This is really a great read:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/02/15/riding-high

Barb

Thanks for sharing the article. Hearing about this makes me sad. I think if people want to fight other people, they should leave non-human creatures out of it. I know that's a "high and lofty" viewpoint, but I don't like involving these mules in the wars and conflicts that we humans are solely responsible for.

Thanks for the link. My mules are lovers, not fighters. Sending mules to fight a human's war is just wrong, especially when they're sent as disposable "equipment" with no intention of repatriation and very little if any concern for their care.

I'm sorry, but who can stomach this stuff? The mules were supposed to pull the ripcord on the chute and because they "were caught by surprise" they fell to their deaths? Give me a break! Reminds me of the allegedly "factual" stories about small farms in my area that appeared in "The Atlantic" a couple years back that were nothing close to factual at all.

Barb Lee ---------- thanks for sharing the article. Interesting read.

My Dad was in Italy in the mountains in WW2, almost all the supplies came up to them by mules. Germans also used them; he wasn't there at the time AKA wounded but the guys knocked down the handlers and convinced the mules to come over to our side. They then had smoked salmon instead of GI food.

Not PC any more but they liberated the mules and food.

Dad was a BAR man and wounded 2x, last time with oak leaf clusters. Never would tell me about that.

I have not watched the video " don't want to"; during WW2 they did surgery on mules so they couldn't brey also.

thanks for posting very interesting I like to read about animals being used.

Look at it this way. How many American solder's lives did they save. Same with K-9's here in the states and overseas..

It might be easy to sit in one's safe living room and ponder these things and saying the mules should not be used in warfare with out ever having to face bullets in an armed conflict. Totally different if you are one of the solders depending on those mules.

I think it would be useful to consider an international treaty against using animals in warfare. We already have treaties prohibiting the use of land mines, cluster bombs, and chemical weapons. These treaties try to make war less terrible for humans. A treaty that took into account the non-human residents of this planet might be a useful stepping stone towards a future with less suffering for all creatures. I have great sympathy for the soldiers depending on those mules, and I'm always thinking about ways that these soldiers can come home from conflict and enjoy the safety of their own living rooms.

One of the reason's we are STILL at war in the middle east is because we are not pulling out all the stops, like was done in both world wars. There is a large part of our population who doesn't even know we're at war. Going to war should mean doing whatever is necessary in order to defeat the enemy in the shortest time possible. This would include using anything needed to accomplish the task (ie. mules and horses). Not to mention how the used of these animals would help the equine industry here at home. People who are more worried about animals lives than human lives have sadly misplace sympathies.

when your at war you are supposed to kill the enemy, by any means possible. You can,t make it clean and nobody gets hurt. If you can't shoot untill you are shot at or dead then it is not war it is UN military police action.

A long ,long ,long time ago my neighbor and school friend in SW PA was named Ronnie Tucker. Could this be the same one?

I sure agree with Ronnie and KC

always been in tenn

Agree with Ronnie and KC. War is a horrible thing. Thinking you can legislate it into a pleasant Saturday afternoon pastime is insane.

There are many wars currently ongoing about which many people are largely unaware.

Most of the time mules or horses were considerd organic transport. Dad said they were going down to a small farm every night to water and hay a pair of oxen. Orders came in that the Germans might be watching so they just opened the hay yard and hoped they could survive on snow.

My late friend that was in Europe said that the women were out butchering the dead horses as they were moving forward.