Because there's not enough room in my comments
You guys are sensible here, maybe you could help me with my wording? Here's the thing, I'm a shaman, death doesn't bother me. It's the maiming that bothers me. The marine that killed that wounded man is now, himself wounded. War put him in a position of choosing to kill another person. Now he has to live with it. Prosecuting that marine would give him the opportunity to acknowledge what he did. Rushing to his defense, saying "Don't pick on him! He had to do it!" effectively pushes the act under the rug. I know it's more comfortable to not think about it. I know it's easier to ignore it. And these soldiers cannot ignore what they've done.

I'm not interested in the right or wrong of the deed itself. I'm interested in facilitating the healing afterward. I'm not sure how to go about it, though. I know that things must be kept open. They must be discussed, rather than hidden away. And every time I try to discuss it here, I talk about war and death. Really, it's not the war and death I want to talk about. It's the people who are still here. The children who've lost a parent (or both parents), the parent who's lost a child. Worse yet, the people who've lost limbs -lost friends -lost civility. The misery makes me miserable. These poor, poor people who have to somehow go on, pretending to fit in a society that doesn't want to look at their loss.

On a side note: If the Iraqi people are animals, it is because oppression and war made them that way. Our American government has a part in that. The American people who gleefully cheer on the war have a part in that. The so-called pacifists who shout in anger "Not in my name!" have a part in that. And sadly, I have a part in that. I want to own my small piece of it. I will not shy away from the destruction. I will listen when someone needs to grieve. I will care. I will love. (but, god it's hard to love a hater)
Already I find myself trying to wiggle out of my commitment. I think to myself, "Haters aren't looking for healing, so I don't have to love them." I don't want to take the risk there. I don't want to be laughed at. I don't want to embrace their hate. Anger I can handle, but not hatred.
See how I changed the subject there? I don't want to be laughed at. I want to be valued. I have issues with worth.