(Untitled)- May 21, 2004 More from Abu Ghraib: The front-page image on the Washington Post's webpage is of an Iraqi detainee crouching in fear (hands bound behind his back) before a U.S. military working dog, being restrained by its handler with two hands. It's not a good image. The Post has an exclusive report on the new photos and statements to emerge from the investigation into Abu Ghraib. Once again, I think we should be asking ourselves: why are we only prosecuting the 7 lowest ranking soldiers here At the..http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108515071386319611 (Untitled)- May 21, 2004 The quickest way to achieve real global deployment capability When you absolutely, positively, have to deploy a brigade combat team overnight The trade journal Inside the Air Force (subscription required) has a report today on some language in the 2005 National Defense Authorization Act that would support the future purchase of 42 additional C-17 "Globemaster" aircraft. These are the newest cargo aircraft in the fleet, and they're capable of moving 85 tons of cargo around the world. Suffice..http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108515031987079619 (Untitled)- May 19, 2004 What is a court martial My new Explainer in Slate tackles that question, as well as related questions like "who sits on a military jury". I also recommend this Pentagon press briefing on "Uniform Code of Military Justice and Court Martial Procedures". And if that doesn't quite quench your thirst for information about martial justice in the American military, see "The Seven Basic Myths About Military Justice" in Findlaw.Com's Writ and listen to "Courts Martial - A Primer" on NPR.http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108501066323095203 (Untitled)- May 19, 2004 Pentagon sets up tribunals to review Gitmo detentions The Defense Department announced the creation of a new administrative system today which will periodically review the status of detainees being held at Guantanamo bay to see if they merit further detention in America's war on terrorism. The U.S. has come under fire from international law critics for some time, because it has no 'competent tribunal' established in accordance with Art. V of the 3rd Geneva Convention for the review of...http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108491197997442707 (Untitled)- May 19, 2004 U.S. to pull forces from Korea to bolster Iraq force One more sign of overstretch for America's land combat forces The Los Angeles Times reports today on a move by the Pentagon (full briefing here) to pull the 2nd Brigade Combat Team out of the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea for duty in Iraq. Soldiers in Korea are already serving a 1-year hardship tour, and they would be sent to Iraq (as a unit) for another 1-year tour, and possibly, then back to Korea. The move is another sign that the Army.http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108489078500081015 (Untitled)- May 18, 2004 Remember the Phraselator I wrote about this new hand-held translation device, and other interesting military gizmos, in a Slate article covering DARPA's symposium in Anaheim California. Now, the Baltimore Sun has an interesting report on the way this gadget is being used in the field. Near Iraq's border with Kuwait, Sean P. Collins, a Special Forces team sergeant, met a group of children and asked them if they had seen the enemy. He spoke into a hand-held black box, called the...http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108489185595589559 (Untitled)- May 16, 2004 Admin note: I'm traveling for the next two days and will have intermittent Internet access while I'm on the road and in the air. Please come back for more analysis and commentary on Tuesday. Thanks.http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108474910736877127 (Untitled)- May 16, 2004 A brilliant picture: On the front page of the New York Times for May 15, 2004, you will find one of the most artful photographs from Iraq that I have seen yet. It depicts a 1st Armored Division soldier kneeling before a doorway with light streaming through, underneath three sacred Islamic portraits. It's the kind of photograph that instantly catches your eye because of its composition, and the messages it carries. On the one hand, one can see the image of a Crusader from a millenium ago in..http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108467245585068267 (Untitled)- May 16, 2004 Authorized at the highest levels The New Yorker has published Sy Hersh's latest piece on the abuses of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. I think his first piece was the biggest, because of the bombshell it literally dropped on the White House and the nation. But this article may contain the most damaging allegations of all for the Pentagon's senior leadership. According to Hersh, the use of "torture lite" and other coercive tactics was not only condoned at the highest levels -- it was..http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108467028824724542 (Untitled)- May 15, 2004 Army changes its rules for interrogation John Hendren reports in the L.A. Times that the Army has issued new orders to its spooks in the field telling them what they can and cannot do during interrogations -- mostly what they cannot do. These rules are presumably designed to end the kinds of abuses done at Abu Ghraib, by sending a clear message to everyone in the chain of command that no one shall "set the conditions" for interrogation through physical and mental abuse. Under the changes,...http://philcarter.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_archive.html#108457986321460096 |