"Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of war."; Fog of War; War Crimes

Insert from Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" Larger image (Visit Wikipedia - Guernica for more information)

"And Cæsar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice
Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial."
    From "Julius Caesar" - Act III - Scene I (William Shakespeare)

I was glancing at one of today's stories about the death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman in the "Los Angeles Times." - "Tillman's family takes on Pentagon"

As I read I came across such statements as:

-----
Tillman's mother, Mary Tillman, told National Public Radio in an interview that officials on Monday accused the family of being "abusive" toward the military — which she did not deny.

"We got to the point where we were extremely rude to them, but they … were just lying," she said.
-----
But the Army declined Monday to press charges in Tillman's death, portraying the incident as a tragic mistake caused by the fog of war.
-----
The Tillmans scoffed at what they said was Pentagon officials' characterization of the mistakes as "missteps."
-----

"These actions are malfeasance," their statement said. They said some of the military's explanations had "the powerful odor of intentional minimization to a level just below criminal."

What a curious phrase: "the fog of war" I've been unable to locate an origin. (A possibility is that it was coined by Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968.)

Wikipedia at Fog of War says "The fog of war is a term used to describe the level of ambiguity in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations.The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding own capability, adversary capability and adversary intent during an engagement, operation or campaign."

But it also could be used to gloss over a sequence of events. "...a tragic mistake caused by the fog of war." In this context, it could mean anything or nothing.

About an hour ago a thought hit me about how the Iraqi conflict has been a situation of disinformation and unprepardeness.

First, the cause, "Weapons Of Mass Destruction" proves false. Military personnel seemingly had little training in deployment or working conditions of a hostile desert environment. Certainly a total lack of interrogation techniques. A lack of proper equipment: I read of cases of schools and other institutions buying armour for soldiers and vehicles. A complete failure to recognize that this is not a war against battlefields of troops but a guerrilla war against sectarian factions. The inability to straighforwardly provide information, such as in the death of Pat Tillman. The unfitness to recognize friend from foe, as in the murder of British soldier Lance Corporal Matty Hull. The gross stupidity in knowing how to win a military engagement, but not knowing how to win the peace.

So much of this stems from Donald Rumsfeld, Chaney and Bush's flawed concept of having an elite, tight fighting force to strike, win and leave.

And what happens when the wounded in mind and body are returned to the US: they are ignored, received the worst possible care, or disappear into the morass of forms and requisitions.

In my mind, I can find little difference between the arrogance or Rumsfeld, Chaney and Bush against the American soldier and people and the spiritual numbness of Heinrich Himmler, Adolf Eichmann, and Reinhard Heydrich against the German troops and citizens.

It is my hope that in the near future, we will see these three American "leaders" as defendants in a tribunal of crimes against humanity.

PAX! Erin Go Braugh!