One of Ours

One of the other jobs our brigade legal team has here in Iraq is to review and provide some oversight for the brigade's detention center and make sure it is being run properly and the detainees are treated in accordance with international law. We review each detainee's packet and provide recommendations to our commander on whether they should be released or continued detention is warranted. The goal is to have sufficient evidence on the real bad guys so that we can eventually try them in an Iraqi court. Our units are actually doing pretty well at getting evidence and preparing statements...Now we have to prove to them that a judge can make a fair and impartial judgement based on the evidence. If we don't have the proof then they should go free.

Today I received an email...The author believes that too many US soldiers have been killed because we are showing restraint. It's the opposite of the current media hogwash that we've been intentionally targetting women and children in Fallujah. The author has a valid point. We are doing the best we can to not kill innocent civilians. And that often puts our soldiers at greater risk. But honestly I believe that that extra risk is part of what being a soldier is about. Every one of us volunteered to join the army. The risk of being shot at and killed is inherent in being a soldier. And so it is important for us to go the extra mile to be sure we don't endanger or kill civilians who, for the most part, just want to get on with living their lives. It is, I think, the morally correct thing to do and it's also mission essential. How can we hope to succeed unless we are able to convince the Iraqis that we are here to help them. I think this ties into how we handle our detainees. We do put a heavier burden on our soldiers but it is not a sign of weakness. Rather it is an example of democratic virtues in action.