This will be a quick diary as I'm at work and sneaking it in. But I didn't see any diaries on this yet and thought everyone should be aware.
See below.
Yesterday I was making breakfast while watching Fareed's GPS, since my hands were busy (I cannot stand anything on CNN besides Fareed as they are definitely faux lite) I didn't change the channel immediately as I usually would.
Then I see Candy Crowley interviewing Rick Perry. It pains me to have to write the caps in their names, but that was drummed into me at an early age.
I really wasn't paying attention to the blah, blah, blah from Perry, until the end of the interview when we sat down to breakfast.
She finishes with asking him about the horrendous picture of the soldiers defiling the Taliban body.
He actually said, it was terrible, but you know, "these are 18, 19, 20year old kids and they shouldnt be held responsible because it's war" Not his exact words, but to that effect. Said Patton and Churchhill did it. Also threw in a : This administration shouldn't have denounced the soldiers the way they did and they don't support the troops line.
To her credit, Crowley asked again if it wasn't something that shouldn't have happened and he said it again. And again he defended it.
Now I'm a veteran. I didn't stay in the Army too long. I was stationed in Frankfurt during the first Gulf war and I was removed from my cushy job in a comm center and put out on guard duty when all our MP brigades were deployed. In the middle of winter no less. I had friends who were deployed and came back. And I have to say, there is no way that this behaviour should be sanctioned. There obviously was a culture that was cultivated that allowed these soldiers to think this behaviour was ok and that's why they did it.
But to have someone who is running to be the Commander In Chief of this country, sanctioning an action that will obviously bring massive backlash by extremists in the Middle East against us and excusing it as kids being kids is ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY STUPID. As a former member of the Armed Forces he should know this and if he's to stupid to understand the consequenses of these soldier's actions, then he's not to be taken seriously by ANYONE. Left or right.
If anyone can find the video and upload it, please do with my thanks.
Diane