United States Central Command

I second Fouzul Bashi on this.

Thanks for your efforts, CENTCOM. Now people know where they can find you, should they have any questions or want to have dialogue with you.

CENTCOM jaan I'm-gonna-miss-you! JJJ won't budge!

Everything is sacred.

چرا نمی توانستیم پاسخ بدهیم

خوانندگان گرامی

اولأ، ما از طرف سنتکام از کسانی که وقت گذاشتند و از ما پرسشهای بسیار ارزنده و مربوطی پرسیدند سپاس گزاریم. وارد شدن در گفتگوو پاسخ به پرسشهای کسانی مانند Patriot, DW Duke, OmidKarimi, Sargord Pirouz و کسانی دیگر کاملأ نوع گفتگویی هست که تیم DET ما علاقه مند است با انجمنهای اینترنتی ایرانی داشته باشد.

به هرصورت،همانگونه که بسیاری از شما متوجه شده اید، JJ صاحب این سایت تا به حال دو بار از ما خواسته است که در این بلاگ نوشتاری چاپ نکنیم. به احترام ایشان، ما تا به حال از پاسخ به پرسشهای مطرح شده خودداری کرده ایم.

این به این معنا نیست که ما موافق تصمیم و دلایلی که ایشان به ما ارائه کرده هستیم. دوباره تکرار میکنیم، هدف روابط عمومی سنتکام آگاهی دادن است نه تاثیر گذاشتن.

ما در نوشتار پیشین خود مخالفتمان را با تصمیم JJ اعلام کردیم. ولی در پایان، اگر JJبرای ادامه حضور ما در اینجا اجازه دهند، ما به پرسشهای شما پاسخ خواهیم داد. به هر صورت اگر ایشان اجازه ندهند، این آخرین نوشتار ما خواهد بود و ما از شما پوزش میخواهیم که قادر به پاسخ گفتن به پرسشهای شما نخواهیم بود. در چنین صورتی، از شما خواهشمندیم از وب سایت ما دیدن کنید(www.centcom.mil) و همچنین میتوانید در سایت www.iranclubs.org شاهد گفتگوی ما با دیگران باشید و یا در آن شرکت کنید.

با سپاس و احترام

DET روابط عمومی ستاد فرماندهي مرکزي ارتش آمریکا

Finally!

If anyone wants to have a dialog with Centcom please visit their website (www.centcom.mil) or go to www.iranclubs.org.

Great idea Centcom jaan

See ya' 

Here you go JJ! The ball is in your court now! What do you say?

Everything is sacred.

Why we could not respond

Esteemed Readers,   

On behalf of CENTCOM we want to first thank those of you who have taken the time to pose some insightful and relevant questions to us.  Engaging in dialogue and responding to questions such as many of those posted here by Patriot, DW Duke, OmidKarimi, Sargord Pirouz, and others is exactly the type of dialogue that our ‘Digital Engagement Team’ (DET) would like to have with the online Iranian community. 

   However, as so many of you have also noted, JJ, the proprietor of the site has asked us (twice now) NOT to post on this forum, and out of respect for him, we have refrained from posting any further responses here. This is not to say that we accept the premise of his decision or the reasoning offered, and we repeat that our effort and mission in the CENTCOM Public Affairs office is to inform, not influence.      

In our previous post we appealed JJ’s decision. Finally, if JJ allows us, we will answer your questions. However, if he does not, this would be our last post, and we apologize for not being able to answer your questions and ask you to visit our website (www.centcom.mil) and hear from us in www.iranclubs.org.

Thank you!

CENTCOM Public Affairs Digital Engagement Team

AO

What could you possibly mean by that?

How can you not expect instances of gang mentality, abuse of power and criminal behavior when you put hundreds of thousands of teenagers with raging hormones (and deprived of the opposite sex) in a foreign land, in an unconventional war, where anyone can be the enemy and give them massive fire power?  

I may be wrong here, but is it not the case that these Teenagers with high levels of hormones, are supposed to go through some kind of training before they get shipped overseas? Do they just get dumped in there like a bunch of Know-nothings who have total control over their fire power? Avoidance of such criminal behaviors and expected!! gang mentality is precisely what these men and women are put through training,

Anonymous Observer

There is no question we do much better today than in historic conflicts particularly if we consider the raw mortality rate a function of "abuse."  Consider that over 2 million people died in the Soviet/German conflict over Stalingrad in 1942.  Consider those lost in Hiroshima.  Consider the number of US soldiers lost in Vietnam in comparison to Iraq.  You are right we do much better than in the past. 

There is an endearing chassidic tradition that King Solomon invented the game of chess as a method of warfare to reduce loss of life.  He was reportedly known as the "Great Peacemaker" among his contemparies not unlike Cyrus the Great whom some religious historians have identified as his descendent.  (Just an interesting sidebar.)  :)     

DW

I do not oppose your advocacy for more training.  It just cannot do any harm.  But what I want to point out--especially by using the example of the Iran / Iraq war is that abuses such as the ones that you point out are simply inevitable in every conflict.  How can you not expect instances of gang mentality, abuse of power and criminal behavior when you put hundreds of thousands of teenagers with raging hormones (and deprived of the opposite sex) in a foreign land, in an unconventional war, where anyone can be the enemy and give them massive fire power?  The best solution to this situation is not to start a war, period (I was against the Iraq war).  All of that being said, I would suspect that if you compare the number of U.S. troops in Iraq to the number of incidents of abuse, you will find that the percentage is very low in comparison with other conflicts.  This is just an educated guess on my part, but I believe that I am correct.  

But, as I said before, I think that additional training will probably a good thing, and if you advocate that officially, then more power to you. 

DOD Directive 2311.01E

As you can see in this February 2009 Directive from the Department of Defense the Marines are also aware of the need for training in the Law of War.  Over 50% of Marines polled said they would not report a fellow Marine for a war crime.  In part that is attributable to a widespread tolerance for criminal behavior in our society as well as a general moral indifference.  

It is not just my observation.  Billet and discipline are directly related to compliance yet there is a lack of training in this area.  It is the most fundamental of all areas of military training yet this training is woefully deficient.  One of the ideas proposed is special certification in LOW for instructors at all levels.    

//www.marinecorpsgazette-digital.com/marinecorpsgazette/200902/?pg=36 

Should USCC be permitted to post

I have noticed that this thread has gone for several days and there has been no further comment from USCC.  This suggests that they may indeed be trying to propogandize with no real intention of dialogue.  If that is the case, I would not let them post unless they pay an advertising fee and call their posts advertisements.  But if they are willing to dialogue I would let them post without a fee.

Some people just can't take a hint,

I'm opposed to any official propaganda arm (exactly what this is) getting free dissemination of their agenda in an Iranian forum and I fully back the site's decision to tell them to take a hike.

I would have the same position for any other official agents of any government. The difference here is that we are SURE this is one of them.

What's disturbing is their disregard for the site after they were told they are not welcome on it.

DW, I agree completely. Here's a famous reenactment of Maj. General Smedley Butler'sWar is a Racket speech. I suggest Centcom and others pay close attention.

Anonymous Observer

I had the same reaction as you when I first started hearing of this.  I thought it was a few isolated cases.  But when I began to hear the same kinds of stories over and over again, I began to realize that it is more than just a few isolated cases.  You need to understand that I am extensively involved with Marine officers and I train with them for physical exercise.  They have told me they are aware of the problem as well.  I could tell you literally dozens of such accounts because I have begun documenting them.  I am not saying the entire US military engages in such acts but it is a by-product, in my opinion of he Rumsfield/Bush era.  Read Bush adminstration's opinion on torture of prisoners.  You might find it shocking.

That other countries' militaries engage in human rights abuses is not relevant in determining whether the US military should engage in such abuses.  It is wrong when they do it and it is wrong when we do it.  We have no control over their training and practices but we do have control over ours.  The events at Abu Ghraib occurred because we failed to assure that our military personnel were well versed in the Geneva Convention and treatment of enemy combatants.  These issues are never even discussed in training according to many Marines I know.  That is where we are failing.   

DW Duke

As I said before, I have no doubt that abuses have happened, are happening and will happen in the future.  It's human nature to be self-destructive.  That's not the point.  The point is that your comment implied that committing what can only be characterized as war crimes is a policy of the U.S. military, and that is simply not the case.  

PS/ committing these criminal acts is not limited to the U.S. military.  It happens in every war.  Look at the Iran / Iraq war, where two Muslim nations (two majority Shia Muslim nations) fought each other.  How many rapes, murders and indiscriminate killing of civilians took place in that war?  (that's not even mentioning use of chemical weapons and "war of the cities"). 

Anonymous Observer

I have had numerous Marines tell me the same thing about their training at Camp Pendleton.  I have been told of specific instances and I know Marines who were told they had to kill all civilians in a given village.  We are hearing of it far too often.  Read the account by Staff Sargeant Massey, a 12 year Marine, who describes how he was required to kill approximately 30 unarmed civilians including women and children.  //www.tomjoad.org/WarHeroes.htm

As I said, I have heard too many of these accounts not to believe it is happening.  

DW Duke

Here's the portion of the comment that I'm referring to.  I have highlighted the pertinent parts:

 As a human rights attorney I am consulted on a routine basis by military persons who entered the military believing they were going to be fighting to defend human rights. When they got into the military they were shocked at what they are required to do such as holding their guns in the air during basic training, at Camp Pendleton for example, and shouting "Kill the effing Muslims."  They are told that they will be required to engage in indiscriminate killing of civilians and engage in other activities that is the precise opposite of the reason they entered the armed forces. 

I don't know about other readers, but for me, phrases such as "what they are required to do" and "required to engage in indiscriminate killing of civilians" and "routine basis", certainly conjure up the image of an organization that as a policy requires (a word you used twice) its members to become racist anti-Muslims and kill innocent civilians.  Unless you are willing to change the wording of your comment, I stand by what I said.

Anonymous Observer

I am not portraying the entire US military as some sort of racist out of control force that is out to kill Muslim women and children.  Please do not impute comments to me falsely.  I said there is a serious problem in both training and practice that has been communicated to me by far too many Marines for me not to believe it is occurring. 

Read some of these accounts, and there are many more:

//www.tomjoad.org/WarHeroes.htm

DW Duke

To somehow portray the entire US military as some sort of a racist, out of control force that is out to kill Muslim women and children is unfair, is a gross over-generalization of a possible few isolated incidents, and is simply not true.  My cousin (a Muslim Iranian-American) is a U.S. Marine, has done two tours of duty in Iraq, and will probably be headed to Afghanistan soon.  He certainly has not seen any racist, anti-Muslim behavior during his service.  If anything, his best description (and complaint) about his service in Iraq is that the US military had forced them to "fight with one hand tied behind [their] backs" due to all the ROE that were imposed upon them for the purpose of winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqis.  In fact, he said that most members of his unit were more afraid of being court martialed for bad behavior (such as their unit receiving complaints from local Iraqis about them) than being fired at by enemies. 

I am sure that there are a few bad apples among more than a million members of the U.S. military, but to generalize the isolated incidents is just simply unfair.  

IRGC is not an elite military force- it is a fascist police

force who is political and social, and whose main mission is to crush internal  "enemies of the revolution".  This was stated  by head fascist police Jafari:

"Confronting internal threats is the main mission of the IRGC today,
commander-in-chief of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said
here on Saturday" ....""As the Supreme Leader has said, IRGC should have a flexible
organization and structure in order to be able to encounter the
political, social and security threats posed by the enemies."

source:
//english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=860707...

Not to mention that IRGC has become a major stakeholder in economic activity in Iran.  The USMC is a non political non economic force, and takes orders from the US president who is elected every 4 years, unlike the Islamic Fuehrer in Iran.

The current illegitimate president of Iran is a former IRGC member, as are many powerful members of government.

To call IRGC an elite military force is ridiculous.  The only time they are "elite" is when confronting defenseless women and youth on the streets in Tehran who are dressed according to their taste.

-Fair

USCC

JJ,

I would probably let them post.  If nothing else they might trigger some interesting conversations even if they do not respond to questions put to them. 

USMC / IRGC

@Duke: 
The USMC is an elite military organization which is trained in the art of war. So is the IRGC.

To be sure, human rights violations do take place during wartime, especially when directed by executive policy.

That said, I've encountered officers of the USM on various milblogs that emphatically renounce the previous administration's disregard for the Geneva convention. Likewise, during the Imposed War, the IRGC did not counter Saddam's chemical weapon attacks with CW attacks of their own, nor did they abuse Iraqi POWs.

The best possible solution is to renounce war. For its part, Iran has not engaged in an offensive foreign war in hundreds of years.

USCC

Thanks for dropping by . I personally believe that US has the whole world's communications at its disposal and can use them effectively to send or receive responses its messages . This site is a by Iranian and for Iranian place that Iranians are trying to sort out their differences and hopefully with the best intention for their country take necessary steps towards it's progress and prosperity. As for information, Iranians are well informed through social networking and communication channels about their country and the world affairs. As a prestigious organization as yours, I would suggest that you support the efforts of the Iranian media to get their message of hope and change to Iran .  

Bund,Jimzbund

Sargord

If we don't address a serious problem in the Marines how will it ever be corrected.  Teaching military personnel to engage in human rights violations is not acceptable and it needs to be addressed.  I don't follow your logic.  Are you saying that a military unit should be able to do anything it pleases including rape, plunder and murder if that is what they have been trained to do and no one should ever address the problem because that is what they have been trained to do? 

It is obvious that they

It is obvious that they have realized not only they have lost "hearts & minds" of people abroad, they are losing it at home too.

This is specially obvious on the part of Zionist and the last mass killings in Gaza by another military IDF, every time there is an article about Israel you will see ads from them pointing you to some website where it is a monologue, no chance for asking questions.

I suspect DET from CENTCOM is following the same tactics. Are they willing to engage in dialoged or would it be purely a propaganda machine?

Mehrdad

Some of you folks are a funny sort...

Whenever you don't like what you hear, its just the same old resort to ad hominem attacks, name calling and off-topic questions of a personal nature. I shouldn't be surprised: running away has been a way of life for some of you- hasn't it.

@Anonymous:
Which question of mine was related to TacOps? I mentioned the drug trade, cooperation with Iran, and I took issue with the poster's negative characterization of the IRGC. Then I discussed a barrage of issues brought up by offended commenters, mostly related to the IRI government, which included comparisons to the USG and USM. BTW: Where did you get the idea that CENTCOM PR was engaged in battlefield tactics?

Yes, you're right about Afrasiabi. He doesn't even answer email. I'm new here- does he post in the blog section of IC? If so, I'd be critical for the same reason (even though I find him the most objective and best informed Iran analyst, most of the time).

@DW Duke:
The same way it's wrong for CENTCOM to condemn the military organization that is the IRGC, it is also wrong of you to criticize the USMC for carrying out what it is trained to do.

isn't this what the right wing and libertarians warn us about?

it's funny that you open a business, digital or otherwise, and you ask the military nicely to leave and they ignore you and say "no." Timothy McVeigh is smirking somewhere. 

That's how out of hand it has gotten for the military. Control freaks. Anyway it's JJ's place and he can block anyone. I feel bad for him in this case. If he refuses these military control freaks and their PR posting, then does that put him on the black list? uncooperative? You'd better let them stay. 

Please Let them post JJ

I don't see the value in blocking them as anyone can copy and paste their info and create a blog from it. For example, I could take their press release, analyze its main point in a blog and share the information with everyone. Would you erase it because it contained CENTCOM info?

There are bloggers here who essentially do the same by posting talking points/propaganda from all sides of the political spectrum.

There could be anonymouse paid IRI agents, Israeli agents and MKO agents working and getting paid to post their nonsense here. You don't have a way of knowing and you don't block them.

How would posting "CENTCOM" propaganda change the equation for Iranian.com readers? I think all the readers are sophisticated enough here to make the decision for themselves on whether to read it or not, believe it or not, analyze it or not and debate it just like people debate pro communist/IRI propaganda from Ardeshir Ommani.

What is wrong with pro US propaganda? The line and distinction from civilian people and government people on Iranian.com is pretty hazy to me. If these CENTCOM guys were honest about who they were, they should not be punished for it. 

Please reconsider and let them post.

RE: DW Duke

I would love to read more about your work and experience, what you write is fascinating.

Yes Ive seen the videos of US marines training. The drill instructors teaches them the word "KILL" 500 times, making them the wrong force to police streets of Baghdad and Kabul..

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Discuss, chat and post your opinions about Iran on my new forum: www.IranBebin.com

FF: ROFL! He is certainly a

FF: ROFL! He is certainly a strikingly  bizarre character.

Vildemose jan, tahgord pirouz is

Vildemose jan, tahgord pirouz is currently off psych medication which in turn causes him to have delusions.  Tahgord Pirouz is lucky if he could command a herd of goats.

btw, if these posts are from CENTCOM, I am the 12th emam!

I hope JJ puts some sort of disclaimer on these posts in future.