Ethics Training in Iraq
Do they seriously think a powerpoint presentation is either going to solve the problem or in any way mitigate the disastrous effect on their reputation?....
The Times: US orders coalition troops to take lessons in the ethics of battlefield
THE US military has ordered all 150,000 coalition troops in Iraq to undergo a crash course in battlefield morals, values and ethics within the next month, as it tries to repair its image after the suspected killing of 24 civilians in al- Haditha.
General George Casey, the top US commander in Iraq, called for the emergency tutorials in “warrior values” after leaks from the al-Haditha investigation suggested that US Marines went on a shooting rampage in the western Iraqi town after one of their men was killed by a roadside bomb in November........
British officers privately expressed surprise at their inclusion in the morals programme. The 7,200 British troops in Iraq have largely escaped charges of being trigger-happy. “Our rules of engagement are much tighter than the American version and there are differences in approach between the British and American troops,” one senior military source told The Times.
The US military appears to have learnt the lessons from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in 2004, when the Pentagon was taken aback by the public outcry after photos of humiliated Iraqi prisoners were obtained by the media. This time it appears eager to shape the debate before the al- Haditha investigation reports.
It announced yesterday that commanders had been directed “to conduct core warrior values training, highlighting the importance of adhering to legal, moral and ethical standards on the battlefield”. The training will be based on “a slide presentation with training vignettes”...........