@alpinestars27 @mcshea125 @Ciphas Sure. The natives I am describing were Cambodians, from what the director said, in interviews. During the Pacific theater of WWII, we did have troops throughout the area, not focused solely on Japan, for instance they often did re-fueling runs to China, though they wound up spending just as much fuel on the run itself. In any case like I said earlier, I was mixing up WWII & Vietnam due to the Cambodian individuals shown in the film, because many U.S. soldiers were stationed in Cambodia during the Vietnamese conflict. This was the nature of my confusion. But whether we are talking about WWII or Vietnam, my point is still the same; I was only trying to illustrate the way that 'the enemy' was shown to be human the same way 'the good guys' were also shown to be human. No offense to any group was intended. It was just that contrast I was speaking of.

@Ciphas You know what, you're totally right, I always get confused about that because in one scene in the movie they're in a field and they pass a group of native Cambodians. But you're right, they were showing some of the soldiers who were encamped there at the time. Truth.

So, whatever I said before, only use "Japanese" instead of "Vietnamese," LOL. ;)

@corteztheg Lol, thanks coreztheg, I appreciate it. I think you'll like "The Thin Red Line" a lot. It didn't get nearly enough attention -- it was totally snubbed at the Oscars -- but that's probably because it came out at the same time as "Saving Private Ryan." Good luck competing with that! LOL.

I am reminded, by Tom's words, of the idea that "If you have a nation behind you, it's called war. If you are flying solo, it's called terrorism." However, the actions of the 'war' and the 'terrorists' are identical actions, and we do not rise above their behavior: We imitate it precisely. In many cases we started it in the first place! This is called "Blowback" in CIA terms: the actions of our enemies are predictable responses to the havoc we originally wrecked on their soil (e.g. pre-9/11).

I think what Tom's describing, as a preferable style of gaming, is similar to what is depicted in the excellent war film, "The Thin Red Line." In this film, U.S. soliders are depicted as virtually morally identical to Vietnamese soldiers. Both sides of the line are depicted as perpetrating the same types of acts -- since, in reality, they did -- and the viewer is introduced to the hearts and souls of both sides of the line. U.S. soldiers are shown to commit acts of atrocity, just as Vietnamese soldiers are shown to do the same. Both sides of the line are shown to have families, fantasies, thoughts, feelings, hopes, fears -- since, in reality, both sides do have all these factors at play. There is the clear message of: "Who is the enemy?" There is no distinction, in times of war. Only the pacifist can claim the morally higher ground.