Well in war, killing and atrocities are the norm, and American soldiers have participated in both with every conflict; now, Vietnam. take your pick.  Sure, chemical weapons, phosphorous, M77 and probably lots of other stuff not even the soldiers know about. ..this is not new, nor should it surprise/shock anybody.  The real question to be asked is why? not how? Why war in the first place? 

You invade a nation, because they supposedly have weapons of "mass destruction" which are never found, to dispose then of their ruling dictator, kill a lot of people, have a lot of your young soldiers killed, and then pledge to remain in the invaded nation for "years"...and the reason is???  Pat, can you suggest an answer?

Gene