found this on my travels today. seemed relevant.
"I know men who have taken life needlessly in other conflicts. They
live with the mark of Cain upon them. If someone surrenders to you,
then remember they have that right in international law, and ensure
that one day they go home to their family. If there are casualties
of war, then remember, when they woke up and got dressed in the
morning they did not plan to die this day. Allow them dignity in
death. Bury them properly, and mark their graves. You will be
shunned unless your conduct is of the highest, for your deeds will
follow you down history. Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site
of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood, and the birth of Abraham.
Tread lightly there. You will have to go a long way to find a more
decent, generous, and upright people than the Iraqis. You will be
embarrassed by their hospitality, even though they have nothing.
Let's leave Iraq a better place for us having been there."
- Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Collins of the Royal Irish battle group,
instructing his troops in Iraq, quoted in the Globe and Mail.
"I know men who have taken life needlessly in other conflicts. They
live with the mark of Cain upon them. If someone surrenders to you,
then remember they have that right in international law, and ensure
that one day they go home to their family. If there are casualties
of war, then remember, when they woke up and got dressed in the
morning they did not plan to die this day. Allow them dignity in
death. Bury them properly, and mark their graves. You will be
shunned unless your conduct is of the highest, for your deeds will
follow you down history. Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site
of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood, and the birth of Abraham.
Tread lightly there. You will have to go a long way to find a more
decent, generous, and upright people than the Iraqis. You will be
embarrassed by their hospitality, even though they have nothing.
Let's leave Iraq a better place for us having been there."
- Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Collins of the Royal Irish battle group,
instructing his troops in Iraq, quoted in the Globe and Mail.
