JAG CENTRAL

Happy Halloween!

From the NY Times, 2 U.S. Soldiers Are Charged with Assaulting Afghan Prisoners:

The announcement, 10 days after details emerged about an episode earlier this month in which two American soldiers burned the bodies of Taliban fighters who had been killed in a firefight, heightened fears that the Afghan people will turn on the American forces in Afghanistan.

The two soldiers, members of the 926th Engineers, an Alabama National Guard unit, are accused of striking the detainees and punching them in the chest, shoulders and stomach, Colonel Yonts said. Neither of the detainees required medical treatment as a result of the assault, he said. "They are charged with maltreatment, assault and dereliction of duty," he said. "All three of these charges could go to court-martial," he said. Since the soldiers involved and their unit are still in Afghanistan, the case could go to a court-martial in Afghanistan at Bagram air base, the main American military base in the country.

It is the first case of soldiers still serving in Afghanistan being charged with abuse. The case will be reviewed by the operational commander in Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, who will decide whether it should go forward.
....
The assault is reported to have occurred in July at a forward operating base in Oruzgan Province, in southern Afghanistan, where the detainees, who were captured on the battlefield, were held for about two days before being transferred to the main detention facility at Bagram air base, north of Kabul. The soldiers being charged with the assault were assigned to guard them at the base.

When a third soldier heard a report in mid-September that an assault had taken place, he immediately reported it to his commander, which led to an investigation by the military's Criminal Investigation Department, Colonel Yonts said. The investigators recommended action against the two men under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he said.

One of the detainees was released earlier this month, while the other remains in custody at Bagram, and both were interviewed by the military investigators, Colonel Yonts said. Both at first denied suffering any mistreatment, and then said an assault had occurred but was less severe than a previous beating by Afghan Army soldiers, he said.

Air Force MG Charles C. Baldwin, Chief of Chaplains, Critical of New Air Force Rules on Religion (www.af.mil)

From the Washington Post, U.S. Soldiers Charged in Afghan Case, and A Noisy Takeoff for Air Force Guidelines on Religion:

The Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family and other Christian advocacy groups have deluged the White House and Pentagon with thousands of phone calls, letters and e-mails denouncing the Air Force guidelines as an infringement of religious freedom.

Seventy House members sent a letter to President Bush last week objecting to the guidelines and urging him to issue an executive order protecting "the constitutional right of military chaplains to pray according to their faith." Thirty-five members of Congress signed a similar letter to the acting secretary of the Air Force.

About 10 days ago, the Air Force's chief of chaplains, Maj. Gen. Charles C. Baldwin, sent a videotaped message to all of his active-duty and reserve chaplains and their assistants -- more than 1,000 people -- suggesting that the rules need to be changed and inviting their feedback to help the Air Force "get this right."

Baldwin, a Southern Baptist, also advised chaplains that the guidelines do not prevent senior officers from discussing their religious beliefs with subordinates.

"This is America, and for those of us who come from belief systems that require us to tell others of our faith and what we believe, this is so important that we feel free to do this. Just have to put it in the right context and never again coerce anyone to believe something that they don't want to believe," he said on the videotape, obtained by The Washington Post.