Saturday, October 22, 2005
Let the record show...
That the Geneva conventions specifically allows for the cremation of enemy dead for reasons of hygiene.
From Field Manual FM 27-10:
The commander on the ground is a lieutenant. Nobody yet has come up with a better idea. What was he supposed to do?
This lieutenant had apparently made an effort to allow the locals to recover the dead. He fulfilled his obligations to the deceased by attempting to make that coordination.
He fulfilled his obligations to protect his men by having them cremated.
Case closed. The chattering classes should cut the LT some slack. And Time Magazine, which failed to do the reporting necessary to uncover the regulations with regard to the disposal of enemy dead in logistically adverse conditions (I found it in five minutes) ought to refrain from speculating on the course of this LT's career until they bother to download a clue.
In fact, they could have been first to the public with the revelation about the legality of cremation in this specific circumstance. Had they bothered to seek enough newsroom diversity to have a couple of veterans on staff. After all, you have to know the jargon before you can google it.
No wonder the media have a credibility problem with troops.
Very unfortunate that CENTCOM doesn't mention this fact in their press release.
Splash, out
Jason
UPDATE: The Washington Post totally blows this aspect of the story, too.
And the Administration counterpunches like Teri Schiavo.
From Field Manual FM 27-10:
Bodies shall not be cremated except for imperative reasons of hygiene or for motives based on the religion of the deceased. In case of cremation, the circumstances and reasons for cremation shall be stated in detail in the death certificate or on the authenticated list of the dead.
The commander on the ground is a lieutenant. Nobody yet has come up with a better idea. What was he supposed to do?
This lieutenant had apparently made an effort to allow the locals to recover the dead. He fulfilled his obligations to the deceased by attempting to make that coordination.
He fulfilled his obligations to protect his men by having them cremated.
Case closed. The chattering classes should cut the LT some slack. And Time Magazine, which failed to do the reporting necessary to uncover the regulations with regard to the disposal of enemy dead in logistically adverse conditions (I found it in five minutes) ought to refrain from speculating on the course of this LT's career until they bother to download a clue.
In fact, they could have been first to the public with the revelation about the legality of cremation in this specific circumstance. Had they bothered to seek enough newsroom diversity to have a couple of veterans on staff. After all, you have to know the jargon before you can google it.
No wonder the media have a credibility problem with troops.
Very unfortunate that CENTCOM doesn't mention this fact in their press release.
Splash, out
Jason
UPDATE: The Washington Post totally blows this aspect of the story, too.
And the Administration counterpunches like Teri Schiavo.
Comments:
CENTCOM seems to be doing more slamming of the lieutenant in question than the MSM is. "Misconduct", "reprehensible", "serious allegations", please.
I mean, am I crazy? I keep hearing people talking about how evil such an act was, how it's abuse, torture, God knows what else... cremating two dead bodies when the locals didn't want to bury them, and calling the Taliban girly-men is not any of that in my book.
And yet I go over to Intel Dump and find the commenters, including some vets, unanimous in condemnation of the troops. What am I missing?
I mean, am I crazy? I keep hearing people talking about how evil such an act was, how it's abuse, torture, God knows what else... cremating two dead bodies when the locals didn't want to bury them, and calling the Taliban girly-men is not any of that in my book.
And yet I go over to Intel Dump and find the commenters, including some vets, unanimous in condemnation of the troops. What am I missing?
The CENTCOM PR guy is in the unenviable task of having to calm down the muslim masses sufficient that people don't die. If he does nuance, riots break out and we're possibly going to face american citizens (most likely not military) getting caught up in that and getting hurt or killed. Certainly muslims would die.
In that level of game, an LT's reputation of the moment doesn't amount to much. The investigation will go forward and if initial reports are wrong, the LTs career can be salvaged. Fortunately, this seems to be the case this time out.
This doesn't really help the big question. What are you supposed to do when the other side gains combat advantage by not following the Geneva Conventions. I get the nasty suspicion that we're all being mau maued.
In that level of game, an LT's reputation of the moment doesn't amount to much. The investigation will go forward and if initial reports are wrong, the LTs career can be salvaged. Fortunately, this seems to be the case this time out.
This doesn't really help the big question. What are you supposed to do when the other side gains combat advantage by not following the Geneva Conventions. I get the nasty suspicion that we're all being mau maued.
Thanks for the link to the Time article and the quote from the Field Manual. I've been on this since Wednesday night when it first popped up on the Australian version of Dateline.
Once I found out that Martinkus was the reporter who "googled himself to freedom" by convincing the Iraq insurgent that he was on their side, I knew it was all BS.
Now we've got Aussie Taliban wannabe Dupont, the game was on. This is nothing but a "hit piece" and the facts need to come out.
These two "reporters" are more psyops operatives for the other side than they are objective reporters.
Check out www.jasoncoleman.com and I've got background on them and debunk almost every point of their reporting as misleading.
--Jason
PS, no trackbacks here so just want to know you've got some linkage over at my place.
Once I found out that Martinkus was the reporter who "googled himself to freedom" by convincing the Iraq insurgent that he was on their side, I knew it was all BS.
Now we've got Aussie Taliban wannabe Dupont, the game was on. This is nothing but a "hit piece" and the facts need to come out.
These two "reporters" are more psyops operatives for the other side than they are objective reporters.
Check out www.jasoncoleman.com and I've got background on them and debunk almost every point of their reporting as misleading.
--Jason
PS, no trackbacks here so just want to know you've got some linkage over at my place.
# posted by 
: 12:40 AM
: 12:40 AM
I linked from
http://smalltownveteran.typepad.com/posts/2005/10/business_as_usu_1.html
http://smalltownveteran.typepad.com/posts/2005/10/business_as_usu_1.html
# posted by : 1:28 AM
: 1:28 AM
What's with the Bush Administration? They seem to have gone from "John Wayne" straight to "nancy-boy" on this and several other issues...
I want my Republican Majority to stop acting like sissies!!!!
I want my Republican Majority to stop acting like sissies!!!!
At least when we burn our enemies, they're already dead.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5363876,00.html
The Telegraph reported that two of the contractors who had not been killed in the attack in Duluiyah were dragged alive from their vehicle, which had been badly shot up, and forced to kneel in the road before being killed.
The paper said, ``Killing one of the men with a rifle round fired into the back of his head, they doused the other with petrol and set him alight.'' It said, ``Barefoot children, yelping in delight, piled straw on to the screaming man's body to stoke the flames.'' The crowd then ``dragged their corpses through the street, chanting anti-U.S. slogans,'' the newspaper reported.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5363876,00.html
The Telegraph reported that two of the contractors who had not been killed in the attack in Duluiyah were dragged alive from their vehicle, which had been badly shot up, and forced to kneel in the road before being killed.
The paper said, ``Killing one of the men with a rifle round fired into the back of his head, they doused the other with petrol and set him alight.'' It said, ``Barefoot children, yelping in delight, piled straw on to the screaming man's body to stoke the flames.'' The crowd then ``dragged their corpses through the street, chanting anti-U.S. slogans,'' the newspaper reported.
# posted by : 6:09 PM
: 6:09 PM
The funny part is when the psyops geeks tried to taunt the Taliban, as it's always funny to hear the world's biggest cowards try to accuse someone else of cowardice, a typical example of what a psycologist would call 'projecting'. I ask you, has anyone ever seen a more pusiillanimous, cowardly bunch of wretches than the sissyfags of the U.S. "military" who call in air support every time a car backfires or when someone slams a door loudly? They encounter three or four Rebels and instead of fighting like REAL infantry and using fire & maneuver tactics, they instead scream for air support while they're hiding in a shellhole, then after the Air Force flies in and does the killing they "bravely" raise their head up out of said shellhole and proceed to beat their chests about how "brave" they think they are. Disgusting. Try fighting like a REAL army instead of a bunch of glorified forward air controllers before you start calling an opponent "cowardly", because the whole world is laughing at the U.S. "military" and its aversion to real fighting. Just be glad you're not up against a REAL army, like North Korea's or China's or Iran's because the U.S. "Army" would be a grease spot.
# posted by : 2:03 PM
: 2:03 PM
Hey anonymous,
"If you're in a fair fight, you've done something wrong."- Anonymous 1st ID Officer on documentary of the division.
I think that just about sums it up.
"If you're in a fair fight, you've done something wrong."- Anonymous 1st ID Officer on documentary of the division.
I think that just about sums it up.
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