March 15, 2005 - 6:55 PM EST

Hi Tim - you have a very interesting Blog!

That incident you recount is quite awful! The young lad may not even have know what the word meant and, even if he did, beating him will have probably turned him into an 'infidel hater' and may have even set him on the path of becoming a future terrorist. Thank God for people like the Major. Even if we think the Corporal should have been made to go back and apologise, it probably wouldn't do any good. The Commander should instruct the men in appropriate behaviour before sending them out on so-called 'PR missions'.

P.S. I tried to leave a comment on 3rd March (to your post of 2nd) but Tripod had a major 'Maintenance Update' which left a few people with ISP's who use "a transparent proxy that sets a HTTP variable" unable to post comments on other Tripod Blogs for a couple of weeks. [See the Tripod Community Blog - http://club.tripod.com/ - for entries in early March]. I also wanted to tell you that I have put a link to your Blog in my Blog.
N.B. Delete this P.S., if you want.

Take care.

March 16, 2005 - 12:11 AM EST

Was the Sergeant good-looking and/or sexy? Are we sure that the boy calling the Sergeant a homosexual was meant to be derogatory or a compliment?

You see, nearly all Moslem/Islamic males have participated in homosexual sex acts and many are homosexuals. Why is simple. It is the natural outcome of when a society separates its men from its women. Look at them Catholic priests. Same-same. It is quite frequent for Moslem/Islamic men to play the loving uncle to young boys and introduce them to what their males have as sex outlet. And it could easily start when a man offers a young boy some candy. You think the US Army would know better. And what about candy rotting children's teeth?

Westerners, Latins, Asians, and others are lucky to be able to have access to their females during the stages of sex maturity and other outlets like 8mm film, pillow pictures, Stag magazine, life-size rubber dolls, etc.

By the way, are gay and homosexual the same? Does not the first refer to behavior and the second refer to sexual persuasion?

March 16, 2005 - 8:10 AM EST

gay, shmay! Who cares if anyone is homosexual. The fact that any adult would beat a child, anywhere, at anytime for anything as trivial as being called a name is plain sick! The major was correct in stopping the conversation. Unfortunately, he is stuck with comanding idiots like that corporal. If anyone deserved to be beaten, it was those two. Honestly,Tim, I would have had a difficult time not getting into that corporal's face and making him wish he had never opened his mouth. I am sitting here getting furious at the ignorance of this so called soldier. He sounds like an asshole spouting a lot of hot air! In the end, this kid will grow up and more than likely forget what it was he said to the sergeant,(as kids will)and only remember that during the war, he was beaten by a big, scarey American soldier who was supposed to liberate his country. Great public relations coup! Great example! This kind of shit is why I'm worried about Dave going into the Marines after he finishes ROTC and school.
Just keep wearing your battle rattle and come home safe so that we can all go to Canada, again, on Dec.26th for our third annual trip to Patrick O'Ryans. BTW: all people reading this, if you happen to be in Detroit on Dec. 26th, you are cordially invited to come along with the gang to Patty O's for a night of incredibly great fun! Dinner at Mammy Kuntz's, pre-party, so that you don't get drunk,too early, on an empty stomach.

March 17, 2005 - 12:51 AM EST

I just have to shake my mangy head ruefully, when I read the comments about the Corporal, Sergeant, and Major and do-gooders' expectation about anyone's conduct during war, be it on the battlefields, in prisons, or among civilians.

No one is wholly innocent and no one is entirely guilty. War is war and the winner is the one who will write the history books.

The Corporal and the Sergeant are the instruments of war, the cannon fodder, the ones who pull the trigger and are most likely to die first. They are the poor ones in the great free-enterprise republic of Melika, who lacked the resources to avoid employment in the US military. In basic training, they are shown a long list called the military code of conduct and told to obey it but are given very little information on what it means. They are in a foreign land, fighting a losing war, against dedicated murderers, among people dominated by fanatical religionists, away from family and loved ones, for the benefit of corporations and corrupt politicians.

The only way to change the I-Rackites is to indoctrinate the young. And the only things that work on the young to change them to Western culture are MTV, situation comedies, magazines, and other mass media that show people of other countries living the good life of air-conditioned homes, cars, motor boats, parties, buffets, Disneyland, etc.

Handing out candy is too little and too brief. It will probably do as much good as a soldier looking for a good time with nylon stocking, chocolate, and a can of spam in hand to exchange.

The Major is a symptomatic of the way the US military is run. Instead of first scolding the corporal about the beating of a young boy, he should have asked about the circumstances, the severity of the beating, and the immediate aftermath by the squad's commandante. I doubt that a grown male soldier would have bloodied a young boy. He probably, if not should have, spanked the boy and bruised his pride. A beating is certainly less definitive than cutting off the boy's tongue, hand, or foot. The boy might have been a agent provocateur and could be next seen pulling a grenade pin next to a US soldier. In many cultures, a man who does not stand up and react to an insult is considered a coward or something less.

The Major should also be faulted for the cover up. That is the way the military heads are. US military and the military of other countries have always mistreated, assaulted, and even killed the civilians. It is war. One does not read much about US military's atrocities, because nearly all have been covered up. MyLai was the exception. What happened to freedom of speech?

Someone on the bus could have pointed out to the Major that people have gone to jail or other for a cover up. Look at Nixon's cover up of the Watergate burglars.

March 18, 2005 - 7:42 AM EST

This is no longer war against the Iraqi people. Despite what the terrorists are still doing, the role of the occupying forces is now that of peace keepers. Peace keepers should not employ violence of any sort, however minor.

March 20, 2005 - 11:10 PM EST

Is there peace in Iraq now? Why does the author of this blog, Mr. Grader, has to wear protective armor and be surrounded by gun-toting thugs when he leaves the Grin Zone?

How is peace kept in Melika? Execution by hanging, poison injection, or electric chair.

The role of peace-keeping is the UN's role. Let them hand out candy to young boys. Let Melikan soldiers keep their hands on the trigger.