable sharing my community with such a person when they return home from their "job".

to Lurking Observer:

"Jayson Blair, Jack Kelley, Eason Jordan (about forgetting to mention that CNN was paying Saddam Hussein), CBS’ Memogate, Eason Jordan (about the US targeting journalists), and you believe that what journalists write is nonetheless almost always true?"

What percentage of all reporters/reports do they represent? .001? That's why I used the word "almost".

(Wife-beaters the scumbag semi-humans, not wife-beaters the garments, which are generally fine things for husbands to wear, particularly in black/gray.)

I was hoping that was the case. Just couldn't see where it was pointed.

Sorry for the confusion.

RWD, one thing you'll discover around here is, you never need to give any of us a case of confusion. We come in already well supplied. ;-)

And when it comes to "think it, but don't say it," all I can say is ptui! War is a dirty business. Military folks exist to kill the enemy. Better that they enjoy that job, and that those they serve and protect allow them to enjoy it.

Heavy Sarcasm button turned to on.

Sorry for the confusion.

Taking an isolation quote out of context and blowing it out of proportion is ignorant. Try reading up on Mattis' guidance to his men. Then tell me he's a "bad man".

Or try reading my post on the subject. And I'm not link whoring - this is important - people should know the truth on this issue and the media will never bother to present a balanced picture even though 5 minutes on Google would yield all the material they'd need.

Sad, really. So much for fairness.