From
Marine Corps TimesExperts cite varied causes of war crimes
Poor leadership, ‘fog of war’ among possible factors
By Gordon Trowbridge
Times staff writer
Horrific crimes such as those alleged in Hadithah, Iraq, seem to be a permanent fixture of modern warfare, from the Malmedy massacre of World War II to My Lai in Vietnam. But experts in psychology, ethics and combat leadership contend that such crimes are by no means inevitable.
History, they say, shows a wide-ranging but predictable series of factors contributing to such total breakdowns of discipline: the confusion of the battlefield, the ambiguity of counterinsurgency campaigns, failures of leadership and personal responsibility, even policies at the national level.
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“Certainly, we understand the anger and feelings of retaliation that buddies feel when they lose a friend or platoon-mate to a roadside bomb,” said Nancy Sherman, a philosophy professor at Georgetown University and former ethics instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy. “And that kind of rage is especially difficult when you’re dealing with terrorists who play dirty. But fighting a war is not about revenge and retaliation.”
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The investigations of Hadithah likely will focus heavily on issues of leadership, and not just because several officers in the Marine battalion involved were relieved of command. The investigations of Hadithah likely will focus heavily on issues of leadership, and not just because several officers in the Marine battalion involved were relieved of command. Historical lessons — in particular, those of the My Lai massacre — make clear that the difference between discipline and atrocity often is leadership.
A-men.
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