Is Hersh too sympathetic with his description of US soldiers in Vietnam who committed atrocities as still being "good boys"?

[Bookish]

Hersh's affordance of humanity to these soldiers - in effect war criminals - is disturbing to me. He describes them as victims of a system that dehumanizes the Vietnamese which is true to a certain extent but where do you then draw the line with regards to individual morality. Is a soldier who bayonets an infant a victim? Or a soldier that rapes and kills?

[Bookish]

It was hard for me to read especially since its a point he maintains pretty much consistently. And its equally hard to listen to when I watch him give interviews. I can’t remember if he makes such allowances for American soldiers who comitted war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan ... even his bits about McChrystal is a blur ...