Friday, August 25, 2006
Handcuffed Marines
Handcuffed Marines
As the fifth anniversary of the heinous attacks of September
11, 2001 approaches I find myself very, very angry. Of course,
I'm angry at the terrorists who plotted and carried out those
attacks, but right now I'm angry as a result of a recent news
article I read last weekend.
Orange County Register reporter Gordon Dillow recently completed his third, and perhaps final, assignment as an embedded reporter with the United States Marines in Iraq and has returned to write a series of reports in that newspaper covering his assignment. The report published Sunday, August 20th, has me fuming.
In that article, which the editors entitled, "'Rules' of war limit Marines", Dillow - a former U.S. Army Sergeant in Viet Nam - outlines the Rules of Engagement under which the troops he was assigned to cover must operate. As I read the restrictions placed on these brave volunteers I found myself thinking that they are being forced to operate like the proverbial one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.
Some of the restrictions Dillow tells us about will make your jaw drop. For example, at one point he tells us that in routine, day-to-day operations, every single shot fired by Marines in Iraq must be documented and reviewed by higher command - regimental level and above - to make sure that it conformed to the Rules of Engagement!
Dillow tells us that our finest combat soldiers, the men and women of the United States Marines, are being forced to perform duties normally associated with police departments. Although Dillow tells us that these Marines manage to keep their morale up and do their duty, it seems to me that this is a horrendous waste of combat talent and makes me wonder about the management of this war. Dillow quotes some of those young warriors as being concerned because the restrictions placed on them make them appear to be weak, which only further emboldens the insurgent enemy.
No, I don't think we should cut and run, as it being proposed by some politicians these days. But I do think our troops should be allowed to do the job for which they were trained - to kill people and break things. If that's not going to be the case, bring them home and replace them with a United Nations police force.
8:58 am pdt
Orange County Register reporter Gordon Dillow recently completed his third, and perhaps final, assignment as an embedded reporter with the United States Marines in Iraq and has returned to write a series of reports in that newspaper covering his assignment. The report published Sunday, August 20th, has me fuming.
In that article, which the editors entitled, "'Rules' of war limit Marines", Dillow - a former U.S. Army Sergeant in Viet Nam - outlines the Rules of Engagement under which the troops he was assigned to cover must operate. As I read the restrictions placed on these brave volunteers I found myself thinking that they are being forced to operate like the proverbial one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.
Some of the restrictions Dillow tells us about will make your jaw drop. For example, at one point he tells us that in routine, day-to-day operations, every single shot fired by Marines in Iraq must be documented and reviewed by higher command - regimental level and above - to make sure that it conformed to the Rules of Engagement!
Dillow tells us that our finest combat soldiers, the men and women of the United States Marines, are being forced to perform duties normally associated with police departments. Although Dillow tells us that these Marines manage to keep their morale up and do their duty, it seems to me that this is a horrendous waste of combat talent and makes me wonder about the management of this war. Dillow quotes some of those young warriors as being concerned because the restrictions placed on them make them appear to be weak, which only further emboldens the insurgent enemy.
No, I don't think we should cut and run, as it being proposed by some politicians these days. But I do think our troops should be allowed to do the job for which they were trained - to kill people and break things. If that's not going to be the case, bring them home and replace them with a United Nations police force.
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