A Bad Taste In My Mouth

I'm usually an upbeat, optimistic, the-glass-is-half-full kind of a guy. But lately I've been worn down by the unceasing drumbeat of bad news.

The republican candidates for president are feeble. The democrat field is even worse. The only saving grace is that whichever clown gets elected will still be an upgrade from obama.

Speaking of obama, I fear he has done so much damage to this country that it will cripple us for generations to come. I don't worry so much about myself - with luck, I've only got 15 or 20 years left - but I weep for future generations. This is the first time we Americans have left our country in worse shape than when we inherited it. That makes me sick - especially when I think of what awaits my children and grandchildren.

The ongoing failed foreign policies of the obama administration are bad enough, but he's wreaked even more havoc here at home. Racial tensions, abortion controversies, health care fiascoes (the latest is the looming Cadillac tax), a stagnant economy, illegal immigration, and more ... much, much more. The list is long and depressing. And now we're going to import thousands of 'refugees' from the MidEast. Of course, they will all be thoroughly screened to ensure no sleeper terrorists are among them.

Yeah, right...

But what's really got me depressed tonight is the reports that American troops are being instructed to ignore incidents of child abuse by our Afghan allies.

In his last phone call home, Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley Jr. told his father what was troubling him: From his bunk in southern Afghanistan, he could hear Afghan police officers sexually abusing boys they had brought to the base.

“At night we can hear them screaming, but we’re not allowed to do anything about it,” the Marine’s father, Gregory Buckley Sr., recalled his son telling him before he was shot to death at the base in 2012. He urged his son to tell his superiors. “My son said that his officers told him to look the other way because it’s their culture.”

Rampant sexual abuse of children has long been a problem in Afghanistan, particularly among armed commanders who dominate much of the rural landscape and can bully the population. The practice is called bacha bazi, literally “boy play,” and American soldiers and Marines have been instructed not to intervene — in some cases, not even when their Afghan allies have abused boys on military bases, according to interviews and court records.

Predictably, the brass has denied those reports.

The top four-star commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Campbell, issued a rare statement Tuesday morning clarifying that there is no policy requiring American service members to turn a blind eye to the Afghan cultural practice known as "Bacha Bazi."

Campbell said that "any suspicions of sexual abuse will be immediately reported to the chain of command, regardless of who the alleged perpetrators or victims are. The chain of command will take appropriate action under applicable law, as well as DoD and service regulations."

"If the abuse involves Afghans, a report shall be forwarded to me through operations channels, copied to the Staff Judge Advocate, so that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan can be advised and requested to take action.

Those of you who have served will recognize that for the 'three bags full' of crap that it is. Report it up the chain of command, hand it off the Afghanis, who are the ones doing the abuse, and then step back and say 'We took appropriate action.'

Sigh...

I remember a day when America, and the American military, had principles - when we defended the weak and helpless against bullies and oppressors. I fear those days are gone forever.

Writing this has left a very bad taste in my mouth. I am signing off now and headed out to find something to wash that taste away.