Longing For Vietnam
The Washington Post does an "analysis" of prosecutions of American troops in Iraq. The entire tone of the article is set in the opening sentences:
The majority of U.S. service members charged in the unlawful deaths of Iraqi civilians have been acquitted, found guilty of relatively minor offenses or given administrative punishments without trials, according to a Washington Post review of concluded military cases. Charges against some of the troops were dropped completely.
Though experts estimate that thousands of Iraqi civilians have died at the hands of U.S. forces, only 39 service members were formally accused in connection with the deaths of 20 Iraqis from 2003 to early this year. Twenty-six of the 39 troops were initially charged with murder, negligent homicide or manslaughter; 12 of them ultimately served prison time for any offense.
There is a longing here. The Post implies that there should be more prosecutions because "experts" say there were deaths. There is a bit of a show at explaining counter-arguments that the low numbers may reflect the excellent performance of the majority of the troops, there is a strong undercurrent of innuendo.
Some military officials and analysts say the small numbers reflect the caution and professionalism exercised by U.S. forces on an urban battlefield where it is often difficult to distinguish combatants from civilians. Others argue the statistics illustrate commanders' reluctance to investigate and hold troops accountable when they take the lives of civilians.
"I think there are a number of cases that never make it to the reporting stage, and in some that do make it to the reporting stage, there has been a reluctance to pursue them vigorously," said Gary D. Solis, a law professor at Georgetown University and a former Marine prosecutor. "There have been fewer prosecutions in Iraq than one might expect."
"But we should not forget that so many of our soldiers and Marines are performing not only honorably, but heroically, in very difficult circumstances," he added. "Their contributions should not be tarnished by the acts of a very, very few."
They bring up the inevitable comparisons to deaths and prosecutions in Vietnam and imply numbers in Iraq should be higher. This is a sneaky attempt to plant suggestions of impropriety while pretending to be fair.
The military that went to Vietnam was radically different from the military that is in Iraq. We no longer have an army made up of short term draftees. We have professionals who are highly trained. The differences could logically be explained by that higher professionalism, by the relatively small number of troops committed as opposed to Vietnam and by tightly controlled rules of engagement.
But that wouldn't fit the narrative the media wants to impose. They long for the heady days of the Vietnam war when the press could dictate the course of a war with impunity.
