Holding Back Our Troops

Holding Back Our Troops

Note from JOSEPH F BARBER: There has been many people ask me why I am not in the service any more did I quite no i did not but i was not given the opportunity to re-enlist do to the fact I failed to follow the rules of engagement I could not live by such rules and watch American boys die for such hypocrisy and my belief to this fact stands to this day this Article helps explain some of the issues our troops face due to politics I WAS HONORABLE DISCHARGED

U.S. troops in Afghanistan

On July 2, 2012, First Lieutenant Clint Lorance led a patrol in Afghanistan. During that patrol, three men approached on a motorcycle. After warning shots were ignored, and the unarmed men kept approaching the patrol, Lorance ordered his men to fire on them. Two of the men were killed, and a third fled. The third man who fled was quickly captured, and a test performed in the field revealed he had explosive residue on his hands, as did the two men who were killed. Yet in 2013, Lorance was court-martialed and convicted of murder. The reason? Violating rules of engagement by opening fire on unarmed personnel. He currently is serving a 19-year prison term in Leavenworth while his case is on appeal.http://www.freeclintlorance.com/case.html

With that controversial case in mind, some might be asking, what are rules of engagement? According to Army Doctrine Reference Publication 1-02, “Terms and Military Symbols,” rules of engagement are defined as, “Directives issued by competent military authority that delineate the circumstances and limitations under which United States forces will initiate and/or continue combat engagement with other forces encountered.” In short, these rules dictate when and how our troops can fight the enemy, and what our troops can target.

One pop culture example of rules of engagement can be found near the start of the 1986 movie “Top Gun,” where an American pilot being harassed by a Soviet MiG asks for permission to fire and is told not to fire unless fired upon. The “how” part is a little harder, but it usually involves telling the troops which weapons they can use. Troops could be told to only use precision-guided weapons such as Paveway laser-guided bombs or GPS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions to limit collateral damage.

That takes us to “what” our troops are allowed to target. Some targets are taken off the list — and rightly so — by international conventions. This includes hospitals, aircrew that have bailed out, and civilian targets. But other targets can be taken off the list for just about any reason by the commander in chief, secretary of defense, or other higher-ups.

For example, the Obama administration had long refused to allow air strikes on major oil production facilities controlled by the Islamic State. The reason for allowing ISIL the use of those facilities? They did not want to risk damage to the environment.

While some strikes on ISIL’s oil racket have since taken place, it’s only cut production by about 25%. That means the Islamic State still pockets nearly a million bucks a day, which it zealously spends on murder, mayhem and assorted propaganda. Blowing those refineries to little pieces would deny the Islamic State a big chunk of this change.

Now, let’s be clear: Bombing oil refineries comes with considerable environmental costs. But when ISIL is butchering civilians in Western cities, beheading Christians and journalists, throwing homosexuals off the top of buildings, burning prisoners alive and carrying out a huge trade in sex slaves, our concern about the local flora and fauna seems a bit overwrought. On a related note: At one point last year, 75% of our combat sorties came back still carrying their ordnance due to highly restrictive rules of engagement.

Ultimately, the tone for rules of engagement are set by the commander in chief and his secretary of defense — neither of whom seems to care that the targets we refuse to hit today merely guarantee a stronger and richer Islamic State tomorrow.


Harold Hutchison


Pro Deo et Constitutione – Libertas aut Mors
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Joseph F Barber

“Savage, despicable evil. That’s what we were fighting in Iraq AND Afganistan. That’s why a lot of people, myself included, called the enemy “savages.” There really was no other way to describe what we encountered there. People ask me all the time, “How many people have you killed?” My standard response is, “Does the answer make me less, or more, of a man?” The number is not important to me. I only wish I had killed more. Not for bragging rights, but because I believe the world is a better place without savages out there taking American lives. Everyone I shot in Iraq was trying to harm Americans or Iraqis  or afghanis loyal to the new government.”


Americans who lack the vision and fortitude, and fail to understand that you're either with us or against us. That includes fellow US troops who lack the skill, or who dare to question the wars. Iraqis,afganies, by contrast, are not sheep:they're either wolves themselves, or nameless collateral damage. Mostly wolves, though. “I am a strong Christian. Not a perfect one—not close. But I strongly believe in God, Jesus, and the Bible. When I die, God is going to hold me accountable for everything I've done on earth. He may hold me back until last and run everybody else through the line, because it will take so long to go over all my sins.” Honestly, I don’t know what will really happen on Judgment Day. But what I lean toward is that you know all of your sins, and God knows them all, and shame comes over you at the reality that He knows. I believe the fact that I’ve accepted Jesus as my savior will be my salvation. But in that backroom or whatever it is when God confronts me with my sins, I do not believe any of the kills I had during the war will be among them. Everyone I shot was evil. I had good cause on every shot. They all deserved to die.” “anyone who has a problem with what guys do over there is incapable of empathy. People want America to have a certain image when we fight. Yet I would guess if someone were shooting at them and they had to hold their family members while they bled out against an enemy who hid behind their children, played dead only to throw a grenade as they got closer, and who had no qualms about sending their toddler to die from a grenade from which they personally pulled the pin—they would be less concerned with playing nicely.”