The Political Chase

Army Restricts Capt. Fishback’s Activities

Since Captain Ian Fishback presented his complaints to Senators Warner and McCain, it appears the Army has made Captain Fishback a detainee and the object of interrogation.

• He has been furloughed from Special Operations training school, “to make him available” to the Criminal Investigation Command while they “sort through the allegations”.
• The investigators are pressuring Capt. Fishback to release the names of those who back up his accusations.
• The Army has denied the captain’s request for a pass(es) to return to Washington to meet with investigating committees.
• Fishback cannot travel more than 50 miles from Ft. Bragg, where he is currently held, without specific authorization.

I suppose the Army has not thought about if you can’t get Mohammed to the mountain…

Clearly, the Army is restraining Captain Fishback. Why would the Army detain Capt. Fishback if the Army did not fear what he has to say? What an act of stupidity and an obvious admission of guilt.

I want to recap my understanding of the events related to Captain Fishback’s reporting of detainee abuse.

Captain Fishback is not a newbie to the armed services environment, history, and protocol. Fishback is a graduate of West Point, his wife is serving in the Army in Iraq, and his father served in the Vietnam War. So, it’s safe to assume he’s had plenty of exposure to the armed forces, directly and indirectly. Furthermore, Capt. Fishback is a decorated officer.

Apparently, Capt. Fishback is a highly principled person and does not have a personal agenda. Fishback followed the hierarchal structure of the Army, all the way to the Secretary of the Army, and did not begin voicing his concerns with Senator John Warner (R-Va.) and Senator John McCain (R-Az.).

Capt. Fishback wrote a letter to his lieutenant colonel expressing concerns that Department of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was being less than honest about the Army’s adherence to the terms of the Geneva Convention. When asked about Capt. Fishback’s letter, his lieutenant colonel said, “I am aware of Fishback’s concerns.” The colonel’s awareness resulted in Capt. Fishback meeting with the Secretary of the Army, Francis J. Harvey.

Secretary Harvey conveyed to Capt. Fishback that corrective action had been taken. One could view Secretary Harvey’s response as intentionally literal…”had been,” which did not include prevention or changes for the present or future.

It is my understanding that Capt. Fishback met with Secretary Havey prior to June 2005 and possibly prior to August 2004. I base that on what I have reviewed thus far and that may be incorrect. Just to put this in proper perspective, the Abu Ghraib (if using the president’s vernacular, pronounce it giraffe) scandal erupted in April 2004.

It is worth noting that according to Capt. Fishback the abuse and violations at Abu Ghraib were not as bad as in other locations (e.g., Fallouja). Some support for Capt. Fishback’s Fallouja allegations can be found here.

Fishback escalated his issues to an Inspector General (IG) at Fort Bragg, NC. The objective was to analyze the relation of the treatment of detainees and the Geneva Convention. The IG’s analysis was incomplete according to Capt. Fishback.

(ed. note: IG’s have been criticized recently for not being qualified for their positions - many have been political appointees, much the same as Michael Brown with FEMA)

After less than desirable results with the IG(s), Capt. Fishback contacted the International Red Cross requesting the same type of analysis, which resulted in a close similarity to Capt. Fishback’s academic training (West Point).

Subsequent to the Red Cross rendering their opinion, Human Rights Watch became involved.

As additional information about detainee abuse was found or released, Fishback escalated to Senators McCain and Warner; both are on the Senate Armed Forces Committee and Warner serves as Chairman.

Since reaching the Senators’ offices an investigation has been launched. Furthermore as I noted previously, a bill will be introduced to require the military to adhere to the terms and conditions of the Geneva Convention.