General Ulysses S. Grant’s three word description of war (“War is hell“) is still history’s most succinct description of what occurs when the savage beast that lurks within all of us is released by that event. It is the reason that, among civilized nations, there has traditionally been an understanding that with that release from the bonds of the Fifth Commandment (“Thou shalt not Kill”) there will occur certain acts that normal persons would never do otherwise. And that, short of inhuman acts that admit of no reasonability, there must be latitude in judging such acts. The recent revelation of the “urination” video involving several young Marines of the 3/2 Battalion is a case in point. Our Secretaries of State and Defense have made statements that position this episode as if it were My Lai or Wounded Knee and requiring military justice on the magnitude of the trial of Billy Mitchell. My thoughts are that everyone should just take a deep breath and put this embarrassing but frankly understandable event in perspective.

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