One of the deepest patterns of American mythology is the motif of "White Violence." Anyone who has seen a Hollywood action film has been exposed to it. A hero suffers the pain and humiliation of "Black Violence" done to him and his loved ones by the villain(s). He exhausts appeals to reason, the law, and an indifferent world and, finally, unleashes his righteous wrath in a burst of cleansing violence that eliminates the villain and restores peace and harmony.
It is a deeply held belief among Americans that the proper exercise of violence is profoundly beneficial. This belief underlies the NRA gun culture, but it also has a significant manifestation in our embrace of militarism. Here is an explanation of our belief in redemptive military violence:
Take a troubled young man from a poor inner city neighborhood and sign him up for the Marines. You can now switch his violent impulses from the Black channel (muggings and drive-by shootings) to the White channel (killing "terrorists"). Hey, presto! This boy has been redeemed.
It is an article of American mythological faith that young men trained to kill in groups following the orders of military officers have been "saved." This cleansing violence is performed as members of "America's Team." Once he returns to civilian life, the young man's experience with killing on the battlefield will expunge any criminal tendencies and make him a healthy member of the community.
When a core myth is challenged in America, cognitive dissonance ensues and people become angry. Tales of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and war crimes make "conservatives " furious because they contradict the RMV (Redemptive Military Violence) myth.
This is why the Iraqi rape/murder investigation will provoke a tornado of right-wing fury, because it frontally assaults the RMV myth. The soldiers who conspired to do this committed an evil act while serving in the US Military. They were not redeemed.