contemporary war

Update on SFC Walter Taylor

by

Saw this update on SFC Taylor’s case yesterday and decided to add it to my page as well.   From the LA Times: Court-martial decision postponed for soldier in Afghan shooting.   His Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a Grand Jury, was held last week and now the case in in the hands of the reviewing officer.   She will review the evidence and testimony presented at the hearing and then make a recommendation to Taylor’s Brigade commander who will endorse that recommendation or not and then send it to the JMTC commander in Graf who is the General Court Martial Convening Authority.   The JMTC commander makes the final decision on whether this case should go to trial or if Taylor should face, a lesser Court Martial, administrative punishment, or even no further action.

All that being said, I would guess that at a minimum Taylor faces a Special Court Martial, probably a Special BCD.   The nature of what has been reported so far makes it clear that Taylor is being prosecute as an example to others.   Whether that is good military policy is besides the point, the army does stuff like this sometimes.   I will say that in my experience, if it does go to a Court Martial Taylor will get a fairer hearing than he would in a civilian court.   His CM Panel, the military version of a jury, will consist of people his grade or higher both officer and enlisted if he opts that, and he would be stupid not to.   The panel are people that understand the military and the pressures in combat.

I have no worries that if it goes to trial he will win.   The problem I have is that even if he wins, his career is now damaged because of the massive publicity surrounding the case.   That is something he cannot get away from.   It will also haunt him as he goes in front of a selection board for promotion.   The perception could be that he hurt the army and he could therefor later be denied promotion or even selected for elimination and the case could have nothing overt to do with it but it will always be there.   The army is a small place and institutional memory is long, especially about people who are perceived as tarnishing the Army Reputation.

Periodic World Craziness Update # 6

by

The latest month’s wackiness in the world of international relations, politics, and  brinkmanship. Europe rocked by Spanish banking crisis, Time to Admit Defeat: Greece Can No Longer Delay Euro Zone Exit:  At the top of the news for a week or so was the impending meltdown of the Greek economy and Euro experiment. Greek euro exit looms as G8 gathers:  The question in my mind is not if Greece will leave the Euro, but when and what will be the wider consequences for the EU as a whole?  As I understand it, there is no mechanism for an EU country to exit the Euro without repudiating the EU treaty itself and also leaving the … More after the Jump…

Book Review: The Last Full Measure: How Soldiers Die in Battle by Michael Stephenson

by

[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the publisher for purposes of reviewing it. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own] Michael Stephenson’s work The Last Full Measure: How Soldiers Die in Battle follows somewhat in the tradition of classics such a Keegan’s The Face of Battle and Victor David Hanson’s The Western Way of War. Where it differs from these two works as that while Keegan and Hanson focus on specific battles or time periods this book aims to be a more general description of the experience of combat throughout recorded history.   In that, the book is … More after the Jump…

A Travesty Calling for Action

by

In today’s edition of Stars and Stripes and the LA Times is an article about a combat engineer facing charges for actions he took in combat in Afghanistan last year.  The gist of the story is that the soldier involved shot an unarmed female in the middle of a firefight who was moving towards the rear of her vehicle.  The description of the incident from the article is here: His convoy was reeling from a roadside bomb, his fellow soldiers were engaged in combat with insurgents and a mysterious black car had just screeched to a stop in the middle of the firefight. Some nine minutes later, a black door opens. Second 1: A … More after the Jump…

Periodic World Craziness Update # 5

by

The last month’s wackiness in the world of international relations and brinkmanship. Israel becomes a target in Egypt’s presidential vote:  Stories such as this highlight two things.  1. The true nature of the supposed Arab Spring of 2011 and the way Islamists are subverting an infant democratic process if one ever existed and… 2. Why Israel should be worried.  Even supposed moderate candidates gain political traction from demonizing Israel thus illustrating the level of mainstream support for what the west like to call extremists but who are actually not within an Arab context. Can Obama Safely Embrace Islamists?:  I don’t quite know what to think about this quote from the state department informant. “The war on terror … More after the Jump…

The Moral Quandary?

by

Lately I have been somewhat preoccupied thinking about the geostrategic position the US and even the wider Western world find themselves in.  While I do not believe that the world is on the cusp of some massive catastrophe, it does seem to me that the rise of Militant Islam in the last ten years presents problems that are new or that at least have not been faced on such a scale by Western countries since before the rise of the modern nation state. Essentially, I think that Islam is facing the West with a crucial choice, one the West would rather not have to make as it goes against all … More after the Jump…

Periodic World Craziness Update # 4

by

The latest installment of updates on the wackiness of Iran and the wider Muslim World.  I have also decided to change the title of this series and just make it a monthly installment, it will be an aggregation of what I consider the most relevant news pieces with my analysis and criticisms attached. George Kerchner and the Lessons of Afghanistan: This is not strictly about Iran and their idiocy but a good point is made about the lack of strategic focus of US and Western War Planning over the past decade. Obama Needs to Stay the Course in Afghanistan:  This article contains perhaps the most asinine sentence I have read regarding the deaths of our soldiers in a long time, perhaps … More after the Jump…

Periodic Iran Craziness Update #3

by

The next round of news and intelligence updates about Iran and their seemingly stupid game of brinksmanship with Israel and the West. DM: Iran Has Defensive Secrets for Rainy Days Bluster, but maybe all they need to keep the US out of the initial stages of any conflict before the Presidential election is over. Iran diplomats see suspects in Thai bombings Apparently proof of some level of Iranian complicity in the recent bombing campaign against Israeli diplomats. Iran’s underground nuclear sites not immune to U.S. bunker-busters, experts say Signal or bluster? I cannot tell but tend to think the latter. I get the sense that the current Admin. actually likes … More after the Jump…

Periodic Iran Craziness Update #2

by

The next in the series of updates on doings with Iran. I even half thought about putting up some kind of war countdown clock. I then decided against it because I am not sure I can read the tea leaves well enough to really judge how close to war we are. US officials believe Iran sanctions will fail, making military action likely This article says an Israeli attack will likely come in September or October because of political factors. I think an attack is likely but it will be based more on perceptions of Iran’s capabilities and intents with politics being a minor concern, The sad fact is that Israel … More after the Jump…

Periodic Iran Craziness Update # 1

by

Links to articles of interest about Irans continuing hijinks and the World’s response. Intel Official: Iranian Missiles Could Hit Nearby U.S. Targets, Europe, Now what would happen were Iran to launch a missile at Israel or a US warship? At this point I am only certian that if they hit Israel, Iran would regret it. Thailand: Iranians’ targets were Israeli diplomats, Aparrently the Iranians are not so good at actually carrying out Terrorist attacks as the three essentially failed attacks in India, Georgia, and Thailand this week show. Perhaps they should have got some of their Hezbollah puppets support. On the plus side, if these attacks were carried by members … More after the Jump…

Book Review: A Desert Called Peace by Tom Kratman

by

I have reviewed several of Mr Kratman’s books so far and this is another one. I have read all of his books before and find myself going back and rereading them while I wait for the next to come out. Kratman is one of those authors that makes me wish people could write as fast I can read so I would not have to wait so long in between books. Since they cannot, I settle for rereading what they have already published, Kratman’s work is well worth reading and A Desert Called Peace is no exception. The book is a thinly veiled recitation of what could happen to the earth. … More after the Jump…

Everyone should Read This

by

Truth, lies and Afghanistan: How military leaders have let us down LT. COL. Daniel L. Davis probably just ended his career by publishing the above linked article in the Armed Forces Journal. LTC Davis is calling out the administration and senior military leadership as liars in the reports they are publicly producing on the state of affairs in Afghanistan. I applaud LTC Davis for calling it like he sees it. Unfortunately, I don’t think anything will come of it except professional disgrace for an officer who is trying to stand up for what he believes in. No doubt, he tried to bring these issues up to his superiors and was … More after the Jump…

The Law of War and Citizenship

by

Obama lawyers: Citizens targeted if at war with US I have to say that I agree with this decision 100%, I actually can’t believe that the issue was raised seriously. There are actually at least three sets of laws operative in the world for Americans, 1. Regular American civil and criminal law, 2. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for military personnel, and 3. The International Laws of Land Warfare. I am no lawyer but I will take a stab at analyzing how this works and why I think the Administration’s decision is the correct one. As I understand it, as soon as someone places themselves in a state … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Countdown: M Day by Tom Kratman

by


This is the second installment in the countdown series, hopefully there are plenty more still to come as this just built onto the already strong premise of the first book. The premise of this book is that after the completion of the mission in the first book the company Stauer created found a home in Guyana and incorporated as M-Day Inc., now the company must defend Guyana and itself from an invasion by Venezuela. Hugo Chavez wants the invasion to distract his people from their deteriorating situation at home. There is a lot more action in this book than the first of the series. This book continues Kratman’s thinly veiled attacks on liberalism and post-modern thought.
This is still a great read though and I recommend it highly. There are also some really great parts but they are included in the Spoiler below the fold:


More after the Jump…

Happy Veterans Day

by

Today is Veteran’s Day in the US and Armistice Day in Britain and France. It is a day to remember the end of the fighting in World War I on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. It is also the day set aside in the US to remember all veterans, not just those of World War I but also those that served in our nation’s other wars and those that served during peacetime. It takes something special to serve your country and a little bit more to do so voluntarily. There is always the possibility of going to war and giving your life … More after the Jump…

+ More