Torture is the kind of thing Rumsfeld and Pace should agree on

November 30, 2005

Over four years after the attacks of Sept. 11, and after about as many years of combat in the Middle East, one would like to think the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would be on the same page when it comes to torture.

Unfortunately, they’re not.

When UPI’s Pam Hess asked about torture by Iraqi authorities, Rumsfeld replied that “obviously, the United States does not have a responsibility” other than to voice disapproval.

But [Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace] had a different view. “It is the absolute responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene, to stop it,” the general said.

Rumsfeld interjected: “I don’t think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it’s to report it.”

But Pace meant what he said. “If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it,” he said, firmly.

I give Gen. Pace credit for sticking to his guns, but the fact that this mini-debate took place — at the podium during a Pentagon press briefing — is not reassuring. These two are supposed to be conveying Defense Department information to the nation and they can’t even agree on how the U.S. military responds to torture by Iraqi officials? What kind of message does that convey?

Maybe these two can have a little chat about the American policy on abuse and then get back to us.

Just highlights the “honor” and “duty” inculcated into every member of the professional military, on the one hand, and the “political hackery” of Dumbsfeld and all of the merry incompetents that foisted this war on us and then FUBARed it as never seen before, on the other hand.

Dumbsfeld: Just one more of the (dangerous) Lying.Fucking.Bastards.

  • The SecDef is not and cannot be fully informed of all polices and regulations.

    It is the job of the JCS, the CJCS in particular, to keep the SecDef informed of what those regulations and policies are.

    Far from a faux pas, this incident gives us a look at a system that is working as it is supposed to.

    And it’s easy for pace to stick to his guns on this one, despite being subordinate to the SecDef, this decision is his call.

  • The SecDef is not and cannot be fully informed of all polices and regulations.

    It’s not that I disagree, it’s that I saw the Pentagon briefing and believe Rumsfeld disagrees. You’ll notice, for example, that the Defense Secretary didn’t defer to Gen. Pace about regulations and policies about which he’s uninformed — he intervened to try and correct Pace in front of reporters, despite the fact that Pace was right and Rumsfeld was wrong.

    I’m not an expert in military procedure, but I’m pretty confident this isn’t the system working as it is supposed to.

  • The entire column is pretty interesting. A couple of things struck me. It describes Rumsfeld as sounding “as if he were merely observing the Iraq war on television.” It also quotes him as essentially saying “It’s the Iraqis’ problem now.”

    I didn’t see the briefing. Is this his usually flippancy, or has he just become actively disinterested in Iraq?

  • No. Even as a godless liberal with no moral compass I can state with complete certainty that torture is always wrong.

    Why can’t these folks with a Supreme Lawgiver get that through their heads?

  • Rumsfeld proves by his interjections that he has approved of the tortures in our military prisons and that if there ever is to an investigation he would have to be charged as a war criminal.

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