War isn't Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse.

Wow.

This is going to breed a shitstorm on the conservative blogs if it finds it's way out of Oregon.

MADRAS -- The father of the Madras soldier tortured and then killed in Iraq said Wednesday that his son's captors probably were retaliating for alleged U.S. abuses in Iraq.

Though he honors his son's service and condemns the way he died, Wes Tucker acknowledged that war breeds atrocities on all sides.

"They were doing a job, and they probably overstepped the bounds of the job they were supposed to do, just like the ones in our military overstepped the jobs they were supposed to do," Tucker said in some of his first public comments since his son, Tom, was killed.

God bless Wes Tucker for using his moment in the spotlight to say something. What he did honors his son and the others that've died in this war far more than any ceremony.

The reason we don't torture or abuse our captive enemies is not because we don't think he's not a evil son of a bitch. The reason we don't do awful things to prisoners is because it gives them carte blanche to do the same (or worse) to our boys when they're captured.


(P.S. - Don't you love the framing by the author? My favorite bit is the strange caveat "though he honors his son's service...." before describing the father's comments on the tit for tat of torture. Thanks for the editorial, Schmuck.)

(P.P.S. - If you're interested in the MASH quote above here is the whole exchange:

Hawkeye: War isn't Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse.
Father Mulcahy: How do you figure, Hawkeye?
Hawkeye: Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell?
Father Mulcahy: Sinners, I believe.
Hawkeye: Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. War is chalk full of them - little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for some of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander. )