"because they could"

"Some of this was informed by my own experience in the Israeli army, in which I saw my fellow Jewish soldiers do moral things—such as risking their lives to prevent the murder of innocent Jews—as well as immoral things, like beating the hell out of Palestinians because they could." I have before called Jeffrey Goldberg the worst American writer on the Middle East--and the competition for the title is always stiff but look at this passage: he noticed that Israeli terrorist soldiers beat the hell out Palestinians, but he did not notice that they shoot Palestinians too. (thanks Carlos)