ROE
Rules of Engagement (ROE) are necessary to a certain degree during wars and skirmishes in order to determine what actions military personnel can take when confronted with immediate and personal dangerous or violent situations.
Correct ROE is the key to successfully address the overall mission and purpose for military interventions in the first place.
ROE help Protect and Respect: "these rules are in place for reasons that both protect the military and respect the international conventions of war" (Vallely, 2013).
However, "ROE can be conveniently manipulated by the political objectives and military mission limitations essential to the construction and application of ROE," (Vallely, 2013).
The thesis of this paper is that ROE are being manipulated in the current situation in Afghanistan, to the detriment of American soldiers.
When ROE are manipulated, soldiers are at risk.
A. "The Rules of Engagement in Afghanistan created an unwanted psychology in our soldiers (and) the fear of retribution and the fear of being court-martialed pre-destined the forces to lose against the nation's enemies" (Jenkins, 2013).
B. Soldiers become afraid to take risks (Jenkins, 2013).
C. Soldiers have the right to protect themselves, and need the ability to react in unstructured ways, which require flexible ROE.
D. In Afghanistan, political decisions related to ROE have led to scenarios in Afghanistan in which soldiers are one hundred percent sure of the presence of an enemy but unable to engage.
III. When ROE are manipulated, national security is also at risk.
A. "What's happening is we're losing our ability to fight overseas," (Zinke, 2014, para 6).
B. ROE are being used against Americans, thereby aiding terrorists and strengthening American enemies.
C. Weak ROE constitutes an "unconscionable national betrayal," West, 2014, para. 1).
IV. The media is colluding to promote the political agenda of the ROE.
A. Obama's justification for the ROE is that the Americans must do more than just kill enemy soldiers, they must also be even more than one hundred percent sure that other casualties not take place.
B. According to Newsweek, this is a laudable and achievable goal.
C. The news media stresses the protection of civilians in other countries over the safety of American troops or national security.
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