A Culture of Atrocity

"The rage that soldiers feel after a roadside bomb explodes, killing or maiming their comrades, is one that is easily directed over time to innocent civilians who are seen as supporting the insurgents. It is a short psychological leap, but a massive moral one. It is a leap from killing'the shooting of someone who has the capacity to do you harm'to murder'the deadly assault against someone who cannot harm you. The war in Iraq is now primarily about murder."