Digby: Insurgent Sympathisers

I'm sure you've all heard about the charming song "Hadji Girl" by now. Here's a little clip of the video from German TV if you haven't had a chance to see how some US Marine officers uphold American values in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Meanwhile, the NY Times today reports that special operations troops used abusive techniques, but in at least a couple of cases, they were against "insurgent sympathizers." This is a new phrase but I suspect it is going to be a very useful one. See, Hadji Girl's little sister (the one who gets her brains blown out in the song) could easily be an "insurgent symnpathizer." Indeed, anyone who is related to an insurgent or even knows one --- little kids especially --- can be seen as soft on insurgency when they cling to their mothers and fathers begging for their lives. The rules of engagement being what they are, apparently, killing these insurgent sympathizers is a-ok.