(US) Army edits its history of the deadly battle of Wanat

[unhappycamper]

Army edits its history of the deadly battle of Wanat
By Greg Jaffe
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 29, 2010; 12:01 AM

The Army's official history of the battle of Wanat - one of the most intensely scrutinized engagements of the Afghan war - largely absolves top commanders of the deaths of nine U.S. soldiers and instead blames the confusing and unpredictable nature of war.

The history of the July 2008 battle was almost two years in the making and triggered a roiling debate at all levels of the Army about whether mid-level and senior battlefield commanders should be held accountable for mistakes made under the extreme duress of combat.

An initial draft of the Wanat history, which was obtained by The Washington Post and other media outlets in the summer of 2009, placed the preponderance of blame for the losses on the higher-level battalion and brigade commanders who oversaw the mission, saying they failed to provide the proper resources to the unit in Wanat.

The final history, released in recent weeks, drops many of the earlier conclusions and instead focuses on failures of lower-level commanders.

The battle of Wanat, which took place in a remote mountain village near the Pakistan border, produced four investigations and sidetracked the careers of several Army officers, whose promotions were either put on hold or canceled. The 230-page Army history is likely to be the military's last word on the episode, and reflects a growing consensus within the ranks that the Army should be cautious in blaming battlefield commanders for failures in demanding wars such as the conflict in Afghanistan.

[Fumesucker]

1. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you..

That higher level commander were exonerated and lower level commanders shouldered the blame..

Who could possibly have predicted that outcome? :shrug:

[xchrom]

2. sigh. nt

[gratuitous]

3. Well, now that that's settled

How about another round of medals for all?

[WhiteTara]

4. Medal of Freedom for the worst F* Up Commander n/t

[Thor_MN]

5. Benefits of a self-regulating system...

[Supersedeas]

6. A system that ensures that accountability and blame runs downhill

Got Oligarchy?

[Javaman]

7. Sounding more and more like French Generals of WWI. nt