Quote Originally Posted by medicinal
I'm not condoning what those soldiers did. If they did this then they deserve what they get. I'll just say this: War does crazy things to your mind. It dehumanizes the enemy (a premis supported and forced upon the soldiers by their superiors). It is much easier to kill someone you hate and see as less than human. In Germany WWII, it was the Huns, Nazis, Krauts etc. In Japan it was the Nips, Japs, yellow menace etc. In VietNam it was Dinks, Gooks, slopes, etc., anyway to dehumanize the enemy. In Iraq, I'm sure they have some choice descriptive terms for Iraqis, like Ragheads, camel jockeys and probably a few more that are even more demeaning. When you see your enemy as less than human, it is easier to do inhuman things to them.
They call that propaganda.