Afghanistan ROE Change

[jmm99]

Well, we went pretty quick from a change in the ROEs to prosecuting officers for war crimes - ready, shoot, aim.

Suppose every soldier had a little guardian lawyer angel (let's call him JMM), who will whisper the best legal advice (angel JMM doesn't whisper military advice). Angel JMM might whisper something like this. Niel Smith and Tom Odom, two officers that JMM happens to highly respect, accept the new ROEs; and believe that, if civilians (defined as friendlies) are killed, you my soldier ward could (not necessarily will) be prosecuted for war crimes. So, I'm telling you, scoot & don't shoot. You won't be prosecuted, none of your men will be killed (at least not here), and no civilians will be killed (at least by you).

QED (any lawyer angel who advised otherwise should be given a spaded tail & exiled).

Here is another legal opinion on the same topic. Colonel Charles J. Dunlap, Jr., USAF, Law and Military Interventions: Preserving Humanitarian Values in 21st Century Conflicts (2001; he rose in the world since):

(p.5)
As Reisman and Antoniou indicate, the mere perception of LOAC violations can significantly impact operations. The Gulf War provides two examples of situations where LOAC was not violated yet the perception that it may have been had clear military consequences. The first concerned the attack on the Al Firdos bunker in Baghdad that was believed by the allies to be a command and control node. Some experts concluded that the post-attack pictures of the bodies of family members of high Iraqi officials (who evidently used the bunker as a bomb shelter) being excavated from the wreckage achieved politically what the Iraqi air defenses could not do militarily: rendering downtown Baghdad immune from attack.[22]

Worried coalition leaders put the city virtually off-limits to avoid a repetition of like scenes reaching their peoples. Similarly, fears about the impact on coalition constituencies of the images of hundreds of burnt out vehicles along the so-called “Highway of Death” following an air attack on retreating Iraqi forces was a significant factor in the early termination of hostilities.[23] That result left the Republican Guard intact to slaughter Kurds and to help keep Saddam Hussein in power to this day.

22 See Michael Gordon and Bernard E, Trainor, The Generals’ War (1995), at 324-326.

23 Id., at 476-477. See also Colin Powell, My American Journey (Random House, 1995), at 520 (“The television coverage… was starting to make it look as if we were engaged in slaughter for slaughter’s sake.”).

This is a short 27 page article, worth reading in full by everyone.

End legal advice by little guardian lawyer angel.

No smiles or other icons - this is a difficult topic (as another officer I respect just posted - hi, jcustis).