No bitch-slap from me. But your analogy is deeply flawed.
That German General was a warrior. It was his job to kill other warriors. He did his duty.
Hirohito was the leader of a nation-state that was at war with another nation-state.
His warriors fought our warriors bravely and lost.
Yes. Both sides murdered unarmed civilians. But that was not the singular purpose of war.
The purpose of any war is to defeat your opponent's military - armed warriors fighting other armed warriors.
Yes - civilians get killed in the process. But that is not the over-arching purpose of war.
Bin-Laden murdered over 3,000 unarmed civilians. That was his goal.
That was his singular purpose. When the clash of arms came - he ran away
and hid. He was protected by others.
He was no warrior. He deserved no religious service from a US military chaplain.
His cause deserves no deference.
It would be fine if Obama released photos. I wouldn't gripe.
But to refuse to even do that - is an insult to the American people.
And your analogy does injustice to those of us who have been warriors.
It was not my job to murder unarmed civilians.
Sigh. This post will probably cost me a bitchslap or 10.
I was finishing up teaching Band of Brothers today in my English class. Maj. Richard Winters, at the end of the War, gave an enemy German general the courtesy of a salute after the formal surrender.
One of the summer reading choices for our students is Killer Angels. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain led the Union army in a salute of the defeated Confederate troops.
America treated the defeated Japanese emperor with respect after Tokyo fell, despite the horrific bombing of Pearl Harbor only 4 years earlier. Hell, England, Germany, and Japan are our closest allies after they killed tens of thousands of Americans.
I'm not a bleeding heart, but it just occurs to me that Americans are different. There is no more evil man in the 21st century that Osama Bin Laden. I'm not comparing Bin Laden to an honorable military leader. I'm just trying to establish that Americans are different, more decent perhaps. But I think it speaks well of America that we buried him.
And let's be honest. I don't know what kind of religious burial would help him when he sat in judgment before the Throne.