General Petreaus Writes Letter Condemning Torture
Filed under: Gen. Petreaus, Iraq, Military — Michael van der Galien, Editor-in-Chief on May 12, 2007 @ 12:14 pm CEST
General Petreaus wrote a letter in which he speaks out against torture. From the letter:
Our values and the laws governing warfare teach us to respect human dignity, maintain our integrity, and do what is right. Adherence to our values distinguishes us from our enemy. This fight depends on securing the population, which must understand that we—not our enemies—occupy the moral high ground. This strategy has shown results in recent months. Al Qaeda’s indiscriminate attacks, for example, have finally started to turn a substantial portion of the Iraqi population against it.
In view of this, I was concerned by the results of a recently released survey conducted last fall in Iraq that revealed an apparent unwillingness on the part of some US personnel to report illegal actions taken by fellow members of their units. The study also indicated that a small percentage of those surveyed may have mistreated noncombatants. This survey should spur reflection on our conduct in combat…
I also know firsthand the bonds between members of the “brotherhood of the close fight.” Seeing a fellow trooper killed by a barbaric enemy can spark frustration, anger, and a desire for immediate revenge. As hard as it might be, however, we must not let these emotions lead us—or our comrades in arms—to commit hasty, illegal actions. In the event that we witness or hear of such actions, we must not let our bonds prevent us from speaking up.
Some may argue that we would be more effective if we sanctioned torture or other expedient methods to obtain information from the enemy. They would be wrong. Beyond the basic fact that such actions are illegal, history shows that they also are frequently neither useful nor necessary. Certainly, extreme physical action can make someone “talk”; however, what the individual says may be of questionable value. In fact our experience in applying the interrogation standards laid out in the Army Field Manual (2-22.3) on Human Intelligence Collector Operations that was published last year shows that the techniques in the manual work effectively and humanely in eliciting information from detainees.
We are, indeed, warriors. We train to kill our enemies. We are engaged in combat, we must pursue the enemy relentlessly, and we must be violent at times. What sets us apart from our enemies in this fight, however, is how we behave. In everything we do, we must observe the standards and values that dictate that we treat noncombatants and detainees with dignity and respect.
Read the entire letter at Andrew Sullivan’s place.
It’s a sad thing that this letter is necessary, it is a good sign, obviously, that Petreaus does not agree with those who favor, umh, more aggressive interrogation techniques, etc. and is willing to speak out against it / them.
Cross posted at The Moderate Voice.
1 lthomas
May 12, 2007 @ 1:01 pm CESTI can’t even think of a rational thing to say.
This is just the most absurd, stupid, idiotic agenda driven waste of time the world of journalism has ever embarked upon. What do they think these soldiers are going to answer when they are in a WAR.
PEACE
2 mvdg
May 12, 2007 @ 1:40 pm CESTUmh. It was Petreaus who wrote it and I have really no idea what constituted your response.
3 lthomas
May 12, 2007 @ 4:18 pm CESTThe letter was written in response to a POLL conducted by the news organizations.
Now if you poll soldiers in combat they are going to give some pretty tough answers. You go into self preservation mode when in a combat situation.
Of course the answers were going to be along the lines of what was divulged. Every soldier in the history of Freakin soldiering would have answered along the same lines.
This was known, a given. Yet the poll is somehow being treated as hallow ground. In indictment of our troops and as a result the General of the troops on the ground must now give a response saying we don’t believe this way, when in fact EVERY FREAKIN ARMY to ever fight a war
BELIEVES EXACTLY THIS. It is precisely why you have WAR CRIMES in WARS.
When soldiers watch their buddies die. When bullets are flying, when the shit hits the fan you react………you do not whoop out your politically correct field manual and thumb thru it hastily attempting to come up with a proper response.
To hell with the press. They knew what the answers would be. This is the worst case of agenda driven journalism I have ever seen in my Life.
Now we have more to add to the politically correct field manual on how to fight a war, wage a war and defend yourself on the BATTLEFIELD.
I really can’t think of a rational thing to say.
4 Cernig
May 12, 2007 @ 6:33 pm CESTlthomas, you’re wrong. The survey was conducted by the Pentagon, not news organisations.
It was completed and released to Centcom last November but was witheld from public release because its finding that extending tours led to greater abuses of human rights and military law might have interfered with Bush’s push for a “surge.
Michael,
My question is - why did Petreaus wait until there was a public outcry before saying or doing anything? He had to have known about the Pentagon report since November. What does that say about his belief in his own words?
Regards, C
5 lthomas
May 12, 2007 @ 8:33 pm CESTMy bad. I was responding to the various Zogby polls of soldiers and what they think.