Pfc. Kristian Mechaca and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker are dead. The bodies of these two U.S. soldiers have been recovered. Both show signs of torture and both were beheaded.
I know there is political debate about the Iraq war but, please, just for a second, can we take a moment to contemplate the challenge the world is facing with Islamic extremism? The Mujahadeen Shura Council, an Al Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group, posted a message on a forum taking responsibility for the killings. This is what they said:
"We inform you about happy news from the battlefield that will fill your chests with pride. We executed a divine judgment against two prisoners of war. The infidels, the crusaders' punishment was a death sentence by slaughter."
That probably should say it all, but it won't. There are people who will shrug their shoulders and say, "how unfortunate", and then move effortlessly into an analysis that what the U.S. military is doing in Iraq is just as bad. It is not. Abu-Ghraib, Haditha and Gitmo are not "moral equivalencies," not even close. We investigate, debate, correct, indict and imprison our own people, and ultimately modify policies to fix mistakes.
We feel shame when our soldiers act improperly and we punish them.
These people who have killed Mechaca and Tucker take pride in barbarism and exult in it.
Those of you who don't yet understand this distinction need to try. Then the debate we have about the war and how to prosecute it will be fully informed. We need to be clear-eyed about the way the world really is.
