From: Jonathan Davis (jonathan.davis@lineone.net)
Date: Sun Aug 11 2002 - 17:09:08 MDT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hermit" <hidden@lucifer.com>
To: <virus@lucifer.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 11, 2002 9:36 PM
Subject: Re: virus: Protecting non-combatants - Respecting conventions.
>
> Jonathan, you make the same error as Joe Dees.
Neither Joe nor I have made any errors in this case. You posted a story. Joe
posted a response doubting the story and made a guess at what instruction
might have been issued. It turned out that Joe's guess was pretty close to
what the soldier later confirmed. What the soldier later confirmed made
complete sense whereas his earlier reamrks did not.
SNIP
> Of course, your and Joe's reactions - it is Pravda, it is anti-American -
it is a lie, is understandable, is comprehensible.
Err...that was not my reaction and neither was it Joe's. I laughed at you
for posting piffle from Pravda and not flagging as humour. I would do the
same if someone posted an article from the UK's Daily Sport or the USA's
National Enquirer. I dealt with the substance of the young soldiers claims
elsewhere.
>As is your immediate acceptance of the putative retraction at face level.
The retraction was printed in the same source as the original. The later
canceling out the other. Either the boy is a liar or he is not. You cannot
have it both ways.
>It matches your preconceptions.
Incorrect. It matches your preconceptions. You are convinced the US Army are
a bunch of renegade murderers with instructions to butchers innocents. You
grasp at straws from Pravda to back up you prejudices on this matter. There
is no evidence to support your prejudices. The only shred came from a some
hick who quickly clarified matters.
Can one supply any reason why the US soldiers would be instructed to seek
out and massacre women and children? No, It is a charger dreamt up in a
fevered mind and not supported in reason or evidence.
>Trouble is, as the internal and external evidence,
There is none. Show me 'internal and external evidence' that the US soldiers
were instructed to seek out and kill women and children. Give me a reason
why they should have been given such an order (i.e. demonstrate its
plausibility). Come on them - prove it.
> and Rhinoceros' excellent letter all show,
With all due respect to Rhino, he posted a 'letter', in a different thread,
saying essentially "I am in the know and you are not so therefore you are
wrong".
It barely warranted a civilised response.
>your preconceptions appear to be faulty.
Sorry old pal. My preconception if any is this: The US army is a disciplined
professional army. There is no reason why they would want to kill innocent
women and children nor is there any evidence to support claims that soldiers
were instructed to kill innocent women and children. No evidence, so no
belief.
After all Hermit, if Private Guckenheimer had come back saying he had seen
God on his tour of duty and Pravda reported it as evidence that God
existed - would you believe it?
Regards
Jonathan
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