This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
He documented disturbing evidence of "US government mistreatment of its own soldier-prisoners as well as foreign 'detainees,' " and used Operation Iron Triangle and the book's main protagonist, Spc. William Hunsaker, to study "patterns of culture" and American society so readers will know what he found.
He quoted Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" to highlight a key theme, saying:
Clevinger "was guilty, of course, or he would have not been accused, and since the only way to prove it was to find him guilty, it was their patriotic duty to do so."
To the Iron Triangle soldiers also, unfairly convicted who mustn't be forgotten so perhaps, one day, responsible officials will review their cases and "reform the military justice system to secure authentic justice" now absent.
It was no ordinary murder case. It involve conspiracy, cover-up and intrigue by the government, not the solders who were scapegoated to absolve the powerful. The prosecutor called them "war criminals," contradicting the key fact:
"that a crime becomes a 'war crime' when it involves the government, which is to say, when a crime is the result of unlawful social policies and plans."
Lawful rules of engagement (ROE) killings result from orders at a time of war. Unlawful ones are war crimes for which leaders and high government officials bear main responsibility. According to noted sociologist Emile Durkheim:
"The immorality of war depends entirely on the leaders who willed it - the soldier and even those government officials who had no part in the decision remain innocent."
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
