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And the Senate is Not Helping
No, there is no big
IRS scandal, just a bunch of incompetent and politically insensitive idiots
in the IRS that did what incompetent and politically insensitive people do
which is a bunch of stupid things. And
no there is no Libya
scandal, that is just something Republicans and their media cronies have cooked
up to tarnish Ms. Clinton.
But there is a real
scandal, and it
is this. There is a massive number
of sexual assaults in the armed forces.
A recent Pentagon survey found that an estimated 26,000
assaults took place last year. Senior military officials have repeatedly
traipsed to Capitol Hill this spring to lament the problem but have been
ridiculed by members of both parties of the Armed Services Committee for
failing to make a dent in the problem.
The military is under
the control of the executive branch.
This is a problem where the civilian management of the armed forces has
not taken control and demanded a solution to this problem. And even worse, a Democratic Senate is
weakening rather than strengthening proposed reforms.
In a striking
showdown between Senator Carl Levin, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee,
and a member of his own party, Mr. Levin said on Tuesday that he would remove a
measure aimed at curbing sexual assault in the military from a defense spending
bill.
One problem here is that military commanders control
the prosecution and even more of a problem commanders can and do overrule a
conviction, no explanations given. So
the solution is to take that power away from the military and place it with an
independent group that will protect victims and punish wrong doers. But the Senate, lead by Democrats is
rejecting that.
Mr.
Levin, Democrat of Michigan, said he would replace Ms. Gillibrand’s measure —
which has 27 co-sponsors, including four Republicans — with one that would
require a senior military officer to review decisions by commanders who decline
to prosecute sexual assault cases. Although Mr. Levin’s measure would change
the current system, it would keep prosecution of sexual assault cases within
the chain of command, as the military wants.
There is no explanation for this, there is no excuse
for this, it is simply a scandal that the Obama administration and the Senate
Democrats have allowed to fester.
The notion that a violent criminal can be protected from prosecution because he is a member of the armed forces is incompatible with American democracy.
ReplyDeleteYou are right that this is an inexcusable problem and a blight on the administration. I wonder why legislative action should be needed at all, considering Obama's powers as Commander-in-Chief. I presume he has the tools he needs to address this problem, but declines to wield them.