A conflict of principles
"Never pass a fault" versus "Don't let the 'perfect' be the enemy of the 'good.'"
The discussion that has taken place at Army.ca over the Man Love Thursdays problem in Kandahar is an interesting one, and I'd encourage you to grab a cup of coffee and read the whole thing.
My contribution at the end boils down to this:
The answers at the extremes are easy to find. It's the grey middle ground, the task of drawing lines and standards and rules to apply to more than just one case that poses the real problem.
The discussion that has taken place at Army.ca over the Man Love Thursdays problem in Kandahar is an interesting one, and I'd encourage you to grab a cup of coffee and read the whole thing.
My contribution at the end boils down to this:
None of us could stand by and listen or watch while a child was abused. But it's much easier for each of us to decide what we would do individually if the situation were right in front of us than it is to decide how, as a nation, we're to deal with such a problem systemically, as but one facet of an already overcomplicated mission.
The answers at the extremes are easy to find. It's the grey middle ground, the task of drawing lines and standards and rules to apply to more than just one case that poses the real problem.
posted by Babbling Brooks at 11:16 a.m.
1 Comments:
I just put myself in the mental position of one of those Soldiers, in the unit stationed next door to that ANP detachment. And I didn't like the scenario. It goes like this:
Suppose you're out on a combat patrol supporting an op. of the Afghan Natl Police. Not just any ANP but the unit at which this organized pedophilia takes place.
The ANP comes under Taliban fire and you're now confronted with the necessity of risking your life and the lives of your fellow Soldiers to rescue some of those ANP.
That entirely posible scenario would put any of those Soldiers in an awful position. No doubt in the real world, he'd bravely do his duty and attempt the rescue.
But, again, were it me in that scenario, it'd also at best leave a vile taste in my mouth. If, God forbid!, one or more of my fellow Solders were killed in their rescue, I don't know how I could handle my rage at those ANP. It seems to me that that's the kind of experience with a level of emotional distress that causes serious PTSD.
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