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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! February 19, 2007 The Beast of Abu GhraibBy GreyhawkColonel Janis Karpinski blogs at the Huffington Post. She seems to be writing as if the event described is well known, a failure perhaps shared by many with an over-developed ego. Or maybe the details she excludes are just, well, not supportive of her point. Anyhow, here she is - endorsing an upcoming film: When Ghosts of Abu Ghraib is broadcast across the country next week, I hope Americans are so annoyed and angry from watching the movie, it stimulates a renewal of demands for the truth and an independent commission to review the facts and render truthful conclusions.I'd echo that - but given the source I'm not sure this movie is going to advance the cause. But on the chance that I could save time and taxpayer dollars otherwise thrown at an "independent commission", here's what's probably the best start you can get (warning! - these are fact-based, not opinion pieces): A combination of blurring and smearing Time permitting, I'll provide another "chapter" in time for the movie premier. And anyone who wants to cite Colonel Karpinski as authoritative on anything might want to read this, first: Death Before Dishonor. Some day someone might want to do a case study of a failure of command for a Service Academy or military professional development course - the Karpinski case would be useful for this, and valuable to students at various levels. But even casual observers can search for the term "Karpinski" throughout the Taguba report and discover a wealth of information about how not to do things. Including this example: (U) During the course of this investigation I conducted a lengthy interview with BG Karpinski that lasted over four hours, and is included verbatim in the investigation Annexes. BG Karpinski was extremely emotional during much of her testimony. What I found particularly disturbing in her testimony was her complete unwillingness to either understand or accept that many of the problems inherent in the 800th MP Brigade were caused or exacerbated by poor leadership and the refusal of her command to both establish and enforce basic standards and principles among its soldiers.You can read that entire interview here. Posted by Greyhawk / February 19, 2007 6:22 PM | Permalink 1 TrackBackA short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention. Read More 3 Comments |
March 19, 2010Dawn Patrol 03/19/2003 [Greyhawk]
"Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world." Mudville was founded in March, 2003. Our efforts to bring the thoughts, words, and deeds of milbloggers to a wider world evolved to become The Dawn Patrol in March, 2005. With today's entry we're going to reset the clock - but not re-write the history - and recreate the world as it was - on a day the world changed...
Updating... more to follow.... MILBOGSAndrew Olmsted, 19 Mar 2003, Stateside: It would appear that the liberation of Iraq has begun. Greyhawk, 18 Mar 2003, Germany: A united world could have, just maybe, brought down Saddam without firing a shot. We will never know. 19 Mar: We'll never know what a united world could have achieved... the UN could not agree on anything, the situation degenerated, and here we are. Status quo was not working. The French were too desperate for oil and trade at any cost. Well-intentioned Americans were led into the streets by Communists (and others) with an agenda. The media distorted the split. Many in America and abroad thought they could manipulate the situation to their personal gain. They miscalculated. The fire is lit. Pontifx ex Machina, 18 Mar, undisclosed location: Rolling out the gate, the guard gets a quick "hook-em, horns" sign as we weave through the barricades. Then we're off, cruising through the desert in a battered-up SUV. On the eve of war, only one thing passes through our minds: is there going to be any appropriate music on the radio? Lt Smash, 19 Mar, undisclosed location: Read the President's speech today. The clock is ticking. Chief Wiggles, 22 Mar, Kuwait: The war started Wednesday morning for us right after the president gave a speech to the American people that lasted about 4 minutes. We were all very anxious for this whole thing to be either over or get it on its way. Will, 22 Mar, en route: I am going to Baghdad to personally shoot that paper hanging son of a bitch! Lt Smash 20 Mar, undisclosed location: Sgt Stryker, 20 Mar, Stateside: Iraq to File U.N. Complaint About Attack Primary Main Objective, 30 Mar, undisclosed location I Dare Kofi to Come Get Me.
BruceR, Flit, 19 Mar, Canada: AND SO IT BEGINS. Godspeed, Yanks. Come home safe and soon. Andrew Olmsted, 20 Mar 2003, Stateside: The most important thing to remember over the next few days is this: the first reports are almost always inaccurate. First reports are generally submitted in the heat of battle before any real analysis can take place. Therefore, they're highly subjective, based on limited information, and rarely hit the mark. So as the first reports of 'surgical strikes' on Iraqi forces come in, it's best to take those reports with a grain of salt... Iraqi BlogsSalam Pax, Baghdad: The bombing aould come and go in waves, nothing too heavy and not yet comparable to what was going on in 91. all radio and TV stations are still on and while the air raid began the Iraqi TV was showing patriotic songs and didn't even bother to inform viewers that we are under attack. at the moment they are re-airing yesterday's interview with the minister of interior affairs. THe sounds of the anti-aircarft artillery is still louder than the booms and bangs which means that they are still far from where we live, but the images we saw on Al Arabia news channel showed a building burning near one of my aunts house... Other BlogsAndrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish: How much more morally indefensible is appeasement when we also have complete international authority to do what must be done? I think we will look back in the future and not ask, as so many now are, how it was that diplomacy didn't get unanimity on this matter. We will look back and see the moral obtuseness of Chirac and Putin and Schroder and Carter and feel nothing but contempt for them, and their preference for state terror over the responsibilities of the free world. That's why I felt enormous pride tonight in the stand being taken by Blair and Bush. The president's speech was measured, firm, just. Blair's political risks - in order to do what he believes is plainly right - will confirm him in history as a great prime minister, the conscience of his party, and the leader of his country. I say that before this war begins, because the cause is just whatever vicissitudes of conflict await us... Glenn Reynolds has a ton of links. Newpapers
Updating... more to follow.... |
The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
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COL Karpinski, (RET) is an embarrasment to the Officer Corps. She sounds like a 2LT with no experience making excuses. She should be Court matrialed for wearing the wrong rank on the cover of her book. That the Huffingotn Post people think she has something to say just shows how little they know about the military. She failed to excercise leadership. It rests on her inaction.
May the full truth be known and any one oroven guilty be punished to the full expent of the law, but like the charges made bt John Kerry anter he was discharged, and safe from the UCMJ, I would not be to fast to call for scalps intill the true facts are in, and for those within the chain of command please find the balls to quit passing the buck down to the individual troop to insure they stand tall when they seek there next star.Get out from behind the smoke screen and try to remember the words "I am the infantry,follow me" I for one would reather be a buck Pvt. who can say "I will try Sir" then all the stars and stripes I would receive for standing mute and allowing my troops to be attacted from the rear when they fully expect me to to guard the rear. For those to fade into the dark while others take the blame for there failure to lead from the front I say, May God have mercy on your soul.
Sorry about the incorrect spelling in my last post, must be the sparks from the bullet fragements in my head acting up again.