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From: Amy Klucharits
T1: amynbry@sprintmail.com
Date: 10/30/97
Time: 11:37:46 AM
Remote Name: 206.133.36.44
Powell refers to the idea of kill-or-be-killed and I feel, from many of the readings studied thus far in the course, that this was a fear of many of the soldiers. They were young, they had very little training and most were not exposed to a great deal of prior combat. There was no way to recognize, from looks alone, an enemy from an ally. Powell give the example of Lieutenant Colonel Walter Pritchard who was observing military age men from the helicopter and was shot by a sniper. It is a hard call to make; would it have been better for Pritchard to have fired upon the man, only to find out that he was an innocent peasant—one could argue that it may not have been the right thing to do, but at least he would still have his life. It is very hard to bring morality in war situations.