"Milspec" ought to mean something.
Posted on 05/19/2004 3:09:06 AM PDT by kattracks
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of abuse in the first court-martial stemming from abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison.Sivits was charged with maltreatment of detainees, dereliction of duty for failing to protect detainees from abuse, cruelty and maltreatment and maltreating one prisoner by escorting him "to be positioned in a pile on the floor to be assaulted by other soldiers."
Capt. Scott Dunn, Sivits' lawyer, entered the plea on his behalf and expressed concern about the huge media coverage of the trial, asking "can you make a fair decision?"
The judge, Col. James Pohl, replied: "Just because it's on TV, it doesn't mean it's true."
And that too soft if the heads don't come off as slowly as Berg's did.
Frederick now needs to come clean about who in the chain of command knew about the humiliation of prisoners for sport. I suspect NO ONE knew but the 8 bozos involved, and I sincerely hope that the ranking NCO, Frederick, having recognized the severe damage he's done to his country and to the war effort in Iraq, will stop all the "taking instructions" BS that his family has been putting out, admit his instigation of the activity, and take his punishment like a man.
As a Conservative, I beleive in individual responsibility.
So *of course* the soldiers are to blame for the mistreatment of prisoners and the gawdafwul stupidity of *recording it*, the dumbest move since Nixon made those tapes.
But my point is that putting responsibility *fully* on those who do the act implies that we blame the *media* for spreading this around the world, putting it on magazine covers galore, etc.
IMHO we are in violent agreement here that the media has overhyped this, and I think that they share the blame (due to their hype) for the impact this is having on our efforts in Iraq.
now if it had been rudyard kipling era britain, 'twould be a different story. their navy traveled, the saying goes, on something like rum and the cat-o-nine-tails. (and a third item i can't remember)
"Milspec" ought to mean something.
In massage oil!
That's because they were, as you note, accidents. The events at Abu Ghraib were not.
I got in trouble for using the term 'cruel', where 'mistreat' would be better...
i used that term (incorrectly) to argue against what i see as the 'double-standard' theory: That we somehow owe to someone to be harsher on our own soldiers as prisoners than we can justly be on the imprisoned terrorists/fighters.
Yes, what the soldiers are accused of is mistreatment or abuse, and was *not* cruelty or torture.
My point is simply this: It's hypocritical to hyper-ventilate over the injustice of mistreatment of prisoners (especially those in jail for killing in nasty ways like plnating IEDs) in one breath and demand excess punishment in the next.
That of course is where some Iraqis and Arabs are. most Iraqis were shocked and saddened by the Nick Berg killing, buy foxnews reporter found one anti-American baghdad resident who said that Nick Berg's murder was an appropriate response to the Abu Graib abuse scandal ... that sure runs the gamut of illogical connections, does it not? Calling for death or huge prison sentences in this case is IMHO way over-the-top.
I believe the military has given Sivits appropriate punishment.
"Rum, sodomy and the lash" is the quote you're looking for. :)
I agree with everything you just said.
Sivits should parlay his new reputation into that of a rap artist, OR judge on the TV show 'American Idol.'
There is a difference between "showing" the pictures, and flaunting them 24/7 for two weeks as though they were part of the family picnic.
I'm not a "picture" person, except on vacation, so I don't get the obesssion some people have to capture everything on film.
It would have been a blessing had these grunts not had digital cameras with them.
I believe the military has given Sivits appropriate punishment.
Absolutely correct. We've had an interesting discussion today.
Need it to refute a leftie email I got this week. Thanks.
RAKKASAN?? Right?
1st/503rd Infantry
Well burn my innocent ears. I thought the missing item was something like "the grace of" (well, you know Who) but maybe that's from another quotation. Oh well, all that was missing from this sorry set of scenes was rum and the lash.
The Constitution of the United States (which so many today loathe and abhor) promises "a speedy and public trial" in criminal cases. This may have been the speediest trial that I have heard about in recent years.
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