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This is a tragic and unfortunate story. You summed it up well William; on all sides this is a dreadful byproduct of the horror of war.

Although the unique level of stress on the men and women of our armed forces is a factor here, I believe that their actions must be severely avenged on behalf of this innocent family - they were not killed inadvertently in the act of war - they were murdered by other people with no rhyme or reason for their death. Justice should be served, regardless of the exceptional circumstances in which this event occurred.

On a final note, please resist letting the title of this post suggest any meaning other than that the perpetrators of this war crime were US soldiers. The American people are just as shocked, disappointed and angry about this as those in other nations.

If it was your family, what would your response be?

I try to avow a legal, rights based approach to civil and criminal wrongs but I think that would push me into the arms of groups advocating more direct action.

This scene has repeated itself in history. After World War II, when Germans and Austraisn were raped by Russian Soldiers, when US Troops raped Chinese [1945-1949], the Years of the Cold War with rapes committed in Cuba [Castro], Nicaragua [Sandinistas], USA [against African-Americans and Native Americans by Republicans and Democrats]. It is about time to bring such perpetrators to justice.

Fair enough John - it's important to remember that ordinary Americans are not responsible for these abuses. But that's part of the shame of an action like this when soldiers are wearing their nation's uniform. They shame a whole country because they represent their country in battle.

Jill- Surely any sensible observer can tell the difference between the actions of a few individuals who will be rigorously dealt with by the US justice system for what they did and the nation itself along with it's military? I understand and appreciate your point, but it's important to be rational enough to recognise and denote the difference.