An expert witness in legal cases involving rules of engagement and the US military murder of prisoners, Prof. Stjepan Mestrovic exposes profound contradictions and systemic flaws that confuse criminal brutality and heroism, making victims of soldiers like Sergeant Michael Leahy who won a purple heart but also was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009.
A shocking follow-up study of Operation Iron Triangle, Iraq, the current work outlines the treatment of US soldiers who apparently were following their orders as they understood them and who were then accused of having committed war crimes. These include Corey Clagett and William Hunsaker, who were charged in the Iron Triangle incident, and Michael Leahy and Joseph Mayo (from the February 2009 case).
Chock full of quotes from official documents and hard data, the book amply demonstrates that the US military has profound, systemic and immensely troubling flaws. In particular, says the author, the distinction between a good versus bad soldier as well as good versus bad Army has become completely, fatally muddled. To see how US soldiers implicated in war crimes are being treated, Mestrovic goes to see his soldiers in Leavenworth whenever he can. In this book he includes a brief report about how they're doing and gives eye-witness details from inside the United States Penitentiary.
Here are some of the ironies that emerge from the facts: The Army treats its own soldiers, when accused of crimes, the same way it treats detainees at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, complete with sleep deprivation and chains and stress positions. The soldier prisoners even have to take showers and sleep in chains. There is absolutely no rational need for this.
In addition, when soldiers act wrongly as a result of their understanding of the assigned Rules of Engagement, how are the officers to be treated?
A shocking follow-up study of Operation Iron Triangle, Iraq, the current work outlines the treatment of US soldiers who apparently were following their orders as they understood them and who were then accused of having committed war crimes. These include Corey Clagett and William Hunsaker, who were charged in the Iron Triangle incident, and Michael Leahy and Joseph Mayo (from the February 2009 case).
Chock full of quotes from official documents and hard data, the book amply demonstrates that the US military has profound, systemic and immensely troubling flaws. In particular, says the author, the distinction between a good versus bad soldier as well as good versus bad Army has become completely, fatally muddled. To see how US soldiers implicated in war crimes are being treated, Mestrovic goes to see his soldiers in Leavenworth whenever he can. In this book he includes a brief report about how they're doing and gives eye-witness details from inside the United States Penitentiary.
Here are some of the ironies that emerge from the facts: The Army treats its own soldiers, when accused of crimes, the same way it treats detainees at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, complete with sleep deprivation and chains and stress positions. The soldier prisoners even have to take showers and sleep in chains. There is absolutely no rational need for this.
In addition, when soldiers act wrongly as a result of their understanding of the assigned Rules of Engagement, how are the officers to be treated?
