This makes no sense:
A general at Camp Pendleton has cut short the sentences of two Marines imprisoned in the Hamdaniya murder case and might do the same for two others.
Pvts. Tyler Jackson and Jerry Shumate Jr. were released Monday by order of Lt. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. The base announced Mattis’ decision a day later.
Jackson and Shumate had been sentenced to 21 months in the brig as part of pretrial deals in which they pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice. They were demoted in rank from corporal to private.
In exchange, government officials dropped the charge of premeditated murder. A conviction on that count would have sent the defendants to prison for the rest of their lives, with no possibility of parole.
***Jackson, Shumate, five other Marines and a Navy corpsman kidnapped and killed a man in Hamdaniya, Iraq, on April 26, 2006. They snatched the victim from his bed, took him to a roadside hole, bound him and killed him with a barrage of bullets.
Afterward, the squad tried to disguise the killing as a firefight between U.S. troops and an insurgent trying to plant a bomb.
The defendants said they partly wanted to send a message that insurgents and their supporters in Hamdaniya would pay a dear price. They had become frustrated after repeatedly arresting a suspect and turning him over to Iraqi authorities, only to see him released every time.
If a few months in the brig is the punishment for kidnapping, murder, and an attempted coverup, by my calculation, Beauchamp’s punishment for penning essays should be a blowjob, a bucket of KFC, and a twelve-pack, followed by monthly massages from a topless model (think of it as probation).
Hearts and minds, yo!
Seriously- am I missing something pretty major here, or is this as outrageous as it seems?
Wilfred
Occam’s Razor. Beauchamp spoke badly of our troops (genuflect). These marines just killed some brown guy.
yet another jeff
Are you shocked? Are you in awe? Operation “Shock and Awe” continues!
Apparently there’s no one that understands the similarities between Public Relations and Diplomacy. Ye Gods…
The Other Steve
I’m assuming it’s because these two gave up the evidence against the others… which is why they had the lighter sentence to begin with.
If I’m reading the article correctly.
Bill H
It seems as outrageous to me as it does to you.
But I have never served in combat, so I will remain on the sidline.
jenniebee
Dude – the paradigm shifted. Where were you?
Zifnab
They got the Paris Hilton / Scooter Libby treatment. Five firm wrist slaps and a book deal. Harsh but fair in the times we live in.
Of course, in times like these, I’m sure the Preznit is looking for bold men, willing to stare down the rules when American Liberty is on the line. I’m surprised they’re not all getting Medals of Freedom for their bold and decisive action in the face of the liberal terrorist threat.
Redleg
John,
I’m with you. Speaking as a former soldier, these punishments, and reduction thereof, seem problematic. I wonder what the mitigating factors were, if any?
Cassidy
Personally I find it disheartening. The power of UCMJ is that it frequently gives stronger sentences for lesser offenses, than the civilian system. If troops have no fear of being held accountable for their actions, then that only allows us to scoot a little closer to that edge.
Face
A General can overrule a military judge? A General can unilaterally dismiss a prison sentence completely independant of the military’s legal establishment’s blessing?
Wow, I had no idea. I guess this explains the extreme fealty soliders express in their General….
Mr Furious
I’m not sure Beauchamp wants you to give him a blow job, John…
Davebo
It’s a little late to be suprised now don’t you think?
Remember, the army tried to cover up the murder of a man
known as Dilawar in Afghanistan, but failed in the end.
However, most charged were aquitted and the stiffest sentence given to those convicted was five months incarceration and a big chicken dinner.
Wilfred
On second thought, I can see how, in the fog of war, in that white heat moment of combat with the rockets’ red glaring and the weight of the free world hanging on their shoulders, a group of marines could get together to drag a man out of his house, pump his head full of bullets and leave him in a ditch.
I wonder what a group of Mexicans would get if, say, they dragged a 52yo white Texan from his house in the middle of the night and gave him a Hamdaniya blanket party?
Cassidy
Commanders have a great deal of discretion when dealing with the punishments of troops under thier command.
Ex: Company CDR gives you an ART 15; maxed out 14 and 14, loss of a paygrade. Said Soldier can appeal to the BN CDR and ask that it be reversed. Doesn’t typically happen, though, because the next Commander isn’t going to over-rule his own Officer on the word of a Soldier.
RSA
It’s hard to look past this irony. I thought we were conveying American ideals to a country shot through with governmental corruption for the past few decades. I see that the reverse is also happening.
Jake
Hey, at least they weren’t afflicted with teh gay. Meanwhile, there seems to be no suggestion that their behaviour or the resulting “sentence” will endanger the soldiers still in Iraq.
Question: I think I understand why these guys aren’t being tried by the Iraqi judicial system and my opinion on that will keep, but what constitutes a war crime these days?
Andrew
I, too, would like to be subject to John Cole-style justice, perhaps after a jaywalking infraction. Doesn’t that warrant a trip to Tahiti?
rawshark
Upstanding american citizens join the military to serve their country. Bush sends them on a goose chase in the desert. They arrest terrorist suspects, hand them over to the Iraqi authroities who are supposed to be on our side. They release the guy. He’s seen doing more terrorist stuff, they arrest him again. Again he’s released so that he can do more terrorist stuff. Its very hot, very dusty, its been years now, who’s the enemy? So they take matters into their own hands out of frustration. Now they’re in prison.
Thank you George Bush.
Zifnab
Let’s be serious, here. When those Mexicans aren’t out giving people Leprosy while stealing our lawn-care jobs, they’re – to a man – robbing or raping or shooting someone old, white, and important. Lou Dobbs told me so.
Do we really have to go through a judicial process for these people? What ever happened to a good old-fashioned lynching?
over_educated
Where is Army Lawyer? Considering the agregious violations he ascribed to Scott Beauchamp,shouldn’t he be going totally apeshit about this?
Athlon
Sadly, even in this we must rerun the Vietnam war – it echoes the tiny sentences given to LT Calley and his fellow-murderers. Although I get that (sadly) the Army doesn’t seem to care much about Iraqi deaths, couldn’t they at least care about the appalling lack of discipline and departure from military honor exemplified by this crime? Surely allowing this kind of thing to slip with minimal punishment can’t be good for standards in the long run?
TenguPhule
I wish I could say I was surprised.
But I’m not.
And of course, long after the American public has forgotten about this, the Iraqis and the rest of the world will remember.
Military Justice is quickly becoming an Oxymoron.
BSR
Rawshark wrote,
“They arrest terrorist suspects, hand them over to the Iraqi authroities who are supposed to be on our side. They release the guy. He’s seen doing more terrorist stuff, they arrest him again. Again he’s released so that he can do more terrorist stuff. Its very hot, very dusty, its been years now, who’s the enemy? So they take matters into their own hands out of frustration.”
Actually it’s more horrible than that if you dig a little deeper. They couldn’t find the guy they were actually hunting that had supposedly been captured and released previously,.. so they took one of his neighboors.
Mike
Magincalda, who didn’t cooperate and was convicted at trial was sentenced only to time served. Perhaps it was considered unfair that the ones who pled guilty and did cooperate got a heavier sentence.
Tax Analyst
Tish, tosh…nothing more than “Frat Pranks”, right?
Zifnab
It’s not anything worse than you’d see in Pittsburgh or Detroit.
BSR
Check out this CNN aticle that has a lot more details. If you take this article as credible the crime was much more horrific and unforgivable. These guys are animals and a discredit to the vast majority of our military personnel who do serve us honorably.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/22/hamdaniya/index.html
Paul L.
Here is another disgraceful coverup by the US Military to swiftboat the hero John “Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood,” Murtha.
Marine’s Charges Dropped in Iraq Deaths
mark
as a nation we are run by a cabal of thugs and criminals. I guess the military is just following the lead from the top.
Formerly Wu
Clearly, if even senators are capable of blowing half-baked conclusions out of their ass to make rhetorical points, then the war truly is lost.
The Other Steve
I’m quite certain he doesn’t care.
John S.
Says the guy who screamed about how Qana = Jenin for a solid week. You’re the proverbial boy who cried wolf.
Tsulagi
Reading the story from that Paul L. link, seems LTG Mattis took an interest in that case as well. Apparently at Pendleton no need for the quaint or obsolete UCMJ and its process when you got Solomon dressed up as a Marine Corps three star.
myiq2xu
Rodney King, Amadou Diallo, Abner Louima, this poor Iraqi in Hamdaniya, it’s all a common thread.
White authority figures abuse power, get off lightly or scot-free.
Because they’re the good guys.
We wouldn’t punish John Wayne for shooting injuns would we?
Jon H
Seems pretty much in line with other cases, like the slaps on the wrist given to those joyriding pilots who brought down a gondola full of people in Italy.
I think part of it is that the military is too inclined to overweight the loss of rank, which outsiders see as, essentially, a slap on the wrist.
After all, non-military people can end up in a lower-paying, lower-responsibility, lower-authority job just by getting laid off, through no fault of their own.
Jake
But in the military you have to be involved with a murder.
Er…
Cassidy
Must’ve missed that in my re-enlistment contracts…Any idea where it’s located?
Cassidy
I think outsiders tend to not understand the dynamic enough to realize how serious it is to lose rank.
They can always join the military, providing they meet the requirements.
John Cole
I think between the two of you, you are somehow managing to both overstate and understate the seriousness of a loss in rank.
For someone like me and the many kids who have joined in the past few years for college money, out of patriotism, or because they were enticed by the signing bonusses, a reduction in rank IS a slap on the wrist. BFD- I was an E-4, now I am an E-3. Life goes on.
However, for someone with career aspirations as an NCO or an officer, a reduction in rank is a DEATH PENALTY.
As to the rest of you, I think many of you are making sweeping generalizations about the military that are pretty unfair.
Paul L.
I take it that you also believe that the accused Duke Lacrosse players are not innocent because they never had a jury trial.
Jake
Electric chair? Firing squad? Injection?
Again, I’m a civilian, I assume I’m missing something. For example, why would any military want a guy who is involved with a murder to become an officer?
Also, I admit I tend to admire soldiers because they do something I can’t see myself doing (I also feel the same way about cops, usually). But I don’t see why a crime that would get a civilian put away for a very long time should somehow become a crime that ruins one’s career when a soldier does it.
Either we say soldiers are humans and expected to meet to at least the same standards as other humans (and face the same consequences when they don’t) or we say they’re a special class of people who are exempt from those standards. I think the latter has been tried and it didn’t work.
Jill
There is no more outrage. Bush spent it all.
John Cole
I was trying to make the point how serious a loss in rank is- it is, effectively, the end of their career.
In cases as serious as murder, though, reduction in rank should be an afterthought as compared to the harshness of the punishment being meted out. Attempts to claim someone lost rank because of a murder is a sufficient punishment should be rebuffed. That doesn’t mean reduction in rank is not serious, as it is, but it is wholly inadequate.
myiq2xu
These guys committed premeditated murder.
They should be serving life sentences.
Jake
Fine, I enjoy a little hyperbole myself. But so far as careers go, the same applies to a civilian with a felony conviction.
Preferably rank reduction would be irrelvant because the convict would be locked up until/past retirement age. But I think I agree with your main point.
Ugh:
HyperIon
that “end of career” language was used here recently wrt another military matter (the Tillman affair, where a general lost a star). but look, you don’t lose your job and you don’t lose your benefits, right? so, yes, your rank is reduced and you will probably never get promoted but it’s not like they throw you out on the street with nothing but the shirt on your back. jes sayin..
Cassidy
Not exactly. Military convicts are still in the military drawing a paycheck. I wasn’t trying to say that a reduction in rank is a serious punishment for serious crimes; was just speaking generally.
Depends on the crime. If you got to jail, more often than not, you’re out within a couple of weeks….no benefits, no honorable discharge, etc. It does follow you.
rawshark
Not me I made a generalization about George Bush which I think was pretty fair. :)
Jon H
“I was trying to make the point how serious a loss in rank is- it is, effectively, the end of their career.”
Um, so? Careers end all the time, mostly without being caused by having engaged in criminal activity. Hell, I still make over $10,000 less than I did in 2001, and I was only laid off.
Crimes that carry a penalty of jail time for civilians should also do so for military personnel, whether or not rank is lost.
A reduction in rank is, at worst, like a felony conviction punished by a fine. Except you can still vote. And you probably retain lots of rights that felons don’t have. And if you have a college degree, a dishonorable discharge probably isn’t even that big of a deal.
Worse, everyone in the military knows damn well they risk demotion if they screw up. If they still go on and screw up in some grotesque felonious manner, I see no reason not to demote them *and* give them max jail terms.
All too often I’ve heard about the military handing down punishments that are a mockery of justice. It’s just a big old boys’ network, with the leadership all too willing to act as enablers for “youthful indiscretions” like cutting down a gondola full of tourists or murdering an old man.
Note that in the US abducting and murdering someone would probably get the death penalty for all involved. Even the harsh military penalties, before General Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free gets involved, were a bit light compared to that.
Jon H
Anyone want to bet these guys will be all be set free, and join Blackwater, where they can be felons for $150 an hour?
Jake
Christ on a Wheat Thin. So unless/until they get a discharge…? Wait, even if they’re in prison? Either way, yeah, I know soldiers get paid shit for what they do but… Um. No.
Cassidy
A conviction at Court Martial is a felony conviction. And a Dishonorable discharge does follow you around. More often than not, criminal offenders receive a Other than Honorable or Bad Conduct discharge. Anything other than an Honorable renders all the rights and privileges that you earned null and void, including your GI Bill, Medical care, etc.
Bruce Moomaw
There’s been some kind of funny business associated with the Hamdaniya case from the start. Consider Cpl. Trent Thomas, who was convicted (quoting CNN) of “kidnapping and conspiracy to commit several offenses — including murder, larceny, housebreaking, kidnapping, and making false official statements”, and who (after refusing to cooperate with prosecutors) had his sentence consist, in sum total, of “a reduction in rank” and a dishonorable discharge.
Could this possibly have something to do with Cpl. Saul Lopezromo’s testimony for Thomas’ defense team — and with the possibility that the Hamdaniya killers threatened to unearth too much more of the US military’s dirty laundry in Iraq?
CNN: “CAMP PENDLETON, California (AP) — A corporal testifying in a court-martial said Marines in his unit began routinely beating Iraqis after officers ordered them to ‘crank up the violence level.’
“Cpl. Saul H. Lopezromo testified Saturday at the murder trial of Cpl. Trent D. Thomas.
” ‘We were told to crank up the violence level,’ said Lopezromo, testifying for the defense. When a juror asked for further explanation, Lopezromo said: ‘We beat people, sir.’
“Within weeks of allegedly being scolded, seven Marines and a Navy corpsman went out late one night to find and kill a suspected insurgent in the village of Hamdaniya near the Abu Ghraib prison. The Marines and corpsman were from 2nd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment.
“Lopezromo said the suspected insurgent was known to his neighbors as the ‘prince of jihad,’ and had been arrested several times and later released by the Iraqi legal system. Unable to find him, the Marines and corpsman dragged another man from his house, fatally shot him, and then planted an AK-47 assault rifle near the body to make it appear he had been killed in a shootout, according to court testimony.
“Four Marines and the corpsman, initially charged with murder in the April 2006 killing, have pleaded guilty to reduced charges and been given jail sentences ranging from 10 months to eight years. Thomas, 25, from St. Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty but withdrew his plea and is the first defendant to go to court-martial.
“Lopezromo, who was not part of the squad on its late-night mission, said he saw nothing wrong with what Thomas did. ‘I don’t see it as an execution, sir,’ he told the judge. ‘I see it as killing the enemy.’ He said Marines consider all Iraqi men part of the insurgency.
“Lopezromo and two other Marines were charged in August with assaulting an Iraqi two weeks before the killing that led to charges against Thomas and the others. Charges against all three were later dropped.
“Thomas’ attorneys have said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury from his combat duty in Falluja in 2004. They have argued that Thomas believed he was following a lawful order to get tougher with suspected insurgents.
“Prosecution witnesses testified that Thomas shot the 52-year-old man at point-blank range after he had already been shot by other Marines and was lying on the ground.
“Lopezromo said a procedure called ‘dead-checking’ was routine. If Marines entered a house where a man was wounded, instead of checking to see whether he needed medical aid, they shot him to make sure he was dead, he testified. ‘If somebody is worth shooting once, they’re worth shooting twice,’ he said.
“The jury is composed of three officers and six enlisted personnel, all of whom have served in Iraq. The trial was set to resume Monday.”
_____________________________
As for the similar total lack of punishment for the My Lai murderers, consider also the 4-17-95 New Republic article by the decidedly unhysterical Charles Lane, “The Legend of Colin Powell” (no longer available on the Web, alas). While describing the role St. Colin played in helping to cover up My Lai (by “investigating” it while deliberately failing to ask any of the witnesses the key questions — kind of like the Levite passing by on the other side, and pretty much the same sort of thing he’s been doing all his life), Lane notes that the Americal Division resorted to smaller but still major My Lai-type massacres frequently through the first few years of the war — including the My Khei massacre, half the size of My Lai, a few dozen miles away on the same day. This sort of thing is routinely done in guerrilla wars — especially guerrilla wars deliberately undersupplied with adequate troops by dishonest Presidents.
The trouble with John is that he’s still under the delusion that there was EVER any honor whatsoever in the US military. There isn’t, any more than there ever has been in any other military. They all specialize entirely in ass-covering, and they’re in a position to do it very efficiently.
Delia
Maybe our problem is that honor seems to be gone from our nation entirely. We don’t even have the city on a hill stuff anymore. We’ve just got loons who seems to have gotten their education from comic books and want to conduct foreign policy like they’re the biggest bullies in the fifth grade — except that they’ve got nukes. And we’ve got commentators who sit around and talk like this is normal. So atrocities like this happen — which, if we had been reading about them in a book about the Germans on the Eastern Front would have properly shocked everyone — and the MSM just sort of lets it slide right on by.
I don’t know how much longer we’re really going to be a major power. There will come a time when we’ve used up all our toys and no one likes us anymore, and unless we can get rid this crew, it may come sooner than anyone imagines.
Rome Again
It seems to me this all makes sense if orders came from above. Can’t let the little soldiers suffer for the decisions of the higher ups. Perhaps?
Tsulagi
Can’t speak for John, but that is a “delusion” I still suffer under. My family too. I’m guessing a fair majority of my extended family as well. Most of the people I work with too. Also those I served with and others I know who have as well. But I guess that couldn’t compare with your experience or knowledge of the military.
So we must all be delusional. Not Catholic, but they must all be delusional too if they still attend services or support their church. Given the pedophile priests that have been exposed and at least some testimony showing the church hierarchy knowingly allowing it to continue and/or cover it up. Nope, no honor in that denomination apparently. What the hell, all Christianity too given its really bloody past centuries ago.
Come to think of it, every large institution has had some who strayed, right? And in some of those situations the case not handled to the satisfaction of all concerned. Or do you know of some institutions or large organizations that have existed for centuries with unquestionably perfect records? If so, please do tell so that the unworthy among us may make proper pilgrimages seeking enlightenment.
Bruce Moomaw
Certainly I see very little evidence that the US military during this war — or during the Vietnam War — had or has any willingness whatsoever to regulate its own behavior. If you object to that observation, I suggest you start working to change the facts it’s based on. Until then, I am inclined to stick with Clemenceau’s belief that military justice is to justice as military music is to music. (And forgive me for not being overcome with awe at the moral state of the Catholic Church at this point, too — and not just because of its nauseating and very long-time tolerance of child molesters when it’s in its economic interest to do so.)
Cassidy
I specialize in trauma medicine and treating battlefield injuries so that people can be MEDEVACed to far more specialized care and live, even after horrific injuries. I must have skipped that session of “ass-covering”.
I think it is safe to say that Bruce has no clue what he’s actually talking about.
Barry
“I think part of it is that the military is too inclined to overweight the loss of rank, which outsiders see as, essentially, a slap on the wrist.
I think outsiders tend to not understand the dynamic enough to realize how serious it is to lose rank.”
It is a serious things for an NCO or officer; for an EM the rank reduction itself is minor – it’s things like a BCD, forfeiture of pay and allowances and jail time which hurt.
However, please remember that we are talking about kidnapping, murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder, and obstruction of justice concerning kidnapping and murder. All very serious crimes, any of which could have a civilian kissing the judge’s *ass if he were to get away with only a few to several years in prison.
Barry
John: “Seriously- am I missing something pretty major here, or is this as outrageous as it seems?”
Some prophet predicted that this war would follow three stages:
1) “They’ll love us!”
2) “All they understand is force.”
3) “Exterminate the brutes.”
We are clearly in stage 3 by now.
Cassidy
Barry, no doubt, and I did not mean to imply as such. I said the same thing earlier; I was just speaking in general terms.
As for EM’s and loss of rank, I’d only disagree on a few points. Generally speaking, Soldiers and servicemembers tend to get married and start families at a younger age than their civilian peers. The loss of rank does have a significant impact on the lower enlisted, in the short term.
Zifnab
You must have missed the class on “Life 101”.
Seriously, you think Stock Brokers and Mailmen and Used Car Dealers don’t perform ass-covering exercises on a daily basis? The only difference is that these guys aren’t in the business of killing people.
My Lai, at its root, wasn’t so fundamentally different from Enron. That doesn’t mean all soldiers support the massacre of civilians any more than it means all energy companies have cooked books. Officers fuck up and tried to cover their asses just like everyone else. And when you successfully cover ass, you get promotions. Colin Powell isn’t any more or less divinely imbued than every other member of the Joint Chiefs. Just cause he’s a black general and in the lyme-lite doesn’t make him any more guilty.
The Other Steve
In America, we call this right-sizing your benefits. Happens all the time in the corporate world. Hell, you don’t even have to do anything wrong as an employee, sometimes they just yank benefits to help pay the CEO’s bonus.
The Other Steve
Actually they’re really quite good at it.
Redleg
PaulL,
I take it you belive OJ Simpson was not guilty because a jury of his peers acquitted him in criminal court.
Cassidy
I think you’re incredibly wrong on this one. Comparing the results of stress and anguish of combat troops to the greed of businessman is like comparing apples and asparagus.
I think you do Gen. Powell a grave injustice by implying his position was only earned by the color of his skin. For a liberal, that’s some very not so subtle racism.
The Other Steve
The downside of OJ is Greta van Sustern and CourTV.
guilt or innocence does not matter compared to that.
Bruce Moomaw
Time for today’s Beauchamp Update from the New Republic:
“…[W]e continue to investigate the anecdotes recounted in the Baghdad Diarist. Unfortunately, our efforts have been severely hampered by the U.S. Army. Although the Army says it has investigated Beauchamp’s article and has found it to be false, it has refused our–and others’–requests to share any information or evidence from its investigation. What’s more, the Army has rejected our requests to speak to Beauchamp himself, on the grounds that it wants ‘to protect his privacy.’
“At the same time the military has stonewalled our efforts to get to the truth, it has leaked damaging information about Beauchamp to conservative bloggers. Earlier this week, The Weekly Standard’s Michael Goldfarb published a report, based on a single anonymous ‘military source close to the investigation,’ entitled ‘Beauchamp Recants,’ claiming that Beauchamp ‘signed a sworn statement admitting that all three articles he published in the New Republic were exaggerations and falsehoods–fabrications containing only “a smidgen of truth,” in the words of our source.’
“Here’s what we know: On July 26, Beauchamp told us that he signed several statements under what he described as pressure from the Army. He told us that these statements did not contradict his articles. Moreover, on the same day he signed these statements for the Army, he gave us a statement standing behind his articles, which we published at tnr.com. Goldfarb has written, ‘It’s pretty clear the New Republic is standing by a story that even the author does not stand by.’ In fact, it is our understanding that Beauchamp continues to stand by his stories and insists that he has not recanted them. The Army, meanwhile, has refused our requests to see copies of the statements it obtained from Beauchamp–or even to publicly acknowledge that they exist.
“Scott Beauchamp is currently a 24-year-old soldier in Iraq who, for the past 15 days, has been prevented by the military from communicating with the outside world, aside from three brief and closely monitored phone calls to family members. Our investigation has not thus far uncovered factual evidence (aside from one key detail) to discount his personal dispatches. And we cannot simply dismiss the corroborating accounts of the five soldiers with whom we spoke. (You can read our findings here.)
“Part of our integrity as journalists includes standing by a writer who has been accused of wrongdoing and who is not able to defend himself. But we also want to reassure our readers that our obligations to our writer would never trump our commitment to the truth. We once again invite the Army to make public Beauchamp’s statements and the details of its investigation–and we ask the Army to let us (or any other media outlet, for that matter) speak to Beauchamp. Unless and until these things happen, we cannot fairly assess any of these reports about Beauchamp–and therefore have no reason to change our own assessment of Beauchamp’s work. If the truth ends up reflecting poorly on our judgment, we will accept responsibility for that. But we also refuse to rush to judgment on our writer or ourselves.”
____________________
Surprising, isn’t it? Surely one could trust the honorable officers who run the US military to be willing to expose the truth in such matters.
Now, I am willing to admit to Tsulagi and Cassidy that I overstated the case a little bit: the US military and the Catholic Church aren’t ENTIRELY corrupt and sociopathic. Just MOSTLY corrupt and sociopathic, like any other organization of humans who are given dictatorial power over other humans.
As for Colin Powell: really, Cassidy. Zifnab was saying, of course, that there has always been a very strong tendency on the part of the MSM (and of the GOP and the military, for obvious self-interested reasons) to declare that Powell must be angelic simply because he’s black. He’s Republican! He’s a high-ranking military officer! And he’s BLACK! Take that, you liberal Democrats! (Or, in the case of the MSM: he’s roughly in the center of the current American political spectrum, so he MUST be wise and honest.) In reality, he is — and has always been — a self-interested, amoral “porkchopper” who has always believed in Going Along To Get Along: a Vicar of Bray type who will do absolutely anything that happens to be good for the career of Colin Powell (including turning against the Bush Administration, now that the Iraq War has become safely unpopular and it will start benefitting his career to turn against it).
Bruce Moomaw
And, of course, it’s touching that the Army is refusing to let TNR speak to Beauchamp in order “to protect his privacy”. How can one possibly doubt the morality of an organization as thoughtful and sensitive as that?
Cassidy
I still think you overstate the case. You’re lumping in a lot of pieces under the same heading.
There is no doubting that he sold his credibility to the Bush Admin. That’s a given. But to assert his prominence before was solely due to his skin color is way off base. Gen. Powell was a good Officer. He was an example of sound leadership and common-sense tactical application. I say “was” because I feel he sold us out when he sold his credibility. But prior to that, he was an admirable Officer.
Cassidy
All military documents are covered under a Privacy Agreement all servicemembers sign. The military is actually bound by law to not disclose those kind of things.
Bruce Moomaw
Tonight’s latest tidbit confirming that Clemenceau’s and my view of military justice is, alas, still correct: CNN’s new report.
“Official reprimands issued to three high-ranking Army officers are only mildly critical of their mistakes after the friendly fire death of Pat Tillman and at times praise the officers. The Army also said it would not include the reprimands in the officers’ military records, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press.
“Tillman’s direct superiors knew within hours of his April 2004 death in Afghanistan that the former football star had been killed by fellow Army Rangers, but the truth was kept from the public and Tillman’s family for five weeks — in direct violation of Army regulations.
” ‘You should not consider this as an adverse action,’ letters to the officers say. ‘This document will not be filed in any system of records maintained by the Army.’
“Last week, the Army announced that seven officers would be disciplined for critical errors related to the incident. The military laid most of the blame on Philip Kensinger, a retired three-star general who led Army special operations forces after Sept. 11.
“Kensinger was censured for ‘a failure of leadership’ and accused of lying to investigators. A stinging disciplinary letter recommending his demotion was released by the Army last week.
“Retired Brig. Gen. Gary Jones, who led one of the early investigations, was criticized by Army Commanding Gen. William Wallace for accepting Kensinger ‘at his word’ and for incorrectly characterizing Tillman’s actions in describing why he should be awarded a Silver Star.
“The letter from Wallace includes broad compliments, telling Jones he approached his investigation with ‘due vigor, diligence and professionalism.’ Wallace writes that misleading Army leaders, members of Congress and the Tillman family was ‘a fundamental mistake’ with ‘significant consequences,’ but he says he understands it was ‘unintentional.’
“Brig. Gen. Gina Farrisee, director of military personnel management at the Pentagon, was criticized for failing to respond to ‘red flags’ raised by medical examiners who doubted Tillman’s mortal head wounds were caused by enemy fire.
” ‘Had you acted differently once the medical examiners raised the red flags, many of the Tillman family’s valid complaints that ensued could have been avoided,’ Wallace wrote.
“He continued: ‘I know that all of this is much clearer with the benefit of hindsight. I suspect that, upon reflection, you wished you had done more to act on the medical examiners’ concerns.’
“Brig. Gen. James Nixon, Tillman’s former regimental commander, is cited for his ‘well-intentioned but fundamentally wrong’ decision to keep information about Tillman’s death limited to just his staff.
” ‘I am mindful that you never intended to deprive the Tillman family of the truth and only intended to delay notification until you had the facts,’ Wallace wrote.
“Nixon is now a brigadier general and director of operations at the Center for Special Operations at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.
“Pentagon investigators recommended in March that Army officials consider disciplinary action against nine officers for their roles in the case. Possible steps by the Army could have included demotions, dishonorable discharges, jail, courts-martial or letters of reprimand.
“Asked why the memorandums are not going to be included in the officers’ military records, Army spokesman Paul Boyce said Friday: ‘That was the determination by the courts-martial convening authority in this matter.’
“Some of the details that emerged after Tillman’s death included that he was close enough to see the men shooting at him when he was killed; his uniform was burned after his death; medical examiners’ suspicions about the bullet holes in his head were ignored; and comrades were also ordered not to discuss his death.
“Also, just one day after approving a medal citation claiming Tillman had been cut down by ‘devastating enemy fire’ in Afghanistan, a high-ranking general tried to warn President Bush that the story might not be true.
“Messages seeking comment were left with the Tillman family.
“The Army has not released a memorandum of concern issued to Lt. Col. Jeff Bailey, Tillman’s battalion commander, for his handling of the punishment against the Rangers involved in the shooting of Tillman. Nor has the Army released names or disciplinary letters received by two other unnamed officers.”
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