Throughout the recent war in Iraq, it was not uncommon to hear reports about acts of absurd cruelty and inhumanity being committed by none other than our American soldiers. These acts included rape, humiliation, and publicly beating prisoners who had not even been proven to be the enemy. When I heard about these acts being committed I could not believe that it was our own troops, the men and women who served to protect our nation, who were committing them. Through further research, I began to understand the exact types of catalysts which would drive a person to commit such horrible atrocities.
The main reason that these acts are committed is frustration and aggression. Being a member of the armed forces is a job which invites huge amounts of stress and frustration. Many soldiers know someone who has died in combat. Others see the horrors of war and resent the fact that they are a part of it. These horrific acts are then committed in many prisons as a retaliation of sorts. It is the soldier’s own deranged and twisted way of getting back at those whom they believe have wronged them.
The other reason that these incidents occur is the sense of power and of invulnerability. The soldiers who work in prison camps have complete power over their prisoners and are many times left unsupervised by superior officers. This creates a mind-set that they have the ability to do anything and nothing can stop them. If that mind-set is combined with the frustration caused by being involved in war, the results are actions which the soldier may not normally be inclined to do. This may explain the reason why so many soldiers have committed crimes in war that both shock and disgust those whom they know and those who read about these actions.
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