What war crime? What mock execution?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Shek
1. Mock execution has been considered to be a war crime
4. While only a grapevine report, it sounds like the wheels of justice are being applied proportionately to the level of responsibility one holds. This is a good thing.
The article incorrectly uses the term mock execution. It describes how Capt. Hill fired his pistol off in the distance and sombody ALLEGEDLY said 'you want to end up like your friend.' That is not a mock execution. A mock execution is holding a gun to somebody's head, pulling the trigger with no round in the chamber and then saying 'the next one will be real.' Or, standing the guy up on a stool and putting a noose around his neck. Yes, they broke some rules, which Hill freely admits, but I guess they just don't make war crimes like they used to.
Proportionately?--The batallion refused to support this undermanned company and arrest the terrorist detainees. The evidence against the detainees was "incontrovertible"--why wouldn't batallion take them? It's a pattern of neglect and incompetence. The leadership should be the ones investigated, not the brave soldiers.
But then again, we're talking about a company commander, his first sergeant and other lowly peons. If you don't have a bird or star on your shoulder who cares right?
"A War's Impossible Mission" by P.J. Tobia, embedded reporter, Washington Post
(Opening Paragraphs)
"Hill is a U.S. Army officer in Afghanistan accused of detainee abuse, including a mock execution, war crimes, dereliction of duty and other serious charges stemming from an incident last August at a U.S. military base outside the capital city of Kabul. Members of his unit allegedly slapped Afghan detainees, and Hill himself is said to have fired his pistol into the ground near blindfolded Afghans to frighten them."
(Conclusion)
"But after exploring the personalities and circumstances involved in this case, it's hard for me to condemn Hill or his first sergeant, Tommy Scott, who has been charged with assaulting the detainees. Stuck in the deadly middle ground between all-out war and nation- building, these men lashed out to protect themselves. To me, their story encapsulates the impossible role we've asked U.S. soldiers to play in the reconstruction of this devastated country. They are part warrior, part general contractor, yet they are surrounded on all sides by a populace that wants nothing more than to kill or be rid of them."
"Watching the prosecution destroy the reputations of Scott and Hill was heartbreaking, tragic -- and deeply conflicting. As an American who fiercely believes in the rule of law and due process, I understand that the actions of D Company are inexcusable. A mock execution, under almost any circumstance, is antithetical to the ideals and standards our nation aspires to.'
"And perhaps Hill's superiors had good reason not to take these particular men into custody. Maybe they were on the radar of U.S. intelligence and taking them out of circulation might have meant losing valuable information.
But the soldiers of D Company felt that they were out of options.
I fear that this kind of story will repeat itself in other parts of Afghanistan again and again, if only because U.S. forces know that their enemy's mission is clearer than their own.
" 'They're Taliban,' one soldier said in response to a prosecutor's question at the hearing. That soldier is facing charges of repeatedly hitting a detainee who bit him as he tried to put a gag into the man's mouth. 'If it was us, they'd cut our heads off, videotape it and put it on al-Jazeera for our families to see.' "
(For the Rest of The Story)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?nav=hcmodule
CSM today vs those in past
My thoughts revert back one of my other posts on here.
If only we had a few more of these and a lot less of what we have today.
http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...5&postcount=37