Army Times Editorial: "A Failure of Leadership at the Highest Levels"

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.armytimes.com/print.php?f=1-292925-2903288.php

Published: May 17, 2004

Around the halls of the Pentagon, a term of caustic derision has emerged for the enlisted soldiers at the heart of the furor over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal: the six morons who lost the war.

Indeed, the damage done to the U.S. military and the nation as a whole by the horrifying photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi detainees at the notorious prison is incalculable.

But the folks in the Pentagon are talking about the wrong morons.

There is no excuse for the behavior displayed by soldiers in the now-infamous pictures and an even more damning report by Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba. Every soldier involved should be ashamed.

But while responsibility begins with the six soldiers facing criminal charges, it extends all the way up the chain of command to the highest reaches of the military hierarchy and its civilian leadership.

The entire affair is a failure of leadership from start to finish. From the moment they are captured, prisoners are hooded, shackled and isolated. The message to the troops: Anything goes.

more...

[paulk]

1. If our nation is to maintain any credibility on the world stage

heads must roll...

does Bush even understand this?

[Gothmog]

2. Good editorial

There is no excuse for the conduct of the higher ups in the Pentagon including Rummy who decided that we needed to use any means necessary to obtain information on the insurgents in Iraq.

[JDPriestly]

3. We need to return to the basic liberal values our nation was founded on..

Conservative Republic values stink.

Here are some liberal values we can be proud of:

Love of and willingness to sacrifice for our country and our indivicual rights.
Love of the natural beauty of our country and the health of its citizens.
Respect for justice and the rights of others.
Respect for free and fair elections in which all votes are counted.
Respect for freedom of speech, assembly, press and religion for everyone.
Respect for other nations, races, creeds and lifestyles.
Respect for knowledge and scientific and philosophical inquiry.
Respect for hard work and earned money.
Respect for equal opportunity and economic rights for all.
Suspicion of authority.
Suspicion of inherited wealth.
Rejection of abuses of power.
Rejection of superstition and unexamined beliefs.

[enough]

4. Good post!

We need to do more of this kind of thinking and talking, if we have any hope to save our country.

[LibertyorDeath]

5. Kick

[Rhiannon12866]

6. Great article. Thanks for posting it.

I just passed it on to my friend who is a graduate of West Point. He is for "finishing the job" in Iraq, but voted for Kerry in the primary.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. On case anyone missed it, here is an excellent thread

posted by Will Pitt, which contends that the Iraqi prisoner abuse was authorized from the very top, and not just Rumsfeld, though he seems to be the current scapegoat. This article contradicts this. A must-read, IMHO.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1604919