WITHHOLD JUDGMENT

Notes of Concern…

                               …Jackson Blair

WITHHOLD JUDGMENT

The New York Times on March 19^th headlined a story by James Dao:

“AT HOME, ASKING HOW ‘OUR BOBBY’ 

BECAME WAR CRIME SUSPECT.”

It was, in my view, a heartfelt cry to all Americans.

Mr. Dao perhaps did not set out to raise questions about these wars in which we are engaged, the organizational structure of our military, or the foreign policy of this administration. However, my reading of his article, and so many others that have appeared since Staff Sergeant Robert Bales is accused of taking the lives of 16 Afghan citizens (9 of them children,) leads me to different conclusions.

I do not ask my readers to find Bales guilty or innocent of the horrific crimes for which he is charged. I simply ask that you weigh the circumstances and withhold judgment until all the facts become known.

I will say that whatever guilt Bales may bear for this act, we the American people are complicit to the extent we permit those who run our military and foreign policy operations to do so in a fashion so cavalier, and to the extent that we do not demand that each man and woman putting a life on the line get every medical and psychological consideration before deployment.

Bobby Bales was a small town boy, the youngest of five boys in his family. By all reports he was a good student, a leader and an admired young man. These kinds of accolades followed him into his service to his country and are repeated by some who have served with him.

After “911” young Bales signed up to fight for his country.

Sgt. Bales was deployed to Iraq three times. He is reported to have lost part of his foot and to have injured his head. He may well have suffered post-traumatic- stress disorder.

At home, it seems his family was struggling financially to keep their house. When the army denied him promotion, his financial situation deteriorated. He asked the army to let him become a recruiter for the armed forces. He trained to take on that role.

And exactly what did our military do at that juncture?

They sent him for a fourth tour, this time in Afghanistan…in what was reported to be one of the roughest areas of that country.

He was assigned to a unit that protected Army Special Forces. Their camp was small and surrounded by containers filled with dirt. They lived in metal cargo containers.

As many people try to understand “what happened to bring this seemingly normal and widely admired sergeant to have single handedly committed one of the worst war crimes of the conflicts” (Dao, in the NYT), he is rushed out of Afghanistan and brought home to the US for incarceration and examination. Some reports say his family was relocated to protect them from terrorist retaliation. The world is in an uproar.

I hope those of us who have not had four tours of combat duty under horrific circumstances can accept that there is more to this story than we know.

Here is what we know:

Was a nice small town kid.

Was athletic and popular.

Responded to call of duty after “911.”

Was trained and sent off to Iraq, three times.

Was reported to have performed well.

Was injured physically and perhaps mentally.

Was denied promotion and his requested assignment as recruiter.

Was sent to Afghanistan

War is hell!

Here is what we do not know:

What pushed him over the edge?

How was he able to leave a heavily guarded camp and enter   villages and kill people without interference?

What protocol exists for sending a soldier with these circumstances into a combat zone?

How hellish is war?

Here is what we need to guarantee:

His questioning and trial are conducted fairly.

His medical and psychological needs are addressed.

Everything regarding his case is transparent to his fellow citizens and to the world.

He receives punishment appropriate to the acts he committed and balanced by an understanding of his circumstances.

We change every policy or procedure that permitted his problems to go undetected and untreated, in the sure hope than no other young American fighter reaches a similar point of no return.

Bobby Bales could have been your son or grandson or your neighbor’s child. When we send these youth into the hell that is war, we must prepare them properly, evaluate them continually, and ultimately treat them fairly.

Part of treating them fairly is to recognize that almost all are “normal” when we send them off to do abnormal things in our name. When we teach them to kill efficiently, we change the paradigms of their lives. When they are exposed to horrors unimaginable, the balance of their minds and hearts is affected forever.

The responsibility for all of this is a shared one.