I’m not offended!

[David Lockmiller]

(07-04-2019 07:29 AM)AussieMick Wrote:  “77 % of Americans believe U.S. service members should not be prosecuted for war crimes committed overseas.”

I do feel a statement such as that needs to be supported by some solid facts.

I did a google [search]

"A 2018 Clarion Project poll found that 77 percent of Americans believed U.S. service members shouldn't be prosecuted for overseas war crimes simply because "war is a stressful situation and allowances should be made."

However, from I read of Clarion Project (again, using google), its not the best.

You are correct. The stated source for the quote was Clarion. You may view the screenshot at the 25:44 mark of the YouTube video of the News Hour July 3, 2019 episode.

You also state: A 2018 Clarion Project poll found that 77 percent of Americans believed U.S. service members shouldn't be prosecuted for overseas war crimes simply because "war is a stressful situation and allowances should be made."

It is almost needless to state that "war is a stressful situation" for the soldiers on both sides. It is the least stressful situation when you have captured and disarmed a wounded enemy combatant.

Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher was found not guilty of murdering an ISIS prisoner in Iraq. The decorated Navy Seal had been accused of stabbing to death the wounded teenage captive back in 2017.

And, after World War I, civilized nations agreed that the use of chemical weapons would henceforth be considered a war crime. But Syria does it to this day with the blessing (or without the censure) of their Russian ally.

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(07-04-2019 08:15 AM)My Name Is Kate Wrote:  The question was:
Should American service personnel be prosecuted for war crimes committed overseas?

The answers were:
Yes, they should always be held to American standards, whether at home or abroad
No, war is a stressful situation and allowances should be made

As you can see, both the question and the answers were slanted to get the desired response. The poll was designed to make it appear that most Americans think war crimes committed overseas by Americans should never be prosecuted.

Kate, thank you very much for that insightful information. The PBS News Hour should be informed of this because in publishing this statement they have done an extreme disservice to the American people by mischaracterizing our opinion on the subject in such a disgraceful manner.

P.S. I copied over this entire post and sent it to viewermail@newshour.org. Hopefully, the PBS NewsHour will make a clarification and retraction. But, I will not be holding my breath.