People have been discussing what could have happened if the SEAL Team 10, composed of Lt. Michael Murphy, Danny Dietz, Matthew Axelson and Marcus Luttrell, killed the goat herders instead of releasing them? Would it change the entire story? Would the Taliban not know of their location and thus, would not be able to attack them?

The deaths of great US Navy SEALs are tragic episodes not only for their families, but also for the entire nation. They gave their lives for our continuous fight for ultimate justice and freedom. However, would it have been better if they decided to do other measures like tying the herders down before leaving them, or killing them?

Marcus Luttrell, who survived the fierce Taliban attack, mentioned in his book “Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10″ that his voting for the release of the herders was a lousy call, a “lame brain decision” as it has led to the death of his 3 teammates. He described how the team had debated between 2 terrible choices – killing the herders or letting them go.

In the end, they decided against killing unarmed civilians and showed how we are different from the enemies. I know that many would not agree (although I believe many would, too), but my opinion is that it was an honorable display of humanity that our nation can be truly proud of.