Karpinski...colonel now. And, yes, I think her excuse was pretty much lame as dried pile of dog doo. Regardless of checkered lines of reporting, you know the right and wrong, could have put discipline in place and made sure your butt and those in your command were covered. Further, it may take moral courage to keep asking, but there is nothing else that keeps someone from asking. Of course, maybe she felt put off by Sanchez's command style of "I don't have time to deal with this petty BS". which turned into a giant red target on the army's back. Karpinski was out of her league and then couldn't admit it to herself.

I am also reminded of the generals and a few field grades who were trying hard to back out of the Tillman fiasco. They made a bad call and then tried to cover it, made more bad calls and then tried to cover it. It could have stopped a long time before that. Another big black mark on the army record.

Most of these folks are so focused on their own careers and pain, they lose sight of the big picture.