Murder? When a U.S. Soldier does it are all American's partially responsible?

This article was posted out of Denver Colorado, and we have considered the facts. A father, who was a general for the Iraqi Army, walked to the American base, said that he came in peace, as a father, to find his missing sons. He hoped the Americans could help locate them, since they had been lost since American forces attacked his home village. They put him in chains, imprisoned him, and subjected him to brutal treatment.

He was then crammed into a sleeping bag with a rag stuffed into his mouth, then an American soldier sat on his chest has he held his hand over the Iraqi's mouth. When the Iraqi died, some considered it murder. American justice gave the U.S. soldier a light "slap on the wrist".

When does killing a father, looking for his lost children, become murder?

Would a Christian nation engage in such activity? Would the Jesus that this American soldier claims to follow have killed this father? For that matter, would a good Buddhist, Hindu, Krisna, or Islamic person condone such behavior. The answer is a resounding NO!

By letting this American soldier guilty of brutal torture, and perhaps murder, off with almost no punishment, and condoing this behavior, are Americans setting a new example of how we treat others?

Has the United States declined to the level of uncivilized, heathen treatment of our fellow men?

Here follows the article:

Denver - An unexpectedly light sentence for an army interrogator who once faced life in prison for the death of an Iraqi general could tarnish the US government and hurt human-rights efforts around the globe, observers said.

Prosecutors said during Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer jun's court-martial that his interrogation of Major General Abed Hamed Mowhoush "could fairly be described as torture" and had stained the military's reputation. During the trial, testimony showed he stuffed Mowhoush in a sleeping bag and straddled his chest.

Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said if the tables were turned and an American general had fallen into enemy hands and suffered the same fate from interrogators, there would have been an uproar in the US "How is this going to look overseas?" he said.

Mowhoush, the former commander of Saddam Hussein's air defences, surrendered to the army on November 10 2003, in hopes of seeing or securing the release of his four sons. He voluntarily came to the United States post, to ask if American officials could help him find his sons. Sixteen days later, Mowhoush died after Welshofer covered him in a sleeping bag, straddled his chest and put his hand over the general's mouth, already covered by the bag.

Initially charged with murder, assault and wilful dereliction of duty at his court-martial at Fort Carson, Welshofer was found guilty of negligent homicide and negligent dereliction of duty. Late on Monday, a military jury ordered a reprimand and forfeiture of $6 000 in pay, and restricted him to his home, office and church for two months. Observers said Welshofer's sentence is lenient and his case and others like it could endanger Americans whose captors might use them to justify inhumane treatment.

"The biggest news of this verdict is, it's not news," Jumana Musa, advocacy director of Amnesty International, said of the Welshofer sentencing. "It really follows the lines of other such cases: very little punishment for what would otherwise be thought of as very serious crimes."

Musa said such cases erode US credibility at a time when it is urging other countries to increase human-rights protections. She said they could also set human rights progress back by giving countries such as Libya an excuse to justify abuses.