CIA job interview leads to criminal investigation of Green Beret

The Washington Post ^ | February 6, 2015 | Dan Lamothe

[EternalVigilance]

I just read a lot of stuff.

Thanks though. :-)

[jimwatx]

Hmm... a “rules of engagement violation” that only resulted in one of our enemies being killed doesn’t sound like it would be sufficient to render such drastic actions as this. There’s gotta be more to this story.

[jimwatx]

And only a naïve person gives it to them.

They use polygraphs or the equivalent when interviewing you for work, so actually it might be pretty naive to think you could get away with being untruthful to them.

[Portcall24]

I would be very surprised if he wasn’t wired to “the box” during the discussion. The Agency has been doing this for a very long time and it is not as easy as one may think.

[BwanaNdege]

For Pete's sake, get the danged lawyers off the danged battlefield!!!!!!!

NO!

SEND them to the battlefield equipped with cans of RED and cans of GREEN spray paint. The lawyers will proceed to designate ALL enemy personnel as either:

Lawful targets - Spray with RED paint.

Illegal targets - Spray with GREEN paint.

All Lawyers will WEAR BLUE helments.

/sarc

[arthurus]

If you killed an enemy in Iraq or Afghanistan Obama is coming for you, or rather he is sending the CIA and CID and probably many other agencies after you. You killed one of the President’s coreligionists and that requires revenge.

[PapaBear3625]

The real reason the Administration hates him:

In fact, I know Golsteyn—now a major—well. I served alongside him in Marjah for months (though not on the 20th of February—I was among the thousands of Marines fighting elsewhere in the district that day) and can attest that he is one of the most courageous, dedicated, and honorable officers I encountered during my service in the military. He would give his life for the men he led without a moment’s thought—and he very nearly did, on several occasions. When we returned from our deployments and honors began to roll in for Golsteyn, I reflected that it is nice to see the good guys get recognized.

It didn’t last long. In 2011, shortly after a book by author and Marine Bing West came out that detailed Golsteyn’s heroism and quoted him making critical remarks about the American strategy in Afghanistan, I learned that the Army had launched a criminal investigation into his actions during the battle. (Again, full disclosure: I was also interviewed for that book, The Wrong War, and make a brief appearance in it.)

The investigation, apparently, had nothing to do with the acts of bravery that earned Golsteyn his medal. Instead, according to the Washington Post, which cited officials familiar with the case, it concerned “an undisclosed violation of the military’s rules of engagement in combat for killing a known enemy fighter and bomb maker.” The investigation stretched on for nearly two years, during which time the Army effectively put Golsteyn’s career on ice. In 2014, Golsteyn and his lawyer were informed that the investigation was finally complete. No charges were filed, but Golsteyn still wasn’t released from administrative limbo.

[PapaBear3625]

In the review of Bing West's book "The Wrong War," on Afghanistan strategy,

The soldiers caught in the trap can see it clearly. West quotes a perceptive Army officer, Capt. Matt Golsteyn: "We're the insurgents here . . . and we're selling a poor product called the Kabul government."

I could see where it would get some Obama people's noses out of joint.