Pentagon doesn’t vet proxy fighters for rape and torture – IOTW Report

Pentagon doesn’t vet proxy fighters for rape and torture

RT: American special forces have trained up foreign proxy fighters and sent them on “kill-or-capture” missions without ascertaining whether they have histories of rape, torture, extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing newly disclosed Pentagon documents.

Such surrogates are paid, equipped and deployed without any vetting required to verify that they have a clean human rights record, according to documents obtained by the NYT. The “gap in rules” applies to proxy forces hired to carry out counterterrorism missions, as well as to allied forces who are trained under an irregular warfare program designed to help countries that are at risk of invasion by larger neighbors. 

One such clandestine mission in Ukraine was allegedly terminated just before Russia launched a military operation against Kiev forces in February 2022, but some officials want to restart it, according a Washington Post report earlier this year.

To skirt compliance with a law banning security assistance to forces with a history of human rights violations, the Pentagon has interpreted its proxy programs as not aiding its foreign allies, the Times said. Rather, proxy forces are equipped to pursue US objectives, not to build up the defense capabilities of their own countries. The legal tactic is “a dishonest reading of the plain text and intention of Congress,” former Pentagon lawyer Sarah Harrison told the newspaper.

US special forces have increasingly relied on proxy fighters in such countries as Niger and Somalia in recent years. By moving away from direct deployments of American ground troops, like those sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington seeks to avert US casualties and avoid being seen as an occupier, according to the report. However, the strategy also carries risks, particularly without proper vetting. more

15 Comments on Pentagon doesn’t vet proxy fighters for rape and torture

  1. “Pentagon doesn’t vet proxy fighters for rape and torture”

    …well, when the guy you’re pretending is the Commander in Chief HIMSELF rapes and tortures even his own children and grandchildren, you cannot be surprised that the rest of the organization reflects its CEO…

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  2. Russia’s Wagner mercenary group recruiting convicts directly from prisons with Russia’s blessing, in April alone recruited over 10,000 convicts.
    The pentagon says 40,000 russian prisoners are deployed in Ukraine. Experts and captured soldiers described Wagner using poorly trained prisoners as little more than expendable cannon fodder.

    The Wagner Group has been accused of war crimes both in Ukraine and in parts of Africa, where its troops are also fighting.

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  3. How effing stupid. War rules require using particular kinds of bullets. My father was decorated several times in Korea. Substantial decorations, he was in the hot stuff. He said several things that led me to believe that the fellers on the ground doing the actual ‘work of war’ aren’t too goddamned concerned about rules. Ooohhh, did you misgender zir before you turned zim’s head into a pink mist? No? Yes? Yes? Well, an article 15 for you immediately and rotation stateside! On your permanent record. We can’t afford to have you troglodyte knuckle dragging deplorables misgendering the poor people you are blowing to pieces!

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  4. They never did!

    How do you think so many Nazis ended up in the US?

    Our Armed Forces and Spook Agencies hid them, changed their names, and paid them after importing them – for decades.

    Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

    mortem tyrannis
    izlamo delenda est …

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