Only a nut would think that they were clean. That's an answered question. I'm more interested in the internal debates, the clash of culture, within and between the various forces as exemplified by the story above.
I'm interested because we see similar divides within western forces in recent years. They aren't pulling guns on each other but there is an old guard with one set of values and a more political generation (post-9/11) with a very different cultural outlook.
The fact that a gun was pulled also points to a total breakdown of the standards of decorum armed forces reply upon to prevent internal arguments turning violent. This wasn't mutiny, but only because there was no clear mode to determine seniority between these two men.
> I'm interested because we see similar divides within western forces in recent years. They aren't pulling guns on each other but there is an old guard with one set of values and a more political generation (post-9/11) with a very different cultural outlook.
Could you elaborate on this please? Which direction do you think the modern generation are taking?
Take the CIA drone program. During the early days they resisted armed drones. The old guard said they didn't do assassinations, didn't arm spy aircraft else their missions become acts of war (see Gary Powers). A decade later, armed drones are the backbone of the program. Targeted killings are a norm. Or, take the torture program. Despite him being a complete hawk, Senator McCain was against mistreating prisoners. He was a POW himself. But he lost his race for president. The new nominee is pro-torture. The old warriors of the cold war are retiring out and the new batch is moving into senior leadership. The new batch are much less restrained. They don't believe in principals based on reciprocity as they have been brought up fighting asymmetrical enemies. Every fight is now an existential battle to be fought without restraint or compromise, an attitude adopted from politics imho.
I'm interested because we see similar divides within western forces in recent years. They aren't pulling guns on each other but there is an old guard with one set of values and a more political generation (post-9/11) with a very different cultural outlook.
The fact that a gun was pulled also points to a total breakdown of the standards of decorum armed forces reply upon to prevent internal arguments turning violent. This wasn't mutiny, but only because there was no clear mode to determine seniority between these two men.