So I have a new name for our beloved second-generation Wholly-Owned 1600 Crew Secretary of State...Me Lie? Powell. Comes from this, which if you have never seen it, it's a troubling indicator of his future truth-telling abilities. Although we now now how good those are...
But a test soon confronted Maj. Powell. A letter had been written by a young specialist fourth class named Tom Glen, who had served in an Americal mortar platoon and was nearing the end of his Army tour. In a letter to Gen. Creighton Abrams, the commander of all U.S. forces in Vietnam, Glen accused the Americal division of routine brutality against civilians. Glen's letter was forwarded to the Americal headquarters at Chu Lai where it landed on Maj. Powell's desk.
...
The letter's troubling allegations were not well received at Americal headquarters. Maj. Powell undertook the assignment to review Glen's letter, but did so without questioning Glen or assigning anyone else to talk with him. Powell simply accepted a claim from Glen's superior officer that Glen was not close enough to the front lines to know what he was writing about, an assertion Glen denies.
After that cursory investigation, Powell drafted a response on Dec. 13, 1968. He admitted to no pattern of wrongdoing. Powell claimed that U.S. soldiers in Vietnam were taught to treat Vietnamese courteously and respectfully. The Americal troops also had gone through an hour-long course on how to treat prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions, Powell noted.
...
Powell reported back exactly what his superiors wanted to hear. "In direct refutation of this [Glen's] portrayal," Powell concluded, "is the fact that relations between Americal soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent."
Powell's findings, of course, were false. But it would take another Americal hero, an infantryman named Ron Ridenhour, to piece together the truth about the atrocity at My Lai. After returning to the United States, Ridenhour interviewed Americal comrades who had participated in the massacre.
On his own, Ridenhour compiled this shocking information into a report and forwarded it to the Army inspector general. The IG's office conducted an aggressive official investigation and the Army finally faced the horrible truth. Courts martial were held against officers and enlisted men implicated in the murder of the My Lai civilians.
Of course, they know this at the UN, and probably remember it when Me Lie? opens his mouth.
So there you go. Now you know. Me Lie? Powell, wholly owned and operated for over 12 years now...
posted by Jo Fish on 09.04.03 at 09:12 PM
Comments:
While it would be nice if he explained it a little more, we think people are a little too hard on Powell for this.
He asked Glen's commanding officer if Glen had a reasonable basis to tell this story. The CO said no (perhaps, as the story suggests, being quite deceptive). Assuming Powell had no reason to distrust the officer at that time, he said no. End of story ... well, not really.
Sure, Powell could have checked the guy's service records ... assuming they would have been easy to get under those circumstances (we'd bet they weren't). Sure, he could have talked to Glen. But what do you want to bet it was probably like about eight thousand other things coming across his desk at the time? Would anything have made it stand out? A lot of wild stories were probably flying around Vietnam at the time.
Can anyone reading this honestly say they can't see themselves doing the same thing? Are you sure you haven't?
SW-
A great and interesting point. If Powell had been a 1st or 2nd LT and been given the same tasking, I would agree with you 100%, no reservations.
But at the 0-4 level and up there is some accountability expected, and for someone how was obviously a "fast mover" like Powell to blow it off so completely, with just a word to Glen's CO is telling, I think. There is a certain amount of "taking another officers word" and that's obviously what Powell did, but he needed to go futher; he too knew the "MAM" philosophy, and was duty-bound to turn in a factual report, not one based on a conversation with one or two other officers.
History of course shows what he should have done, and he still won't be up front about it.
As you point out, it would be nice for him to bring this up and close the debate off...but he is either unwilling or unable to do it.
I had to do several investigations of matters connected to purely military criminal stuff (drugs) and several JAG investigations (Aircraft Accidents), and I will admit that they were frustrating, annoying, and sometimes just a pain-in-the-ass, but they got done to the best of my ability...and I still had to make it to briefings, man-ups/fly and do my other assigned duties.
So absolutely Powell might have missed this and gotten on with his daily routine, but it was out in front of him if he'd looked. He turned in a document that essentially cleared the Americal Division of one of the worst breaches of "good order and discipline" in our military's history, all based on shoddy work and still won't admit it.
He went to the UN and using the same ostritch -like qualities went on and on about WMD's and imminent threats. He's not an overworked staff officer anymore, but he's acting just like he did in his Major Powell days...IMHO.
Interesting points, Jo. You're right, of course, about Powell as a staff weenie. I have no way of judging what you say about serving in investigations in the Navy, but it's of a piece to what I've always understood to be any officer's primary responsibility: to lead. Officers carry a duty and responsibility greater than that of an EM. It's what their they're for. To lead, to command, to take responsibility for their actions and the lives and actions of those under them.
As to the "over-worked staff officer" meme, I can offer a small bit of personal observation. While serving in II Coprs, I did something the brass thought was pretty spectacular, although perhaps a bit questionable, and spent 5 days at Brigade HQ, waiting to find out whether I was going to get a gong or a Court Martial. What I did is immaterial to the story.
So, hanging around the Brigade HQ for 5 days as as E-6 "duty soldier" I got to see up close and personal how the other half lived. Starched fatigues and spit shined boots were mandatory, of course, and the day began at 0800 with a 90 minute briefing.
Yadda-yadda-yadda.
Then it was "coffee call" and around about 1015 the O's finally started "processing" (signing) the paperwork the enlisted clerks had been working on since 0630.
I spent my time stepping and fetching throughout the day, and as an NCO trying real hard not to laugh at some of the enlisted commentary, since it's prejudicial to good order and discipline, etc.
Aside from a few interviews with the Bde Sergeant Major, XO and CO, and some clowns from IG and Staff Judge Advocate, I got to see how it all worked when you handled the big picture.
In this particular brigade, staff officers were *not* overworked, and I was in a STRAC unit, and not a scrap outfit like the Americal Division. I'm sure over there the lads just had their heads in hard at their fourth point of contact.
Powell was, and is a Corporation Man. He was in the Family then, and his dedication to the power structure has never wavered. I'm quite certain his job was to walk through that mess with a dustpan and broom and make the paperwork look right. It just didin't work out right.
posted by: Lurch on 09.05.03 at 05:54 AM [permalink]
I am a post Korean War pre Vietnam War "veteran" drafted after completing law school and passing the bar, serving the full two years as an enlisted man. The last nine months of my tour were spent in Philadelphia as part of a unit made up of lawyers and accountants (mostly draftees like me or ROTC reservists) to review WW II procurement contracts for fraud, negligence, overcharges, etc, at the behest of Congress. There were many career officers there. It was peace time. The military was cutting back, thus threatening the careers of many officers and non-coms who had planned to reenlist as they had put in substantial years, including during WW II, to build up retirement benefits. The whole project was a farce. Yet the officers in charge plodded along. I am not aware that any of the officers tried to point out that this was a farce. They went along to get along. Yes, Powell was and still is a company man. Look at Enron and the other corporate scandals. They all involved company men. Very few are prepared to challenge their establishments and jeopardize their careers. I'd love to see more principle expressed by those in high positions. But it won't happen. Even with statutory protection, life can be difficult for a whistle-blower. Look at what happened to Dr. Kelly in England, who did not seek the spotlight or financial rewards, and in fact sought anonymity. Too many of us go along to get along.
posted by: Shag from Brookline on 09.05.03 at 07:33 AM [permalink]
Thanks for your comments, Jo. We thought you'd bring a little perspective to it that we wouldn’t, and we were curious as to what you would have to say.
