[ConservativeMan55]

Throw this woman a parade!

[r9etb]

Sounds like a good one to have gotten rid of.

[af_vet_1981]

"We were doing our jobs, and that's about all I can say. People don't understand the conditions out there. It is war. It is not back home where everybody is safe," Edmondson said. "Mistakes will be made. People are dying. Our soldiers are dying every day. But they seem to want to be nicer to the Iraqi POWs than our own people."

A WWII heroine returning home with a demotion ...

[over3Owithabrain]

What a BS PC war. Let the Muslims kill us so as not to offend Muslims. Saddam/Osama laugh when they hear of our weakness. They know this is a fight to the death. Half of our trouble now is because we let the Iraqi soldiers walk home instead of killing them.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Sometimes as few as 100 MPs were guarding 8,000 prisoners, she said.

I guess you would have to let them know who's boss. Frightening situation.

[Lijahsbubbe]

but has also encountered some coldness.

No book deals or love fests?

[jjm2111]

Fedayeen hold infants out of car windows as human shields while we court-martial our troops for "punching" and "kicking". I hate political correctness.

[LetsRok]

This "bull dyke" should be made an example of. Once someone becomes a prisoner, their safety is the responsibility of the United States. I don't agree with taking revenge on an unarmed prisoner who can't defend himself.

[joesnuffy]

Come on the LAPD, NYPD,Detroit and Chicago PDs put ona better azz whoopin' then any of these GIs ...and thats on "suspects" not terrorists...imo we ought to send all terrorists back to Detroit for interogation..

[sheik yerbouty]

It is war and shi'ite happens!

[BeerSwillr]

She doesn't deserve to be treated like this by the military.

What a friggen sham. Clinton legacy action here. None of these soldiers did anything wrong.

So what if they were smacking around a few heathen muslims. Why should anyone care? They probably deserved it.

Instead of screaming, the prisoners that were supposedly "beaten" should have been praying to Allah that their tongues were not being hacked out of their mouths.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

One soldier said that during the attack, a beaten prisoner was "screaming for his life."

Probably screaming like a little girl. Schadenfreude.

[Destructor]

Damn straight! Wouldn't bother me one damn bit, if he beat 'em to death.

[Destructor]

"One soldier said that during the attack, a beaten prisoner was "screaming for his life."

LOL! Oh, the irony of it all!! LMAO!!!

[ZULU]

This is an entirely different situation than Col. West's.

These men were prisoners. They were unable to defend themselves. There was no valid reason for Shawna's brutality. They did nothing to her, they had to information to reveal. They were just enemy prisoners.

Only 100 soldiers to guard 6000 prisoners?? SO WHAT???
This is just another example of the reason why women should not be in combat. My guess is she is a man-hating lezzie.

Thank God she can't serve in the police. I wouldn't want her pulling my car over with no witnesses around.

[Steel Wolf]

This is one of the most ignorant conversations I've ever stumbled upon on FR. Granted, we do not have all of the facts here, but think about it.

100 MPs guarding 8000 prisoners, assuming three rotating shifts of 8 hours each, would mean that about 30 MPs are on shift at any given time, with another 30 for QRF (quick reaction force) and 30 who are asleep. They probably haven't had a day off in months.

Their prisoners are well fed, well rested, and can communicate in Arabic. They could discuss slitting your throat right in front of you, and you'd have no idea. Also, if they don't speak any English you don't know if they are resisting because they don't understand, or because they don't intend to cooperate.

This means that at any given time the active MPs are outnumbered and surrouded by thousands of potentially hostile and physically capable prisoners. I'm not an MP, but I can almost guarentee that they didn't have anywhere near the manpower or resources needed to adequately care for this many prisoners.

Also, the Army's rules on what is considered EPW abuse are extremely strict and often unreasonable given the circumstances. How do you convince someone that wasn't there and didn't know the situation that the actions that you took were necessary as part of self defense?

So there they are, in a war torn foriegn land, physically handling thousands of prisoners a day, arranging for food, showers, medical treatment, interrogations, and documenting. All day, every day, you're dealing with hordes of angry, resisting prisoners who physically resist you, spit on you, and who 'don't respect women' to put it nicely. (Note that two of the dendendents are women)

Now, it's easy for us to sit back and say 'Beating prisoners isn't the America way' or 'If they can't hack the stress, they shouldn't be MPs'. I'm telling you that these troops were set up for failure by being forced to work under such unsafe conditions with inadequate resources. It was just a matter of time before someone lost their cool and overreacted due to stress. There is no indication that these abuses reported were during interrogations or for pleasure.

If this is the worst abuses that the enemy has faced in our care, then we're saints compared to anyone else who's ever run an EPW camp. Most of the blame for this should be placed on the leaders that put the troops in this position in the first place.

[ladyinred]

One of four American MPs charged with beating prisoners of war at a detention camp in Iraq said Tuesday: "We were doing our jobs. ... It is war. It is not back home where everybody is safe."

This is what so many people seem to have forgotten. This is war, not a social gathering. My God what is wrong in this country?

[Centurion2000]

Edmondson said she will see if she can get her old job back at the university. Her discharge, which came after a demotion from sergeant to private, will probably bar her from pursuing her plan to become a police officer.

Edmondson said she joined the reserves 41/2 years ago with the intent of getting training that would be useful in a career in law enforcement.

Texas Department of Corrections would probably hire her ... they don't screw around with mercy.

[TexasRepublic]

Anyone that can't stomach the worst ugliness that un-humanity can dish out shouldn't be in a war. That's the real world -- I can't wish it away. Those cutthroats won't offer mercy, and none should be given. </Barbarian>

[Luis Gonzalez]

Two things, we should not be putting reservists into this sort of situation, and no, I don't believe that beating prisoners of war is a just way to treat them.

Why do I not condone the beatings of POW's?

Because I can't condone beating theirs, while condemning them if they beat ours.

It's rough being the good guy, but I don't see a choice other than being the "good guys" in this situation.