Posted on 07/27/2004 2:47:31 PM PDT by Former Military Chick
Army Abuse Report Seeks To Skirt Blame, Evade Spotlight
Full, public airing of mistreatment and its causes is needed.
What is the best way to bury a scandal? Bring out the bad news when attention is focused elsewhere.
The Army, abetted by the Senate Armed Services Committee, executed the tactic with military precision late last week, trotting out a hard-to-swallow, 300-page account of the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal under cover of the 9/11 Commission's sweeping report on terrorism.
Army abuse report seeks to skirt blame, evade spotlight
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No 'Systemic' Failure
Individuals' actions are to blame for mistreatment of prisoners.
By Lt. Gen. Paul Mikolashek
The following excerpts are taken from the testimony of the Army's inspector general, Lt. Gen. Paul Mikolashek, who appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee last Thursday.
The point of capture is the place on the battlefield that is the most uncertain, dangerous and violent. Most of the allegations of abuses that occurred at the point of capture were the result of actions by a soldier or soldiers who failed to maintain their self-discipline or follow procedures when dealing with recently captured detainees.
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In summary, we found that our soldiers and leaders do understand the requirement to treat people humanely. They are doing so. They also understand their duty obligation to report incidents of abuse, and they do so.
(Excerpt) Read more at usatoday.printthis.clickability.com ...
I worked for "PT" a decade ago. A straight-shooter if I ever met one.
Of course the common soldier should be cut an enormous amount of slack at the point of capture. It is a deadly time for the capturer more than the captive.
How do you really tell from a distance that someone is surrendering or disabled and not just enacting some ruse?
The best rule: continue to fire until you are Certain ABSOLUTELY that your enemy is rendered incapable of harm.
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