I protest.

Not good guys.

Jeanne over at Body and Soul (permalink is working for the moment, better hurry) quotes a big chunk of a story from ABC News, "Burned Iraqi Children Said Turn Away" for good reason. The story is horrifying:

On a scorching afternoon, while on duty at an Army airfield, Sgt. David J. Borell was approached by an Iraqi who pleaded for help for his three children, burned when they set fire to a bag containing explosive powder left over from war in Iraq.

Borell immediately called for assistance. But the two Army doctors who arrived about an hour later refused to help the children because their injuries were not life-threatening and had not been inflicted by U.S. troops.

Apparently the children, a boy and two girls, ten and eleven years old, are residents of Bihishmeh, a village near the base. According to their father, they set fire to a bag of explosives in the street, which, of course, exploded, injuring them. Their father took them to a hospital in Balad but they were turned away because the hospital was unable to treat them. In desperation he took his children to the military base. When Borell understood this, he called his superiors who sent two doctors, both majors. Get this:

One of them, according to Borell, "looked at [the boy] ... didn't examine him, didn't ask him questions."

"(He) never looked at the girls," said Borell.

"Through the interpreter, one of the doctors told the father that we didn't have any medicine here ... and were not able to provide them care," said Borell. "And he also expounded on the fact that they needed long-term care."

Borell said the combat hospital was fully stocked.

"Right before they left, I looked at the one doctor, asked him if he could at least give them comfort care," said Borell. "He told me they were not here to be the treatment center for Iraq."

Right. We'll kill, mutilate and maim children, but we won't "be a treatment center" for them. There are a couple of doctors who should lose their right to practice medicine. I would say they should lose their freedom, as well.

Borell did what he could, giving the father bandages and IV solution from his first-aid kit. The children were eventually treated. In Baghdad, the next day, after going another day without treatment. The father and children are, ironically, in good spirits. Borell, on the other hand, seems to have lost his faith in the Army:

Borell said he felt betrayed by the Army, which he joined after high school. Besides the letter to his wife, he also wrote to his congresswoman and several media outlets describing the incident.

His superiors have not said a word, said Borell, "although I get the impression that they're probably not very happy."

…

"After today, I wonder if I will still be able to carry the title 'soldier' with any pride at all," said Borell.

Certainly I don't feel very proud to be an American these days. I can only imagine how Borell feels.