A Florida congressman wants answers on why American military personnel faced pressure from higher ups when they tried to report on sexual crimes from allies in the war on terror.
Pointing to a New York Times article focusing on how the Pentagon ignored sexual abuse of boys of teens and minors from its allies in Afghanistan, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., sent a letter to Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , on the matter on Monday.
Buchanan called for the Pentagon to stop averting its eyes from the sexual abuse and stop pushing back against American service members who reported it.
“This is one of the most disgraceful policies I have ever heard of,” Buchanan wrote. “It is bad enough if we were ignoring this type of barbaric and savage behavior, it’s even worse if we are punishing American heroes who try to stop it.
“The only people who should be punished are the ones who created and condoned this immoral and savage code,” Buchanan continued. “Fighting in a foreign theater should not require our service members to turn a blind eye towards criminal perversion. Those who wear the uniform of the U.S. military should be commended, not punished, for upholding American values.”
Buchanan returned to the matter on Tuesday, writing U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the respective chairmen of their chamber’s Armed Services Committee demanding an investigation over who had initiated efforts to discipline service members who reported on Afghan allies’ sexual crimes
“Somebody needs to be fired,” Buchanan said on Tuesday.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
