Life Imitates Art?

We were just talking about the Gulf War 1 film Three Kings, and its applications to the current war in Iraq. Some American soldiers may have been a little too influenced by the film’s plot:

U.S. forces have recovered more than $600 million from hiding places near Saddam Hussein’s palace complexes in central Baghdad, said Lt. Col. Philip DeCamp, commander of the 4th Battalion, 64th Infantry Regiment.

But along the way, a few U.S. troops apparently tried to stash hundreds of thousands of dollars, in $100 bills, for themselves, DeCamp said. [AP]

As tempting as snagging a few bucks along the way might be – “we’re not stealing from the Iraqi people, we’re stealing from Saddam, we risked our lives for the Iraqi people!” – it is imperative that we not dip into that moral morass. We cannot be perceived as “war profiteers” – exactly as many would love to paint us. Besides, it’s wrong.