CASUALTIES OF WAR

Truth, it is often said, is the first casualty of war.  Probably true, but justice isn’t far behind.

This week, Justice finally caught up with war, and one of the most senseless and heinous crimes committed by the US in Iraq.

A Washington court sentenced 4 private security firm guards, hired by the US, for shooting randomly into heavy traffic in Baghdad just to clear the way for the officials they were guarding. FOURTEEN civilians were killed, 17 others wounded. An uproar followed over their actions and the wisdom of using private security guards in a war zone.

One guard got life, 3 others thirty year terms.  All said they had acted honorably for the government, us, they served. The judge praised the FBI and Justice department for putting the truth out there for all to see.

The US has continued such use. The 3 guards killed in Benghazi were also private security guards hired by the State Department, and will be an issue in the presidential campaign.

One has to wonder, given our past history, if the guards had been GIs would they have been convicted of random shooting of civilians??? Would our government have investigated their conduct and put the “truth” out there for the world to see?

The truth continues to escape us elsewhere

Despite promises of openness and transparency, the Obama government continues to try to hide its work. An independent report, just issued, says the government has broken its own rules on drone strikes..UNnecessarily killing civilians. And this doesn’t even go into the fact that the US is acting as judge, prosecutor, and jury when it makes decisions on drone strikes..some of which have killed American citizens abroad.

Congress needs to start a thorough investigation of our use of drones in wartime.

I'm just sayin'...