Responsibility

[qos]

Whatever happened to the principle that a commander is responsible for everything done by his or her subordinates? If the subordinate "didn't know better" then it was the commander's job to educate them better. If the climate in which they served promoted the commission of atrocities, that climate was a direct result of the commander's attitudes and actions. I'm sure that it's very hard to be aware of exactly what each of your soldiers is doing in a large installation, but - damn it - there should be systems in place to monitor behavior, especially in unusually stressful and potentially explosive situations and locations like this one.

And you *certainly* should be aware of the procedures being followed by the people who are interrogating the prisoners who have been put in your charge.

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon (news - web sites)'s No. 2 general and the deputy defense secretary said they were unaware of interrogation rules approved for use in Iraq (news - web sites) allowing the use of dogs or days of sleep deprivation.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=533&e=1&u=/ap/20040514/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_prisoner_abuse

Comments

[aerden.livejournal.com]

QoS--*nods!* I agree with you, there. The direct CO of those people should be in big trouble. I don't mean the brigadier general or whoever--I mean their lieutenant. Unless it can be proved that everyone was properly trained to deal with prisoners and that there are rules about Use of Force, that person is almost sure to be facing some disciplinary action. Anyone who makes officer is supposed to know better....

Chantal