What the Headline Should Have Said

Not "Marine says beatings urged in Iraq" but rather "Marines view all Iraqi men insurgents," something we learn in the story.

If U.S. troops believe everyone is their enemy, they feel justified in randomly beating and killing them. But that raises the question of what are we doing in Iraq in the first place. Why "rebuild" their country if they all want to kill our troops? How can we bring "stability" to Iraq through occupation, if the people of Iraq view the U.S. as their enemy? And if they're not our enemy, why are our troops being told that they are?

If the troops are going to beat and kill Iraqis indiscriminately, there is no way they can bring order and democracy to Iraq.