Civilian Leadership
Via Arthur Silber and Atrios, I find this lovely slice of American life:
The only way to get her sons back early would be if one were killed, captured, maimed or missing.
Then the so-called Sullivan rule, named for the Iowa family who lost five sons on the USS Juneau after it was attacked in 1942, would apply. Swann could request that her remaining sons be excluded from combat or any duty that would expose them to hostile fire.
That’s what John and Lori Witmer did when their daughter Michelle, 20, was killed in Iraq last year serving in the Wisconsin National Guard. Her sister Rachel, 25, who served with her in the 32nd Military Police Company, and her twin sister, Charity, 21, a medic, did not to return to Iraq after their parents pleaded that they be allowed to remain stateside….
Their decision led to death threats and criticism from some who thought the other daughters should return to their units despite their sister’s death, he said. Radio stations held call-in discussions and the family received numerous threatening phone calls.
What has consistently amazed about the craziness that’s happened in this country since September 11, 2001 is how little of it the military is actually responsible for. After Abu Ghraib, the right-wing here at home desperately reached for every pathetic excuse, while military authorities responded quickly and convicted those responsible.
Here we have a policy voluntarily created by the United States Armed Forces. But try to take advantage of it, and all hell breaks loose - not from the military, but from the patriotic correctness police at home - known online as the 101st Fighting Keyboarders - isn’t satisfied.
All along over the last three and a half years, the military have been the good guys, and all the worst decisions and behavior have come from civilian leadership.