Would a modern army rape and pillage?

It is hard for some one with modern sensibilities to imagaine that for the VAST majority of human history raping and pillaging a conquered city was considered the rule not the exception.

Sure we still have war crimes and always will, but (if allowed) would a modern, say the US army rape and murder an entire city??

Men, women and children all slaughtered in the streets because they refused to yield before the aggressors were forced to storm the walls?


It's hard to imagaine a psychology that not only justified it, but glorified sacking a city. But it was normal operating procedure from the oldest remaining human record untile what?? 300 years ago??

Your wife would prob have cheered you on, "be sure to rape a couple for me honey and be sure to kill a couple rich guys and loot their homes..."


Yet in just a fraction of the time we spent raping and pillaging, today it is unthinkable.

Hell, Isis would be considered mild compared to your average army in Roman times, because "at least they gave you a chance to convert before murdering, raping and enslaving the local population."



It makes me wonder how much of that is still hiding beneath the thin layer of civilization...

Is that were you get groups like Isis and other rebel armies from? The remnants of a much more brutal stage of human civilization?

Just a thought.

To answer the question of how much is hiding still, all of it. ISIS does this on the daily.

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
Men, women and children all slaughtered in the streets because they refused to yield before the aggressors were forced to storm the walls?

Yeppers. That'll teach 'em.

Time to go back to what works. Would've done wonders in the Middle East (IMVHO).

a reply to: JoshuaCox
The Russian army which reached Berlin in 1945 was fairly modern.
As for the modern American army, you may like to look up the story of My Lai in Vietnam.
When men have weapons in their hands, their conduct depends on the state of their discipline and morale.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

I have no doubt that it's still very much there just under the surface. What you're talking about is simply a cultural difference not a genetic one.

It's not as if we have evolved in ways that make plundering a conquered something of the past. We just changed our cultural perspective of it so it's not acceptable. Even then, not everyone believes that to be the case even now. Some people think it's perfectly justified, although they might not admit it publicly most times. But they're there.

They say that the human hasn't really changed in any significant way in quite a long time. Like thousands of years. So you could basically take a newborn from say 10,000 years ago or something and raise them now and they would be fine. They would grow and learn with today's environment pretty much like anyone else does. Their mental and psychological abilities would be the same. Only certain physical traits might be a problem. But we are no different than those raping and pillaging ancestors of ours. Take us back to that time and raise us and we'd be doing what they do in a heartbeat.

Like they say, times may change but people don't. Not mentally anyway.

Just ask the citizens of Mai Lai and a dozen other Vietnamese villages if the US army rapes and pillages.

Um. Russians & Japan in WW 2. Germany didn't do it but things just as bad.

Literally today.. ISIS? Africa?

a reply to: JoshuaCox

Yeah, look at all those American-Vietnamese kids that were born after the Vietnam war.

Of course, now we have a better knowledge of STD's and government issued condoms.

a reply to: JoshuaCox


The irony is that the people that are masters of our civilization probably still enjoy partaking in the behavior your described. The rule of law and the principal of morality were not given to us by our masters to protect us, it was to protect THEM.

We believe that our morals and principals are our strength that separate us from the animals but I think in reality the fact is that most actions of violence are inconceivable to those that are under the thumb of those that have no reservations about harming someone for personal gain.

If you think about it we're still doing the same now in different ways. It doesn't always have to be an army that does it. A big bank or corporation that takes a country hostage economically does the same sometimes. It's people become labor slaves as they drain the resources, traffic their women and children, cause pain and suffering and loss of freedom for the people there and plunder everything for it's own gains.

The battle ground is less defined and the methods are less direct but the outcome is pretty much the same. We've just changed how we do it now. Like how we changed war from uniforms and lining up across from your enemy and fighting head to head to guerilla tactics.

Now we can plunder with our pens instead of swords.

originally posted by: crazyewok
Just ask the citizens of Mai Lai and a dozen other Vietnamese villages if the US army rapes and pillages.

What's that supposed to mean?

Have you ever been a foot soldier and had someone in a hostile village take a few pot shots at ya?

Let me tell you, after that happens a couple of dozen times ... after a couple of your friends get effed-up for the rest of their lives ... maybe there's a little lesson that an entire community needs to be taught. "Don't let your neighbors do something YOU'RE gonna regret."

'Restraint' is a liberal mindset in a hostile/combat environment. Bad idea to invite War into your backyard.

originally posted by: JoshuaCox


Hell, Isis would be considered mild compared to your average army in Roman times, because "at least they gave you a chance to convert before murdering, raping and enslaving the local population."



It makes me wonder how much of that is still hiding beneath the thin layer of civilization...

Is that were you get groups like Isis and other rebel armies from? The remnants of a much more brutal stage of human civilization?

Clearly you have not studied ISIS at all. Rape and pillage is strong among them. Christian women are taken to be whores for the fighters whilst the Men are crucified.

Wherever they come from, they and their twisted ideology do NOT belong in 2017.

a reply to: Snarl

Bad idea to invite War into your backyard.

US usually invite themselves in.

a reply to: Snarl

Mass rape and murder is acceptable to you?

I just lost a # ton of respect of you.

Normaly i respect what you say, even if i disagree.

But this is just vile and makes you no diffrent from from say the imperial Japanese army.



I have not served but I am friends in real life to a good number of UK marines and they would beat the # out of someone they found mass rapeing as to them that is repugnant.


And in the case of Vietnam, they didnt" invite" the war you where the ones forceing youself in there buisness, you invited being shoot yourselfs.

Earlier this year Israel appointed a new chief rabbi to their military, Rabbi Colonel Eyal Karim. He said it was all right for their military to rape non-jewish women in wartime...[source]

After making such racist, sick comments the IDF decided to keep him in place anyways.[source]

Sadly, this is a thing that happens.

originally posted by: PorteurDeMort
To answer the question of how much is hiding still, all of it. ISIS does this on the daily.

Isis is a small rebel faction not a modern nation state and military.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

Wake up! It happens every day.

a reply to: DISRAELI

And that Russian Army raped the women they were freeing from the Nazi regime. They were on the same side!!!

a reply to: crazyewok

In 1961, South Vietnam signed a military and economic aid treaty with the United States leading to the arrival (1961) of U.S. support troops and the formation (1962) of the U.S. Military Assistance Command.

www.infoplease.com...

originally posted by: Snarl

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
Men, women and children all slaughtered in the streets because they refused to yield before the aggressors were forced to storm the walls?

Yeppers. That'll teach 'em.

Time to go back to what works. Would've done wonders in the Middle East (IMVHO).

With the Middle East just like in anchient times the political power surrendered but Gorilla groups continue fighting. That's no fun for any conquerorinf army.