Steven Greenhut: Even in war, some acts are indefensible

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?a=304253&z=12

8/18/2007 9:35:29 AM
I've always been fascinated by the concept of "administrative evil" -- a term that describes how ordinary and decent people can end up committing horrific acts and oftentimes think they are doing the right thing as they commit them. I recall a concentration camp survivor who described his Nazi-saluting neighbors as regular Joes.

The concept often is used to deal with issues of war crimes. So I ruminate on such matters as a variety of trials and news stories point to instances where American troops in Iraq may have behaved in troubling ways.

In Haditha, U.S. Marines were accused of murdering 24 Iraqi civilians. The Marines' superiors are accused of covering up these crimes by not investigating or reporting them until the media did. snip

But if you believe that Marines should be free to kill unarmed women and children, without facing a court martial for murder, then let's no longer pretend that this nation is special in that it subscribes to the rule of law. The rule of law means that you can't do such things even if you are a Marine and even if you are frustrated by the rules, and that if you do, you will face long prison terms or worse. Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, don't they?

In its defense of Tatum, NewsMax argues that his "parents say Stephen has always had a positive attitude, and was well liked by his teachers and friends. Stephen, they told NewsMax.com, is a religious person who enjoys going to church with family and friends."

I don't doubt a word of that, but it only reinforces my point about the ordinariness of brutality, given the right circumstances. The fact that an ordinary kid from Oklahoma could, allegedly, do such things, and that ordinary Americans will defend him no matter what, helps explain why "administrative evil" will always be with us.

I only wish that articles like this were more in the mainstream. Too many Americans need a reminder that what happened in Nazi Germany could easily happen here if we begin to justify and even excuse war atrocities. The same people who are all too willing to judge and demonize other members of our society (illegal aliens, gays) admonish us not to judge troops who have raped and slaughtered civilians.

murder of innocent Iraqis?

And people wonder why we're called Lefty loonies.

"...people who judge and deomonize..."

It's one thing to support secure borders, and another thing entirely to say that illegal immigrants are terrorists, criminals, and thugs who are coming here to destroy our nation. You know, judge and demonize.

It's a very short step from "of course they are criminals - they broke the law by coming here" to "round them all up and put them in camps until we can ship them back where they came from". It's not a slippery slope - it's a precipice.

themselves clear. And they called anyone who didn't support the bullshit amnesty bill a racist. And I know from personal experience that's true.