Oh my god. I just... feel physically sick. I can’t bear it, I can’t bear what war is doing to these people.
On Monday, Der Spiegel magazine published an article: twelve US soldiers are on trial for murdering civilians for sport. Beware of following the link. There is an incredibly upsetting photo at the start of the article: a young, grinning American soldier lying by the bloodied body of a young Afghan. The soldier has his hand in the dead boy’s hair, holding him up so the camera can see his (thankfully blurred-out) face. There are another 4000 photos and video clips entered into evidence.
I don’t even mean this as a political post - although if you want to talk about that, it’s fine, it’s inextricable from what’s happening. It’s just a punch in the stomach to see it - this was a civilian, not threatening anyone.
Military prosecutors say this unit killed civilians for sport. These are soldiers on trial for premeditated murder of the civilians they’re meant to protect, for fun.