No, that's exactly what it is. Have you or do you know anyone who has been a part of such horrific circumstances? I have a friend who was a paramedic, and he used to tell me about the crazy jokes that they would make at victims' expense. It's not that they were heartless bastards--far from it. You have to find whatever way you can to cope, otherwise you lose it. Sure, that says something about the nature of their work, but it also says something about the nature of humanity. When you can't deal with what you're seeing, you find ways to distance yourself so that it doesn't seem real. Sometimes it goes too far--that much is obvious--but we have a responsibility to our troops to stop making judgments about their character through such a narrow window. There's more to the story, and we will probably never hear it. At the very least, you should be hoping that these soldiers received the proper counseling to reintegrate into their lives and move on, because they've sacrificed a bit of their humanity on the whim of their leaders.

What's that quote? We laugh to keep from crying?