Shit happens and were not responsible

Edited to avoid plagarism

Stuff happens and we're not responsible

Friday, May 06, 2005
By Tony Norman

'No official intent to deceive" has become the official mantra of the United States military. It is stamped on every report of alleged military wrongdoing, no matter how egregious.

"No official intent to deceive" may have become as ubiquitous as products emblazoned with "Made in China" stickers at the local Wal-Mart but so what? There is no duplicity in the hearts of those who conduct our wars, either in the field or behind bunkers of bureaucratic insulation at the Pentagon. War may be hell, but only the enemy is ever guilty of lying. If it were otherwise, the U.S. military would've told us so.

Take the Army's report on the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan a year ago. Tillman's "hero's death" was text- book hagiography in action. It had a compelling narrative that combined patriotism and self-sacrifice with moral clarity on the battlefield.

The first paragraph of every news story at the time recounted Tillman's decision to enlist in the Army Rangers after Sept. 11, even though it meant kissing a $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals goodbye.

His death and selfless patriotism became a recruiting poster: "Wake up, you slacker contemporaries of Pat Tillman! A real man died fighting the Taliban on your behalf. What, if anything, have you done for your nation, lately?"

It was a useful myth even though Pat Tillman didn't die at the hands of Taliban forces. Everyone up the chain of command knew Tillman was killed by fellow soldiers who mistook him for an enemy combatant. Certainly, the soldiers who shot him knew the extravagant tale spun to cover a tragic tale of fratricide was a lie.

Tillman's blood-soaked uniform and body armor were burned before they could be examined by the military's forensics specialists. When Tillman's family asked for an explanation of this break with procedure, the military had to figure out a nice way to say that the blood of that particular patriot was considered a biohazard.

Still, there was no official intent by military commanders to deceive the Tillman family or the nation. The military brass' only intent was to tell a "deeper" truth than the one available at the time. A tale of reckless heroism is always more compelling than "whoops!" And so it goes. Nothing is more contagious in the military than a presumption of perpetual innocence. If American soldiers shoot and kill an Italian agent escorting a former hostage to an Iraqi checkpoint, well, these things happen. Somebody -- and we're not pointing fingers -- shouldn't have been speeding.

If a Marine shoots three wounded and unarmed Iraqis in a Fallujah mosque, with one of the killings captured on video by an embedded NBC cameraman, there's no reason to assume it was anything other than self-defense. War can be tough on the nerves. You can't blame a Marine for getting jittery according to the tribunal that cleared him. Besides, war crimes are committed by the other side. Our side makes mistakes.

Even in the rare case when a soldier is willing to take responsibility for a heinous act, the military code of justice won't necessarily allow it. When Pfc. Lynndie England tried to cop to abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib during her court martial in Texas this week, the military judge threw out her guilty plea. He wasn't convinced she knew the difference between right and wrong when she was photographed posing with naked Iraqis tethered to leashes.


Torture isn't happening under U.S. jurisdiction. In a few years, there will be reports and commissions putting those nasty rumors to rest, as well. If there was ever any official intent to deceive, our military would tell us so.

(Tony Norman can be reached at 412-263-1631 or tnorman@post-gazette.com.)