Up the chain of command?

MSNBC is reporting that 4 soldiers accused of murdering Iraqi civilians on an island in a canal in the northern Salhuddin province are claiming that they were given 'rules of engagement' to kill all military age Iraqi males. They claim they were under orders to kill those men.

These are claims that will have to be tested in a courtroom, of course.

They are consistent, however, with the claims of soldiers involved in the Abu Ghraib scandal.

Is the military justice system prepared to handle such claims? Can they really look hard at those who give the orders and establish the rules of engagement?

During the Vietnam War, support for the US military was significantly degraded by the My Lai Massacre. We must not allow this to happen again- where too many people paint too many of the troops with the same brush. If commanders are giving these sorts of orders, they need to be removed from command. If they are not, then they need to be cleared by a thorough investigation. Nothing else will do.

GP