The Unethical Nature of Operation Iron Triangle

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The 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, a unit known as the Rakkasans, were conducting Operation Iron Triangle in 2006 in Iraq when soldiers killed eight unarmed Iraqi men. The US military severely reprimanded the Commander of the Rakkasans, COL Michael Steele, for the unethical command climate his leadership allowed to exist within the unit at that time. This unit will need a new commander that can set and maintain an effective, ethical command climate through his leadership. That new commander should resolve the issues that led to the reported war crime in order to establish a culture that perpetuates an ethical command climate. According to MCRP 4-11.8B, War Crimes, there are a number of factors that when present can lead to war crimes being committed. These factors include high friendly losses; high turnover rate in the chain of command; dehumanization of the enemy or use of derogatory names or epithet; poorly trained and inexperienced troops; poor small unit discipline standard; the lack of a clearly defined enemy; unclear orders; and a high frustration level among the troops. In the Rakkasans’ case, the use of derogatory names for Iraqis as well as high frustration about the rules of engagement existed within the unit due to the leadership of COL Steele. The Kill Company is an article written by Raffi Khatchadourian that provides some insights into the situation within the unit leading up to Operation Iron Triangle. The article highlights several issues that led to the unethical command climate; this paper will identify five and explain how they led to the unethical command climate. First, the Rakkasans were not doing Arab cultural awareness during their training exercises. This lack of exposure to the Arab culture l... ... middle of paper ... ...l for a war crime to occur. Not only must the commander expect ethical behavior from his soldiers, but he must also live an ethical command. In order to provide and ethical command climate, the commander must be an ethical role model that is able to gain the trust and confidence of his soldiers. The fifth issue will automatically be resolved upon the successful completion of the institution of an ethical command climate. With this culture in place, soldiers will not place items like the kill board in their company headquarters because they will understand the ethical implications of such an action. The commander will have provided the leadership necessary to set and maintain an ethical command climate. The soldiers will see the Iraqi population as fellow humans and will make the ethical decisions that can lead to winning the hearts and minds of the local population.

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