Fair warning, I'm a bit angry today.

I wish I hadn't, but I watched the video of Nick Bergs murder this weekend. As Ron said, it was disturbing, possibly the most disturbing thing I've ever experienced. I barely slept Saturday night, haunted by the images and emotions of what I'd witnessed.

I heard on tonights news that a number of schools have been showing the unedited video to students, some teachers even adding their own political comments such as "thats what we get for going to war". One class of 9 year olds were required to write a 2 paragraph essay on how the prison abuses caused the death of Mr. Berg.

The more I considered it, the angrier I got.

I have always felt proud to be an American.

As a country, we've made our share of mistakes in world affairs, but they've mostly been made in the pursuit of basic freedoms for others as well as ourselves. The World Wars, Korea, VietNam, and now the Middle East. All of these wars carried through them a common theme, that of freeing oppressed innocents from tyranny. I truly believe this in my heart.

If you were the biggest kid on the playground, and you saw a bully beating up the kindergardeners. Would you stand by and watch, or would you tell the bully to stop? And if the Bully didn't stop, would you stop him, or would you watch? If he punched you in the nose, would you stand your ground or leave the playground and let him have his way with the kindergardeners?

Like it or not, America is the biggest kid on the playground.


The fight we are in today is obviously not the same scale as the playground bully, but it's basically the same story. In todays fight, the UK has stood with us, for which I am personally grateful.

Is this our duty?

Why not the UN? Why not the EU?

Both groups have shown their unwillingness to take action, even to the extent of hindering ours.

I think it *is* our duty to protect them.


I'm a grown man, and 24 years working in hospitals has exposed me to just about any gorey or grotesque thing you could imagine. As upsetting as the video was, to the average Iraqi, it isn't anything new. They've seen it happen to their Fathers, Mothers, Sons and Daughters, over and again.

This video is a sentinal event. It shouldn't be taken as a warning of what will happen if we don't get out of Iraq. It should be seen as a forecast of what will continue to happen if we leave.

I am thankful to live in a place that little boys play baseball instead of being forced into battle, where little girls sell Samoas and Moms don't get raped by policemen.