To the Editor:
“Trump Clears 3 Military Members of War Crimes” (front page, Nov. 16) is a reminder of how little the commander in chief knows about the United States military. Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines live and die under laws and a system of discipline that are quite different from that of civilians.
Discipline and accountability are bedrock principles for any military. When the president overturns punishments of those who have been convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he undermines our ability to maintain the discipline required to operate our armed forces.
I have just spent a day among young men and women from the United States Military Academy and the Virginia Military Institute while attending a football game. I wonder what their future instructors at their Basic Officer Leader Course who teach military justice will say to these young men and women: “Everything I have told you may be changed by the commander in chief.”
That won’t cut it.
Roland Nicholson Jr.
West Point, N.Y.
The writer is a former Army captain.
To the Editor:
By overruling the military tribunal convictions of three armed service members, President Trump has turned his back on long-held Geneva Convention rules for the humane treatment of prisoners of war and given our adversaries an excuse to inflict similar maltreatment on American combatants who might one day fall into enemy hands.
Emotions often run high in war, and close-in combat can get personal. Rules for the humane treatment of war prisoners were established to mitigate the worst instincts of combatants when adversaries become prisoners and no longer pose a threat. Mr. Trump’s actions contradict rules of war that American fighters are obligated to follow. How are our troops supposed to respond when their commander in chief condones such illegal acts?
Arnold Reiner
Pensacola, Fla.
The writer is a former Marine Corps captain who served as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and was awarded the Purple Heart.
To the Editor:
Re “Stone Is Guilty of Obstructing Russia Inquiry” (front page, Nov. 16):
Roger Stone is found guilty and President Trump immediately comes to his defense criticizing the verdict. Mr. Stone was convicted of seven felonies, including lying under oath, presumably to hide information that might be damaging to the president.
Mr. Stone has expressed hope for a pardon. Now, while he contemplates sentencing and what could amount to life in prison, Mr. Trump, within less than 24 hours of Mr. Stone’s conviction, ignores the advice of the Pentagon and intervenes in military war crime cases to grant pardons. Music to Roger Stone’s ears.
Anthony Agnello
Princeton, N.J.
Source: Read Full Article
Home » Analysis & Comment » Opinion | Trump’s Intervention in War Crimes Cases
Opinion | Trump’s Intervention in War Crimes Cases
To the Editor:
“Trump Clears 3 Military Members of War Crimes” (front page, Nov. 16) is a reminder of how little the commander in chief knows about the United States military. Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines live and die under laws and a system of discipline that are quite different from that of civilians.
Discipline and accountability are bedrock principles for any military. When the president overturns punishments of those who have been convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he undermines our ability to maintain the discipline required to operate our armed forces.
I have just spent a day among young men and women from the United States Military Academy and the Virginia Military Institute while attending a football game. I wonder what their future instructors at their Basic Officer Leader Course who teach military justice will say to these young men and women: “Everything I have told you may be changed by the commander in chief.”
That won’t cut it.
Roland Nicholson Jr.
West Point, N.Y.
The writer is a former Army captain.
To the Editor:
By overruling the military tribunal convictions of three armed service members, President Trump has turned his back on long-held Geneva Convention rules for the humane treatment of prisoners of war and given our adversaries an excuse to inflict similar maltreatment on American combatants who might one day fall into enemy hands.
Emotions often run high in war, and close-in combat can get personal. Rules for the humane treatment of war prisoners were established to mitigate the worst instincts of combatants when adversaries become prisoners and no longer pose a threat. Mr. Trump’s actions contradict rules of war that American fighters are obligated to follow. How are our troops supposed to respond when their commander in chief condones such illegal acts?
Arnold Reiner
Pensacola, Fla.
The writer is a former Marine Corps captain who served as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and was awarded the Purple Heart.
To the Editor:
Re “Stone Is Guilty of Obstructing Russia Inquiry” (front page, Nov. 16):
Roger Stone is found guilty and President Trump immediately comes to his defense criticizing the verdict. Mr. Stone was convicted of seven felonies, including lying under oath, presumably to hide information that might be damaging to the president.
Mr. Stone has expressed hope for a pardon. Now, while he contemplates sentencing and what could amount to life in prison, Mr. Trump, within less than 24 hours of Mr. Stone’s conviction, ignores the advice of the Pentagon and intervenes in military war crime cases to grant pardons. Music to Roger Stone’s ears.
Anthony Agnello
Princeton, N.J.
Source: Read Full Article