Moral courage: Three Army lt. cols. call out their service for dangerous hypocrisies

They're
speaking truth to power in the new issue of Military
Review: The best of a good issue is an article titled "The Myths We Soldiers
Tell Ourselves."
Written by three lieutenant colonels (one retired, two on active duty, all
steeped in ethical studies), it detects a significant discrepancy between the
Army's stated values and its actual behavior:

The biggest problem with the Army Values is how they are
sloganeered. By simply saying them, we soldiers frequently delude ourselves
into thinking they make us more ethical, like they are a talisman. Indeed, they
can actually set the stage for unethical action by inspiring moral complacency
and allowing us to justify nearly any action that appears legal.

The authors are
especially concerned by the failure of the Army to hold accountable soldiers
involved in the torture and murder of prisoners. For example, they note, "Of the 100 detainees who died in U.S. custody between 2002
and 2006, 45 are confirmed or suspected murder victims. Of these, eight are
known to have been tortured to death. Only half of these eight cases resulted
in punishment for U.S. service members, with five months in jail being the
harshest punishment meted out. This is only a summary of the most extreme
cases."

Read it, OK?