Well, I haven't posted in a while, and much has happened in the meantime, and many thoughts I have intended to document here, but alas, time is not on my side. So many issues I have at various times desired to expound upon, but I just don't always have the opportunity. Not that this is some repository of intellectual brilliance by any generous stretch of the imagination, but I feel like I've let many ideas slip through my fingers in the last week, and that is somewhat of an unhappy thought. More commonly though, I read something utterly brilliant by someone else and neglected to link it here, which isn't so bad.

The marine in Fallujah who capped the dying terrorist. Oorah for that guy. In all seriousness, he was scared. He'd been shot in the face the previous day (so I read). His unit had lost one man and had five wounded by booby-trapped corpses the previous day (or days, don't recall). How much movement does it take to pull a pin on a grenade? Not much, I'd have shot just about anything that moved too. Shoot first, ask questions afterwards. War is not about fairness or justice, it is about winning, because until you win, there will be no fairness or justice. Our boys should play it safe. The terrorists have already demonstrated their fondness for suicide attacks so a fatally wounded man attempting to blow himself up with a few infidels is a plausible and likely scenario. Do I think this was necessarily the case? No. The odds are decently in favour of this guy just groining or moving because of the pain. But take no chances. If you pull a gun on a cop, does he wait until he has determined that, oh, its just a non-functional replica? No he does not, he puts a bullet in you post-haste. Take down the threats...even potential unverified threats. Much truer in wartime than in police activity.

Again, this is all so frighteningly reminiscent of Breaker Morant. Great movie...please do yourself the favour of watching it.

The atrocities of war are not committed by normal men...they are committed by normal men under abnormal circumstances.

How foreboding of me. I'm really not feeling so serious. Oorah to our boys, carry on, and let's end this post.