TheNoNamedOne
06-28-2007, 11:14 AM
Here is what Major General Taguba, the officer in charge of investigating the crimes at Abu Ghraib said in 2004 about the senior officer corps of the military:
''From the moment a soldier enlists, we inculcate loyalty, duty, honor, integrity and selfless service. And yet when we get to the senior-officer level, we forget those values. I know that my peers in the Army will be mad at me for speaking out, but the fact is that we violated the laws of land warfare in Abu Ghraib. We violated the tenets of the Geneva Convention. We violated our own principles, and we violated the core of our military values. The stress of combat is not an excuse, and I believe, even today, that those civilian and military leaders responsible should be held accountable.''
What price did he pay for his candor after all those years of loyal service to his nation? He was ordered into a desk job and then forced to retire, after being shunned by other high ranking officers and contradicted by civilian leaders of the Bush Administration before Congress.
And more from the same source (http://www.sltrib.com/Opinion/ci_6209418):
This means, of course, that the other key victims of the Pentagon's (and the president's) aversion to facing facts are the nation's brave military personnel.
Yes, like Cpl Kokesh, who unlike General Taguba for speaking out and showing the truth, gets a letter of investigation and a threat to revoke benefits with a court martial or change in discharge status. Of course they would not threaten a General with such action. Much easier to push a low ranking enlisted Marine around who was decorated for his service and served with honor and distinction in the front lines.
They[those military persons who criticised the war] have had to endure a long, dangerous, so-far-futile slog to clean up the mess that Rumsfeld and his minions made through their arrogance, ignorance and lawless incompetence. The troops keep struggling to complete their mission, with an honor and elan that shames the Pentagon civilians and the military officers who fostered and tolerated Abu Ghraib. ....
It's sickening to think how much blood and treasure this habit of seeking to discredit people like Antonio Taguba, instead of heeding them, has cost.
''From the moment a soldier enlists, we inculcate loyalty, duty, honor, integrity and selfless service. And yet when we get to the senior-officer level, we forget those values. I know that my peers in the Army will be mad at me for speaking out, but the fact is that we violated the laws of land warfare in Abu Ghraib. We violated the tenets of the Geneva Convention. We violated our own principles, and we violated the core of our military values. The stress of combat is not an excuse, and I believe, even today, that those civilian and military leaders responsible should be held accountable.''
What price did he pay for his candor after all those years of loyal service to his nation? He was ordered into a desk job and then forced to retire, after being shunned by other high ranking officers and contradicted by civilian leaders of the Bush Administration before Congress.
And more from the same source (http://www.sltrib.com/Opinion/ci_6209418):
This means, of course, that the other key victims of the Pentagon's (and the president's) aversion to facing facts are the nation's brave military personnel.
Yes, like Cpl Kokesh, who unlike General Taguba for speaking out and showing the truth, gets a letter of investigation and a threat to revoke benefits with a court martial or change in discharge status. Of course they would not threaten a General with such action. Much easier to push a low ranking enlisted Marine around who was decorated for his service and served with honor and distinction in the front lines.
They[those military persons who criticised the war] have had to endure a long, dangerous, so-far-futile slog to clean up the mess that Rumsfeld and his minions made through their arrogance, ignorance and lawless incompetence. The troops keep struggling to complete their mission, with an honor and elan that shames the Pentagon civilians and the military officers who fostered and tolerated Abu Ghraib. ....
It's sickening to think how much blood and treasure this habit of seeking to discredit people like Antonio Taguba, instead of heeding them, has cost.