U.S. soldiers getting information from an Iraqi prisoner / Army photo by Curtis Hargrave
It’s because the Army doesn’t train them to walk along that razor’s edge where gleaning intelligence sometimes is honed into vengeance and retribution. Writes Kevin Bell, a former Army captain now studying the Middle East at Princeton, in the latest issue of Army magazine, published by the service itself:
Unfortunately the Army sends them off to war without ever convincing them why they should take the right course of action when rage and thirst for revenge poison their ability to lead other soldiers and make clear decisions in combat. Even if actual incidents are uncommon, there’s no reason to think that near misses aren’t occurring every day.
Bracing piece well worth reading. (h/t Best Defense)