Has our military failed us politically? Should we remove the leadership because of acts like the one below?

Question

Three soldiers are basically going to be charged with taking the law into their on hands. (see the link below)

This is not the first incident in this conflict or from conflicts in the past (and surely in the future) where a soldier has broken the law, the UCMJ.

We hold the military to a higher standard, but increasingly it appears that they can't live up to it.

Is it the American "cowboy" attitude? Is it popular media? (When was the last time in a movie the bad guy just gets caught and taken to court. No, in our movies we kill the bad guys.) Has the military become lax on instilling values? Is the screening process flawed?

What is going wrong?

The problem is that each one of these isolated incidents sets back our image, making it harder to win politically and only adds to the hatred our enemies have for us.

These actions are in direct conflict with the message we are trying to push to the world. Should we send a strong message and replace the generals in Iraq? What should we do?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/world/middleeast/27abuse.html?em

Answer 1

Sheet happens in war.  If you ever served you would realize this.

Answer 2

I was hoping more for a junta.  I think the military should take over this country and change the politicians.  The status quo must go.

Answer 3

So if the NY Times carries a story that three military members are charged with doing something wrong we of course need to convict the leadership, even tho these charges have not been proven in court.  So should we have kicked the Coward and Chief Bill Clinton out of office when he was charged with lying to a grand jury about a sexual harassment lawsuit?  Before he had his day in court?  I guess in your mind, since the US military is the focus of evil in the world we should just convict them all and save time on presenting any evidence?

Answer 4

No, the military hasn't failed us one bit.  Its %99.99 leadership that has.   The military personnel are under extreme pressure, in an occupation that the American people didn't want or support.   As far as taking the law into their own hands, its one opinion, not fact.   None of us were there.

Answer 5

It is WAR... Kill them ALL! That is what people do in war.

Answer 6

We have had far too many "incidents" in Iraq, and last week we bombed over 90 civilians in Afghanistan.  The Military leadership is responsible for Troop morale and order as well as the decisions to attack targets.

Yes, they should be held accountable

Answer 7

Again..old news..I mean old.....stay up to date will you..

Answer 8

You have got to be kidding me no one can be this ignorant you have obviously never served in the military mistakes happen and that we were not there so don't judge these men but I'm sure you already have seeing how you got the complete facts from the Ny Times god knows they don't have an agenda

Answer 9

This is the attitude Bush instills in his administration.  He believes that he and everything he does is above the law.  The buck stops at President Bush he should be held accountable.

Answer 10

The NYT or any media doesn't print the troops covering kids during bomb blasts they don't show children who are thanking our guys for protecting their neighborhoods. Only when one of 300,000 does something wrong do you hear about it.  

Answer 11

Well the problem is that we are trying to win politically, when we should be just trying to win.

I've never served but I don't believe there's much room for politics in combat.

Our politicians are trying to delegate a strategy that will p**s as little people off as possible, when it is getting our troops killed, rather than listening to the people who actually know what the h**l they're doing.

Answer 12

no. they were sent to a job they were not trained to do. First off, I disagree with ever having invaded Iraq. Second, after we did and victory was declared GWB failed the military. He left them in charge when the country desperately needed diplomatic help and political advisers. Since there were none the government was left in shambles and as the months rolled on, unrest set in and an insurgency emerged. But what was Bush to do? if he began removing troops he would have lost the distinction of being a wartime president and likely would have lost the re-election. After he went through all the effort to create the conditions that gave him his war it would be a shame to throw it all away.

But you do have one thing solidly right, the leadership is responsible for the actions of the troops. Even Saddam understood that as he demanded that his underlings not tried because he was solely responsible for what happened. Too bad GWB doesn't have as much integrity and comprehension of the burden of leadership that even a low life like Saddam did.

I see several respondents supporting their actions but they seem to be missing the point, they were told to release those men. In the military, all direction given from a superior officer is deemed to be an order. These men disobeyed  an order, that in itself, is reason enough to punish these men. The odd thing are those that tout knowledge of the military yet ignore this fact.

Answer 13

By your logic, we can judge all liberals by the actions of 2Pak Shakur and have them all replaced as well.

Answer 14

Our military hasn't failed us politically because our military does not exist to be a political organization.  It exists to kill people & break things at the direction of our civilian political leaders.

The nature of war is killing, death, brutality & violence.  That these individuals went overboard & killed outside of the rules of engagement is unfortunate & incidents like these are bound to happen from time to time.  But bear in mind that the perpetrators are as much the victims of the situation as the people they are accused of killing.  It take a very strong individual to keep a firm moral compass in a shooting war ("Charging someone with murder in a war is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500" -from Apocalypse Now) & sometimes, even the strongest, given the right (or wrong) set of circumstances can cross the line

The real measure of our society & our military is that we recognize that these individuals did cross the line & will face a Court Marshall, where they will have a chance to defend/explain their actions & will be  disciplined accordingly if found guilty.

Answer 15

Without the military, you couldn't post that drivel.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS

Answer 16

Just because they have been accused doesn't mean they are guilty or that we know all of the facts.  Sounds like you want to "Murtha" them without a trial just like the yellow spined convicted ABSCAM traitor Senator Murtha did with the Marines that were later cleared.  Perhaps if you stop reading the NY times maybe you could find some news without the anti-american slant.

Answer 17

You post an isolated incident by military person and claim they are letting us down politically. For one thing it's not the job of the military to be political. And for another IF the diplomats and politicians had done their job right the military wouldn't even be there.

Our Congress both Democrat and Republican are letting us down politically much more.

Answer 18

While it may not be in line with the Law,If they knew these guys were Combatants,then I personally have no problem with the executing them.

Of course our enemies show our Soldiers such Humane treatment when they're captured(Sarcasm)

Perhaps our Soldiers are just tired of fighting a War where their hands are tied by the Rules Of Engagement,where the Democrats in Congress talk about our Soldiers as if they are the Enemy,and where the Government as a whole seems to have no objective.Personally I don't blame them,I think from now on when they capture the Enemy troops they ought to summarily execute them immediately after capture.They just need to learn to keep their mouths shut afterwards.

AD

Answer 19

The military is made up of individuals.  Don't blast them.

Edit:  IF you know anyone in the military you would not be so quick to judge.  I support the troops 100%