Soldierly "misconduct" has been around for as long as there have been armies and wars for them to fight in. So it goes from the predecessors of the Centurions of Ancient Rome to the present day. And it never leads to good results. Try as they might, all the lawmakers and all those charged with maintaining "good order and discipline" can only do so much before something bad happens.
The U.S. Army is investigating allegations that American soldiers raped and killed a woman and killed three of her family members in a town south of Baghdad, then reported the incident as an insurgent attack, a military official said Friday.
The alleged crimes occurred in March in the insurgent hotbed of Mahmudiyah. The four soldiers involved, from the 502nd Infantry Regiment, attempted to burn the family's home to the ground and blamed insurgents for the carnage, according to a military official familiar with the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was providing details not released publicly.
Of course, the wingnuts will be all over this, pointing out that such "bad news" is hurting the morale of the troops. blah blah blah blah blah. What's hurting their morale is being left in a situation by a bunch of self-serving politicians who are enriching themselves and their buddies by running a "war of choice", with no cost to themselves, and no end in sight.
The men who are involved in this need to be brought before the bar, no question. But when are the men who caused this to happen going to answer? The war-mongering chickenhawks who basically whispered in the ears of the troops that Iraq was responsible for 9/11, go get some payback fomented this as surely as if they had been there doing the raping and killing. The dehuminization of the Iraqis as "hajis", and the building mistrust and anti-American sentiment are a natural outgrowth of the lack of foresight and planning that the 1600 Crew is known for a half-decade into their mismanagement of America.
When these men go before a military judge, so should Beloved Leader, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Wolfowitz, Pearle and Powell and explain why they should not be dragged before a military tribunal and charged with violations of federal and military law for crimes against the Constitution and our Nation. Well, I won't hold my breath, but it sure would be good theatre, wouldn't it?
