[pierrem15]

Again, it's quite telling that it's the sergeants who acted, not the enlisted men. They understood themselves to be acting to protect their own men from insurgents whom they knew would be released.

Where are the dereliction of duty courts martials for the a$$hats who managed the 'catch and release' program?

[xzins]

There is something that’s terrible about catch and release if you’re certain that the man being released is a killer. What do you tell the family? “We’re sorry your son is dead. We knew his killer was a killer. We’d caught him and had to let him go. He finally got got his chance, but your son was the unlucky one.”

And then the troops begin to see a pattern in which ones they release. They know the authorities release the ones who have no weapon in their hands and who are not within X feet of one.

So they play by the law of the jungle instead of the law of civilization, and they end up in prison.

I’m just guessing, of course, because no one’s let a sufficient amount of background see the light. I’m betting I’m not far off the mark.