A Counter Article to Karl Withakay Article in May 22 2006 - "Prisoner Abuse at the Hands of American Soldiers"

I am writing this article in response to a soft research article by another Content provider. In May of 2006 Mr. Karl Withakay poured that sand in my shoes and the shoes of thousands of conscientious soldiers. Walking with sand in your shoes slows the whole unit and will cripple the best soldier eventually. His article "Prisoner Abuse at the Hands of American Soldiers" while meeting the needs of the liberal reading public was fraught with research errors, passed down war-stories and down right lies.

Artistic license is great to make a tune fit in a song or a sunset in a painting, However in this case it causes pain and high levels of irritation in professional soldiers around the globe. I was among the ranks of the Military from 1964 through Desert Storm in 1990. I have served on both ends of the chain-of-command. During this time I heard the war stories of abuse and even the killing of prisoners. In most cases I heard it from a "REMF" (Rear Echelon M* F*) who heard it in a bar from a "Real Combat Soldier". In some cases to make themselves look dangerous. In other cases it was done to make someone look despicable.

First, it is always the responsibility of any soldier to refuse any unlawful order. It is now, always has been, and always will be unlawful to abuse any prisoner, civilian, or detainee. That means that any soldier who performs any of the acts shown in the Abu Ghraib prison photos is just a phone call away from Jail. Incidentally Mr. Karl Withakay said prison is located in Afghanistan, a small harsh Arab country just north of Iran, not Guantanamo which is located in Cuba, a small Island just 90 miles south of Miami Florida.

Second, it is also the responsibility of every soldier with knowledge of, or suspicion of such an act, to make that call or to be prepared to join the perpetrators in a cell. The job of the Chain-of-command is to look after the prisoners, and civilians they have under their control as if they were in their units. This is where the hole was in the plan at Abu Ghraib prison. There we had unskilled, but probably well trained soldiers guarding a facility that has been the source of much death for more years than most of them had been alive.

The article spoke loudly of there being a "Correct and By The Book" way and a "The Way Things Are Done" way. The difference is non-existent in the "Real" military. I use the term Military because it is the same in all branches. The difference in the ways is due to the courage and training of the soldiers.

However there is a difference in how a militant prisoner or suspected Militant prisoner is handled. These are dedicated freedom fighters that have been fighting since long before we got there. If you give them any space it will cost you and possibly your friend their life. Mr. Withakay also spoke of where these interrogators were trained. I know a building that used to be on the back side of Ft. Bragg that trained soldiers to be POWs and interrogators to ask questions. I spent 2 days there back in 75. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't torture. I lost no teeth, no skin, and no blood. I did however loose about 10 pounds, and my dignity, which I am proud to say, has all grown back beautifully.

We are involved in a new type of conflict. This conflict has no borders except the ones we erect around the bad guys. It is fought as mightily on the Sands of Afghanistan and Iraq as it is on the pages of tabloids, and Dailies around the world. I don't mind being referred to as a baby killer and rapist by their writers. I take extreme umbrage with those of the home grown variety. Theirs are doing it as an act of war, while ours are doing it as an act of self-grandization.

I say to Mr. Karl Withakay, as I said in a letter in 2000 to Mr. Kerry. I salute your service as a fellow soldier, but I Damm your courage if you knew of actions like you speak and write and did nothing. Every action and inaction has a cost. The brave, or even the concerned, will do what is right. The rest will tell tall tales and sulk about what someone else did.