U.S. soldiers can be court-martialed for protecting selves

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U.S. presence in Afghanistan (U.S. military photo)

Violating the U.S. military's rules of engagement in Afghanistan could guarantee a soldier a court-martial, according to sources, even though there are significant concerns the rules actually hinder the ability of soldiers to protect themselves in the heat of combat with the Taliban, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

U.S. soldiers are being told to consider an Article 15 investigation as part of the after-action review process, one informed source said.

"This is simply incredible. It's like saying '(courts-martial) will happen, just consider that to be part of your counseling process,'" the military source said.

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G2 Bulletin reported in December that the new rules of engagement ostensibly designed to protect Afghan civilians were putting the lives of U.S. forces in jeopardy as the Taliban began to learn how to game the imposed limits. The rules of engagement were put in place in response to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's complaints over mounting civilian casualties during firefights.

But soldiers are worrying that the rules, said to be classified U.S. and NATO secrets, impose serious restrictions. They include no night or surprise searches, warning villagers prior to searches and no firing on insurgents if they are walking away from having just planted an explosive.

The more restrictive rules were imposed by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former U.S. forces in Afghanistan commander. He recently was dismissed over his published comments criticizing the national-security civilian leadership and replaced by Gen. David Petraeus.

Military sources said the rules offer a six-step escalation of force to include visual warning, audible warning, nonlethal weapons and tactics, pointing weapons at potential threat, disabling shot and shooting to kill.

But the rules are complicated by the necessity to protect such sites as hospitals and religious and historical sites. And the rules also must be coordinated with a page-long list of specific points imposed by Karzai.

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