By Staff Sgt. Rebekah-mae Bruns
39th Brigade Combat Public Affairs
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Attorneys on the battlefield might seem far-fetched, but it is something the Army has been doing for years. Last month, the 1st Cavalry Division sent one of its lawyers to aid commanders on the front lines of Fallujah.
Capt. Jason Carter, 36, went with the division's 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment - a unit that helped lead the way for Marines in securing Iraq's former bastion of insurgents-- to advise commanders on the battlefield in legal issues on the law of war.
"The eyes of the world are on us and we want the international community to know that we, as America, do what's right," said Carter a Cabot, Ark. native.
"Since the insurgents had a whole lot of time to prepare for us, they knew the on-scene commander would have a variety of threats," said Carter, who in his civilian career is the deputy city attorney for North Little Rock, Ark.
"So they wanted a [lawyer] with them to help advise on the threats and still comply with the law of war."
Those threats involved everything from insurgents faking surrender with white makeshift flags only to pull out weapons at the last moment and shoot Soldiers, to the booby-trapping of dead in the streets. All were complicated issues to confront and brought a full host of questions on how to cope with enemy forces in a manner that adhered to international law.
"We stand behind the Geneva Conventions and we have to put it to practice on the battlefield," Carter said. "We adhere to the Law of War."
The assault on Fallujah was expected to be bloody and despite dropping leaflets and telling citizens to get out, there was the probability that some would stay. Commanders feared civilians would be in the mix of insurgents and target discrimination would prove difficult. Being able to tell the "hostile" from the "non hostile" was important.
Leaders had to make quick decisions on events to help decisively win the battle, yet minimize collateral damage and stay within the law of war. Whether it was weapons usage or target discrimination, Carter, as a lawyer, was instrumental in that decision-making process.
"[Weapons] shouldn't cause undo suffering," said Carter. "An engagement should be proportional. You can't ever forget there are innocent people out there."
As the battlefield across Iraq continues to shift and change Army commanders are required to fight a lawful war with an unscrupulous and cunning enemy.
"There is the part of moral combat -[the part] that you don't ever surrender to their standard," said battalion commander Lt. Col. James Rainey, 2-7 Cav.
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| Date Taken: | 01.05.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 01.05.2005 14:34 |
| Story ID: | 785 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 20 |
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