A B-17 War Story

Charlie Brown was a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 379th Bomber
Group at Kimbolton , England. His B-17 was called 'Ye Old Pub' and was
in a terrible state, having been hit by flak and fighters The compass
was damaged and they were flying deeper over enemy territory instead of
heading home to Kimbolton.

After flying over an enemy airfield, a German pilot named Franz
Steigler was ordered to take off and shoot down the B-17. When he got
near the B-17, he could not believe his eyes. In his words, he 'had
never seen a plane in such a bad state'. The tail and rear section was
severely damaged, and the tail gunner wounded. The top gunner was all
over the top of the fuselage. The nose was smashed and there were holes
everywhere .

Despite having ammunition, Franz flew to the side of the B-17
and looked at Charlie Brown, the pilot. Brown was scared and struggling
to control his damaged and blood-stained plane.

Aware that they had no idea where they were going, Franz waved
at Charlie to turn 180 degrees. Franz escorted and guided the stricken
plane to and slightly over the North Sea towards England He then saluted
Charlie Brown and turned away, back to Europe.

When Franz landed he told the C/O that the plane had been shot
down over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody. Charlie Brown
and the remains of his crew told all at their briefing, but were ordered
never to talk about it.

More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the
Luftwaffe pilot who saved the crew After years of research, Franz was
found. He had never talked about the incident, not even at post-war
reunions.

They met in the USA at a 379th. Bomber Group reunion, together
with 25 people who are alive now - all because Franz never fired his
guns that day.

Research shows that Charlie Brown lived in Seattle and Franz Steigler
had moved to Vancouver, BC after the war. When they finally met, they
discovered they had lived less than 200 miles apart for the past 50 years!

Square Wheels added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

Charlie Brown was a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 379th
Bomber Group at Kimbolton , England. His B-17 was called 'Ye
Old Pub' and was in a terrible state, having been hit by flak
and fighters The compass was damaged and they were flying
deeper over enemy territory instead of heading home to
Kimbolton.

After flying over an enemy airfield, a German pilot
named Franz
Steigler was ordered to take off and shoot down the B-17. When
he got near the B-17, he could not believe his eyes. In his
words, he 'had never seen a plane in such a bad state'. The
tail and rear section was severely damaged, and the tail
gunner wounded. The top gunner was all over the top of the
fuselage. The nose was smashed and there were holes everywhere
.

Despite having ammunition, Franz flew to the side of
the B-17
and looked at Charlie Brown, the pilot. Brown was scared and
struggling to control his damaged and blood-stained plane.

Aware that they had no idea where they were going,
Franz waved
at Charlie to turn 180 degrees. Franz escorted and guided the
stricken plane to and slightly over the North Sea towards
England He then saluted Charlie Brown and turned away, back to
Europe.

When Franz landed he told the C/O that the plane had
been shot
down over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody.
Charlie Brown and the remains of his crew told all at their
briefing, but were ordered never to talk about it.

More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to
find the
Luftwaffe pilot who saved the crew After years of research,
Franz was found. He had never talked about the incident, not
even at post-war reunions.

They met in the USA at a 379th. Bomber Group reunion,
together
with 25 people who are alive now - all because Franz never
fired his guns that day.

Research shows that Charlie Brown lived in Seattle and
Franz Steigler
had moved to Vancouver, BC after the war. When they finally
met, they discovered they had lived less than 200 miles apart
for the past 50 years!

There was at least honor in the way the Germans generally fought
the war, but especially the Luftwaffe, who had the utmost respect
for our Army Air Corps/Force guys, even though they were "blood"
enemies. Likewise, the Americans and Brits were considerate of
even the bomber crews bombing London and other targets more of a
military nature. Completely the opposite was true in the Pacific
with the Japs, and today, there is NO honor to warfare
whatsoever. Worse, the basic premises behind armed conflict
between sovereign nations has been gone for almost 2 decades
since the fall of the USSR and now our brave men and women get
blown up, literally, by real or would-be terrorists. Pretty hard
to target these folks, and we must be ever vigilent with the
"POWs" we capture. Which in turn leads us to the logical
conclusion that the War on Terror coalition simply MUST stop the
very near torture of captured men and women, no matter what
"intelligence" may be gleaned. While not endorsing ANY political
candidates, perhaps John McCain has said it best: if we torture
prisoners for ANY reason, we shouldn't expect human treatment
when our armed forces personnel are captured, certainly not the
kind of treatment Franz gave to Charlie Brown.

--
HP, aka Jerry

HEMI-Powered wrote:

Square Wheels added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

Charlie Brown was a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 379th
Bomber Group at Kimbolton , England. His B-17 was called 'Ye
Old Pub' and was in a terrible state, having been hit by flak
and fighters The compass was damaged and they were flying
deeper over enemy territory instead of heading home to
Kimbolton.

After flying over an enemy airfield, a German pilot
named Franz
Steigler was ordered to take off and shoot down the B-17. When
he got near the B-17, he could not believe his eyes. In his
words, he 'had never seen a plane in such a bad state'. The
tail and rear section was severely damaged, and the tail
gunner wounded. The top gunner was all over the top of the
fuselage. The nose was smashed and there were holes everywhere
.

Despite having ammunition, Franz flew to the side of
the B-17
and looked at Charlie Brown, the pilot. Brown was scared and
struggling to control his damaged and blood-stained plane.

Aware that they had no idea where they were going,
Franz waved
at Charlie to turn 180 degrees. Franz escorted and guided the
stricken plane to and slightly over the North Sea towards
England He then saluted Charlie Brown and turned away, back to
Europe.

When Franz landed he told the C/O that the plane had
been shot
down over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody.
Charlie Brown and the remains of his crew told all at their
briefing, but were ordered never to talk about it.

More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to
find the
Luftwaffe pilot who saved the crew After years of research,
Franz was found. He had never talked about the incident, not
even at post-war reunions.

They met in the USA at a 379th. Bomber Group reunion,
together
with 25 people who are alive now - all because Franz never
fired his guns that day.

Research shows that Charlie Brown lived in Seattle and
Franz Steigler
had moved to Vancouver, BC after the war. When they finally
met, they discovered they had lived less than 200 miles apart
for the past 50 years!

There was at least honor in the way the Germans generally fought
the war, but especially the Luftwaffe, who had the utmost respect
for our Army Air Corps/Force guys, even though they were "blood"
enemies. Likewise, the Americans and Brits were considerate of
even the bomber crews bombing London and other targets more of a
military nature. Completely the opposite was true in the Pacific
with the Japs, and today, there is NO honor to warfare
whatsoever. Worse, the basic premises behind armed conflict
between sovereign nations has been gone for almost 2 decades
since the fall of the USSR and now our brave men and women get
blown up, literally, by real or would-be terrorists. Pretty hard
to target these folks, and we must be ever vigilent with the
"POWs" we capture. Which in turn leads us to the logical
conclusion that the War on Terror coalition simply MUST stop the
very near torture of captured men and women, no matter what
"intelligence" may be gleaned. While not endorsing ANY political
candidates, perhaps John McCain has said it best: if we torture
prisoners for ANY reason, we shouldn't expect human treatment
when our armed forces personnel are captured, certainly not the
kind of treatment Franz gave to Charlie Brown.

--
HP, aka Jerry

like our prisoners received in Korea, Viet Nam, GW 1, and in Iraq?

redc1c4,
just curious.....
--
"Enlisted men are stupid, but extremely cunning and sly, and bear
considerable watching."

Army Officer's Guide

redc1c4 added these comments in the current discussion du jour
....

There was at least honor in the way the Germans generally
fought the war, but especially the Luftwaffe, who had the
utmost respect for our Army Air Corps/Force guys, even though
they were "blood" enemies. Likewise, the Americans and Brits
were considerate of even the bomber crews bombing London and
other targets more of a military nature. Completely the
opposite was true in the Pacific with the Japs, and today,
there is NO honor to warfare whatsoever. Worse, the basic
premises behind armed conflict between sovereign nations has
been gone for almost 2 decades since the fall of the USSR and
now our brave men and women get blown up, literally, by real
or would-be terrorists. Pretty hard to target these folks,
and we must be ever vigilent with the "POWs" we capture.
Which in turn leads us to the logical conclusion that the War
on Terror coalition simply MUST stop the very near torture of
captured men and women, no matter what "intelligence" may be
gleaned. While not endorsing ANY political candidates,
perhaps John McCain has said it best: if we torture prisoners
for ANY reason, we shouldn't expect human treatment when our
armed forces personnel are captured, certainly not the kind
of treatment Franz gave to Charlie Brown.

like our prisoners received in Korea, Viet Nam, GW 1, and in
Iraq?

redc1c4,
just curious.....

First, let me make this clear: We, the United States, nor our
allies, should NEVER use torture in ANY form, period. Just
because our POWs were tortured by the North Koreans and Vietnames
is NOT a justification for us to do so. Further, we should NOT
fall to the level of our enemies. We hold ourselves up as a moral
and legal standard for the entire world, as well as the most
potent super power left today. That requires that we maintain
both an international law presence/compliance and that of our own
law, including civil law for contractors and the UCMJ. We may use
some forms of intense interrogation but when it is abundantl
clear to everyone witnesses it that what we are doing is nothing
more than a euphemism for stopping just short of intentional
infliction of real pain. If that description doesn't fit with
your view of our role as both the leader of freedome and
democracy in the world today as well as our role as policeman of
the world, perhaps you should examine your motives. Intelligence
experts also tell us point blank that except on VERY rare
occasioons, intelligence gathered under torture or even near or
ersatz torture is generally always useless as the prisoner will
do what any human in pain will do - say whatever the interrogator
wants for even a brief respite.

Bottom line is this: if we do not want our brave men and women
mistreated, mentally or physically tortured, excessively
agressive interrogation treatments employed, wounded or
intentionally maimed, or even executed in brutally painful ways,
that WE must NEVER restort to the tactics of our enemies. We are
better than that and must show it 100% of the time to both our
enemies and our friends, and we must NEVER mistreat any prisoner.

--
HP, aka Jerry

Right on Jerry !!!!!!! I agree with you 100% on this issue.


"HEMI-Powered" wrote in message
...
redc1c4 added these comments in the current discussion du jour
...

There was at least honor in the way the Germans generally
fought the war, but especially the Luftwaffe, who had the
utmost respect for our Army Air Corps/Force guys, even though
they were "blood" enemies. Likewise, the Americans and Brits
were considerate of even the bomber crews bombing London and
other targets more of a military nature. Completely the
opposite was true in the Pacific with the Japs, and today,
there is NO honor to warfare whatsoever. Worse, the basic
premises behind armed conflict between sovereign nations has
been gone for almost 2 decades since the fall of the USSR and
now our brave men and women get blown up, literally, by real
or would-be terrorists. Pretty hard to target these folks,
and we must be ever vigilent with the "POWs" we capture.
Which in turn leads us to the logical conclusion that the War
on Terror coalition simply MUST stop the very near torture of
captured men and women, no matter what "intelligence" may be
gleaned. While not endorsing ANY political candidates,
perhaps John McCain has said it best: if we torture prisoners
for ANY reason, we shouldn't expect human treatment when our
armed forces personnel are captured, certainly not the kind
of treatment Franz gave to Charlie Brown.

like our prisoners received in Korea, Viet Nam, GW 1, and in
Iraq?

redc1c4,
just curious.....

First, let me make this clear: We, the United States, nor our
allies, should NEVER use torture in ANY form, period. Just
because our POWs were tortured by the North Koreans and Vietnames
is NOT a justification for us to do so. Further, we should NOT
fall to the level of our enemies. We hold ourselves up as a moral
and legal standard for the entire world, as well as the most
potent super power left today. That requires that we maintain
both an international law presence/compliance and that of our own
law, including civil law for contractors and the UCMJ. We may use
some forms of intense interrogation but when it is abundantl
clear to everyone witnesses it that what we are doing is nothing
more than a euphemism for stopping just short of intentional
infliction of real pain. If that description doesn't fit with
your view of our role as both the leader of freedome and
democracy in the world today as well as our role as policeman of
the world, perhaps you should examine your motives. Intelligence
experts also tell us point blank that except on VERY rare
occasioons, intelligence gathered under torture or even near or
ersatz torture is generally always useless as the prisoner will
do what any human in pain will do - say whatever the interrogator
wants for even a brief respite.

Bottom line is this: if we do not want our brave men and women
mistreated, mentally or physically tortured, excessively
agressive interrogation treatments employed, wounded or
intentionally maimed, or even executed in brutally painful ways,
that WE must NEVER restort to the tactics of our enemies. We are
better than that and must show it 100% of the time to both our
enemies and our friends, and we must NEVER mistreat any prisoner.

--
HP, aka Jerry

HalfPowered wrote:

redc1c4 added these comments in the current discussion du jour
...

There was at least honor in the way the Germans generally
fought the war, but especially the Luftwaffe, who had the
utmost respect for our Army Air Corps/Force guys, even though
they were "blood" enemies. Likewise, the Americans and Brits
were considerate of even the bomber crews bombing London and
other targets more of a military nature. Completely the
opposite was true in the Pacific with the Japs, and today,
there is NO honor to warfare whatsoever. Worse, the basic
premises behind armed conflict between sovereign nations has
been gone for almost 2 decades since the fall of the USSR and
now our brave men and women get blown up, literally, by real
or would-be terrorists. Pretty hard to target these folks,
and we must be ever vigilent with the "POWs" we capture.
Which in turn leads us to the logical conclusion that the War
on Terror coalition simply MUST stop the very near torture of
captured men and women, no matter what "intelligence" may be
gleaned. While not endorsing ANY political candidates,
perhaps John McCain has said it best: if we torture prisoners
for ANY reason, we shouldn't expect human treatment when our
armed forces personnel are captured, certainly not the kind
of treatment Franz gave to Charlie Brown.

like our prisoners received in Korea, Viet Nam, GW 1, and in
Iraq?

redc1c4,
just curious.....

First, let me make this clear: We, the United States, nor our
allies, should NEVER use torture in ANY form, period. Just
because our POWs were tortured by the North Koreans and Vietnames
is NOT a justification for us to do so. Further, we should NOT
fall to the level of our enemies. We hold ourselves up as a moral
and legal standard for the entire world, as well as the most
potent super power left today. That requires that we maintain
both an international law presence/compliance and that of our own
law, including civil law for contractors and the UCMJ. We may use
some forms of intense interrogation but when it is abundantl
clear to everyone witnesses it that what we are doing is nothing
more than a euphemism for stopping just short of intentional
infliction of real pain. If that description doesn't fit with
your view of our role as both the leader of freedome and
democracy in the world today as well as our role as policeman of
the world, perhaps you should examine your motives. Intelligence
experts also tell us point blank that except on VERY rare
occasioons, intelligence gathered under torture or even near or
ersatz torture is generally always useless as the prisoner will
do what any human in pain will do - say whatever the interrogator
wants for even a brief respite.

Bottom line is this: if we do not want our brave men and women
mistreated, mentally or physically tortured, excessively
agressive interrogation treatments employed, wounded or
intentionally maimed, or even executed in brutally painful ways,
that WE must NEVER restort to the tactics of our enemies. We are
better than that and must show it 100% of the time to both our
enemies and our friends, and we must NEVER mistreat any prisoner.

--
HP, aka Jerry

that's where you're wrong: since it is a given that our people will be tortured
&
killed, we need to make it a national policy that the government officials, and
all who participate in said acts will be targeted and killed ruthlessly,
by whatever means necessary.

redc1c4,
anything else is foolishness.
--
"Enlisted men are stupid, but extremely cunning and sly, and bear
considerable watching."

Army Officer's Guide

"redc1c4" wrote in message
...
HP, aka Jerry

that's where you're wrong: since it is a given that our people will be
tortured
&
killed, we need to make it a national policy that the government
officials, and
all who participate in said acts will be targeted and killed ruthlessly,
by whatever means necessary.

You seem to be talking of any enemy troop, HP is talking about prisoners of
war. Prisoners of War should at all times be properly treated, in accordance
with the Geneva Convention, even if they are not regular armed forces. And
if I may add: if the US Govt and/or the US military endorses.shares your
point of view (which I seriously hope they don't), don't be seriously
surprised if your enemies begin randomly killing US civilians all over the
globe, wherever they appear in the street.

Your status as the sole military superpower comes with obligations. You
claim to be the best nation in the world, so demonstrate to the world that
you know what that means, and that you are proud to represent that nation
and it's values. Your example is being followed, even by those who hate you.
You need to make it a national policy (and an important and integral part of
your military's training) to be a ambassador, not only to your nations
government, but also to your peoples values.

Ron

Here's the rub.

What do you do with an enemy who is intentionally targeting innocent
civilians? Such as al quaida.

If you have an enemy combatant in custody, and you believe that said
enemy combatant has information regarding impending attacks on said
civilian targets, what do you do?

As an American citizen, I want my government to do *anything* it takes
to extract that information from the enemy combatant, who, by the way,
by not wearing the uniform and fighting under the banner of a country,
does not qualify for protection under the Geneva Convention.

While the principles of not resorting to torture are noble to be sure, I
am *not* willing to sacrifice the lives of my family and myself to
uphold that lofty principle.

In conflict after conflict, from Bataan to Hanoi to Somalia to Iraq, our
enemy has proven that they have not the slightest hesitation in
torturing our soldiers - our high standards not withstanding. So the
argument that we need to take the high road to prevent future
mistreatment of our soldiers falls flat under the weight of the facts.

Just the opinion of one American civilian who has the highest respect
and gratitude for the service of our fighting men and women, and wants
to give them the benefit of every tool imaginable to protect us.

Charlie

Charlie wrote:
Here's the rub.

What do you do with an enemy who is intentionally targeting innocent
civilians? Such as al quaida.

If you have an enemy combatant in custody, and you believe that said
enemy combatant has information regarding impending attacks on said
civilian targets, what do you do?

As an American citizen, I want my government to do *anything* it takes
to extract that information from the enemy combatant, who, by the way,
by not wearing the uniform and fighting under the banner of a country,
does not qualify for protection under the Geneva Convention.

While the principles of not resorting to torture are noble to be sure, I
am *not* willing to sacrifice the lives of my family and myself to
uphold that lofty principle.

In conflict after conflict, from Bataan to Hanoi to Somalia to Iraq, our
enemy has proven that they have not the slightest hesitation in
torturing our soldiers - our high standards not withstanding. So the
argument that we need to take the high road to prevent future
mistreatment of our soldiers falls flat under the weight of the facts.

Just the opinion of one American civilian who has the highest respect
and gratitude for the service of our fighting men and women, and wants
to give them the benefit of every tool imaginable to protect us.

Charlie


Gentlemen and Ladies:

The US military has always (at least in my service since 1961)
completely rejected torture and other physical means of coercion. Now
just because officially certain things are not permitted, didn't mean
that torture has not taken place. The Abu Ghrab and other related
incidents are examples. I personally saw torture when I was in Vietnam,
torture at the hands of South Korean MI personnel handling North
Vietnamese Army POW's. It was abhorrent to me then as the memory of it
is now. You will ask why I didn't attempt to stop the torture, and I
will answer because I was weak-willed at that time and turned my back,
departing the area, in essence putting my blind eye to the telescope.

Where arguments about killing or targeting civilians vis a vis military
personnel fall down is in warfare which involves civilians who are
exposed to that war.

The bombings of Dresden and Tokyo are perfect examples where the
civilian populace was specifically targeted by US and British military
forces. There were monumental numbers of casualties among the
"innocent" civilians. Of course, at that time, the policy of the Allies
was that anyone who supported a war against the allies was not innocent
but compliant.

In the cases of formally recognized military powers warring against each
other, practically all organized military and nations recognize the
Geneva Conventions or at least some semblance of those conventions.

Of course, the oriental nations, with the very different philosophy
about prisoners of war and about "treatment" flies in the face of
treatment of POW's by civilized nations. Excellent examples of this
include the Japanese during WW2, the North Koreans and Chinese during
the Korean War and, of course, the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese,
specifically the communist Viets held an all time record on butchery and
brutality. But, remember that culture is what drives people to do what
they do. The Oriental culture is a brutal one which has a callous
disregard for human life. There can be no debate upon that subject
since it has been proven over and gain.

Members of the Middle Eastern culture, specifically those who have
Surrendered to al-Islam (The Muslim), also view treatment of people
through a completely different "lens" than do Occidentals or even
Orientals of the Chinese subcontinent. In the case of the case of the
Muslim, the well-being, including lives, of non-Muslim (infidels and
pagans) is held to a degree which is lower than that of the female. The
female is held "one step down" from that of the Muslim male.
Accordingly, the infidel and/or pagan is not considered a whole human
being in the eyes of various Islamic dogma. They are certain non-Muslim
who are protected by rules set forth in the Holy Koran .. the so-called
"People of the Book". People of the Book include some Middle-Eastern
Christian sects which exist to this day in Muslim countries and which
are lauded for their protection of the Prophet Mohammad (Blessings and
All Grace Upon Him).

So, when a non-Muslim is captured or taken hostage, he or she can be
treated the same as a dog or other non-sentient animal and slaughtered
if necessary. This is the common thought behind the killings of
hostages including beheading and shootings. As difficult as it is for
Westerners to accept it, the homicide of hostages is as common to the
Middle East as the killing of "surrendered and dishonored enemy" in the
hands of the Japanese of World War Two. Religious or cultural beliefs
in both cases, you see.

This is an intense and complex situation. There is no way that it can
be accepted or even understood in side the frames of reference which we
Westerners have from early childhood. We can use all of the usual
arguments such as "what if a terrorist has an A Bomb planted and we have
to torture him" ... all the way to "well what if it were your child held
hostage" .. putting the argument on a personal and direct level versus
generalities.

The argument that we as "civilized countries" should never torture fails
to take into consideration that no people or country should torture. We
always manage to brand Muslim or Japanese or Vietnamese or Cambodians as
barbaric savages -- disregarding their own thousand years of culture.
That is the easy path, make out your enemy to be a savage and then you
can do anything you want to him.

Where does this philosophy take us? Back to the original question "To
torture or not to torture". People who torture should be prepared to
suffer the consequences of their violation of regulations. It is as
simple as that. Those who have been punished after the Abu Ghrab
fiasco, deserved what they received in punishment and in my opinion, the
punishment skipped over a whole lot of other culpable people of all
ranks and services.

What if the regulations change? What if the rules are rewritten and
officially published to say that a certain type of torture is acceptable
whilst others are still OK? This is the Water-boarding versus Bright
Lights theory (argument actually). Is subjecting a prisoner to high
intensity flood lights 24 hours per day while strapped to a chair,
torture .. or simply "harassment". Is strapping the same to an ironing
board type contraption and doing a see-saw with him into a source of
water to emulate drowning torture or only "physical discomfort"?

And if your answer -- as an interrogator -- is that these are "Tortures"
then you are honor and duty bound to refuse any order to comply with
conduct of that torture. A soldier will never get into trouble for
refusing an unlawful order. That, by the way, was the mistake that many
made at Abu Ghrab, they didn't think about their actions, took the words
or orders from someone above them, and rarely refused to act improperly.
Add that mix to the Lynndie England types and her inbred trailer trash
associates, and we had what we had there .. And I am including Generals
Karpinsky and Fast in that description of trailer trash idiots, too.

I am waiting for an answer: To torture or not to torture ... That is
the question.

----------------------------------

Extract from a recent classroom lecture by the author;

Some of my military career was spent conducting interrogations for
Military Intelligence purposes. I am at this time a visiting
"professor" at the University of Military Intelligence at Ft Huachuca,
AZ, where the Department of Defense has combined efforts to train ALL
counterintelligence personnel (including interrogation specialists) in
the proper ways and means to extract information from prisoners.


(c) 2007 by David E. Mann, PhD(Hist)

On Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:46:37 -0500, CWO4 Dave Mann wrote:

Charlie wrote:
Here's the rub.

What do you do with an enemy who is intentionally targeting innocent
civilians? Such as al quaida.

If you have an enemy combatant in custody, and you believe that said
enemy combatant has information regarding impending attacks on said
civilian targets, what do you do?

As an American citizen, I want my government to do *anything* it takes
to extract that information from the enemy combatant, who, by the way,
by not wearing the uniform and fighting under the banner of a country,
does not qualify for protection under the Geneva Convention.

While the principles of not resorting to torture are noble to be sure, I
am *not* willing to sacrifice the lives of my family and myself to
uphold that lofty principle.

In conflict after conflict, from Bataan to Hanoi to Somalia to Iraq, our
enemy has proven that they have not the slightest hesitation in
torturing our soldiers - our high standards not withstanding. So the
argument that we need to take the high road to prevent future
mistreatment of our soldiers falls flat under the weight of the facts.

Just the opinion of one American civilian who has the highest respect
and gratitude for the service of our fighting men and women, and wants
to give them the benefit of every tool imaginable to protect us.

Charlie


Gentlemen and Ladies:

The US military has always (at least in my service since 1961)
completely rejected torture and other physical means of coercion. Now
just because officially certain things are not permitted, didn't mean
that torture has not taken place. The Abu Ghrab and other related
incidents are examples. I personally saw torture when I was in Vietnam,
torture at the hands of South Korean MI personnel handling North
Vietnamese Army POW's. It was abhorrent to me then as the memory of it
is now. You will ask why I didn't attempt to stop the torture, and I
will answer because I was weak-willed at that time and turned my back,
departing the area, in essence putting my blind eye to the telescope.

Where arguments about killing or targeting civilians vis a vis military
personnel fall down is in warfare which involves civilians who are
exposed to that war.

The bombings of Dresden and Tokyo are perfect examples where the
civilian populace was specifically targeted by US and British military
forces. There were monumental numbers of casualties among the
"innocent" civilians. Of course, at that time, the policy of the Allies
was that anyone who supported a war against the allies was not innocent
but compliant.

In the cases of formally recognized military powers warring against each
other, practically all organized military and nations recognize the
Geneva Conventions or at least some semblance of those conventions.

Of course, the oriental nations, with the very different philosophy
about prisoners of war and about "treatment" flies in the face of
treatment of POW's by civilized nations. Excellent examples of this
include the Japanese during WW2, the North Koreans and Chinese during
the Korean War and, of course, the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese,
specifically the communist Viets held an all time record on butchery and
brutality. But, remember that culture is what drives people to do what
they do. The Oriental culture is a brutal one which has a callous
disregard for human life. There can be no debate upon that subject
since it has been proven over and gain.

Members of the Middle Eastern culture, specifically those who have
Surrendered to al-Islam (The Muslim), also view treatment of people
through a completely different "lens" than do Occidentals or even
Orientals of the Chinese subcontinent. In the case of the case of the
Muslim, the well-being, including lives, of non-Muslim (infidels and
pagans) is held to a degree which is lower than that of the female. The
female is held "one step down" from that of the Muslim male.
Accordingly, the infidel and/or pagan is not considered a whole human
being in the eyes of various Islamic dogma. They are certain non-Muslim
who are protected by rules set forth in the Holy Koran .. the so-called
"People of the Book". People of the Book include some Middle-Eastern
Christian sects which exist to this day in Muslim countries and which
are lauded for their protection of the Prophet Mohammad (Blessings and
All Grace Upon Him).

So, when a non-Muslim is captured or taken hostage, he or she can be
treated the same as a dog or other non-sentient animal and slaughtered
if necessary. This is the common thought behind the killings of
hostages including beheading and shootings. As difficult as it is for
Westerners to accept it, the homicide of hostages is as common to the
Middle East as the killing of "surrendered and dishonored enemy" in the
hands of the Japanese of World War Two. Religious or cultural beliefs
in both cases, you see.

This is an intense and complex situation. There is no way that it can
be accepted or even understood in side the frames of reference which we
Westerners have from early childhood. We can use all of the usual
arguments such as "what if a terrorist has an A Bomb planted and we have
to torture him" ... all the way to "well what if it were your child held
hostage" .. putting the argument on a personal and direct level versus
generalities.

The argument that we as "civilized countries" should never torture fails
to take into consideration that no people or country should torture. We
always manage to brand Muslim or Japanese or Vietnamese or Cambodians as
barbaric savages -- disregarding their own thousand years of culture.
That is the easy path, make out your enemy to be a savage and then you
can do anything you want to him.

Where does this philosophy take us? Back to the original question "To
torture or not to torture". People who torture should be prepared to
suffer the consequences of their violation of regulations. It is as
simple as that. Those who have been punished after the Abu Ghrab
fiasco, deserved what they received in punishment and in my opinion, the
punishment skipped over a whole lot of other culpable people of all
ranks and services.

What if the regulations change? What if the rules are rewritten and
officially published to say that a certain type of torture is acceptable
whilst others are still OK? This is the Water-boarding versus Bright
Lights theory (argument actually). Is subjecting a prisoner to high
intensity flood lights 24 hours per day while strapped to a chair,
torture .. or simply "harassment". Is strapping the same to an ironing
board type contraption and doing a see-saw with him into a source of
water to emulate drowning torture or only "physical discomfort"?

And if your answer -- as an interrogator -- is that these are "Tortures"
then you are honor and duty bound to refuse any order to comply with
conduct of that torture. A soldier will never get into trouble for
refusing an unlawful order. That, by the way, was the mistake that many
made at Abu Ghrab, they didn't think about their actions, took the words
or orders from someone above them, and rarely refused to act improperly.
Add that mix to the Lynndie England types and her inbred trailer trash
associates, and we had what we had there .. And I am including Generals
Karpinsky and Fast in that description of trailer trash idiots, too.

I am waiting for an answer: To torture or not to torture ... That is
the question.

----------------------------------

Extract from a recent classroom lecture by the author;

Some of my military career was spent conducting interrogations for
Military Intelligence purposes. I am at this time a visiting
"professor" at the University of Military Intelligence at Ft Huachuca,
AZ, where the Department of Defense has combined efforts to train ALL
counterintelligence personnel (including interrogation specialists) in
the proper ways and means to extract information from prisoners.


(c) 2007 by David E. Mann, PhD(Hist)


I applaud you, Sir.

Most respectfully,


SW




--
The quality of our thoughts is bordered on all sides by our facility with
language.

-J. Michael Straczynski, author (b.1954)