Circulating today in the New York Times and Armed Forces Journal is a remarkable exposure of what is occurring today in Afghanistan–a situation not accurately reported to the American public, and of course Congress. Col. Danny Davis (USA) is the officer making this exposure possible. It will not surprise some, but it will also come as news to many, perhaps because they have consciously or unconsciously chosen to accept a more comforting view of the un-remedial situation in Afghanistan after 10 years of American conflict there. To Col. Davis we all owe a debt of thanks and support.
The exposure also involves subjects every bit as important as the insights about the war in Afghanistan. As you read Col. Davis' article in Armed Forces Journal, take note of what he says about the technology the Army has been pursuing for more than a decade. Note also that, as Col. Davis' insights make clear, it is the moral factors that decide wars, not the technological ones: a lesson that was all too vivid after the Vietnam War where America had a gigantic technological edge and lost because of the moral and ethical issues in both Vietnam and the United States. It is remarkable how Afghanistan is unfolding the same way, especially regarding the hollow, corrupt husk of a government in Afghanistan and the misleading picture of the war created out of whole cloth in the US from the assertions of those whose political and bureaucratic careers are committed to it.
With Col. Davis' permission, I am distributing his letter to others (below): it provides an excellent introduction to what he is doing, why, and the content. His letter also links to today's New York Times article and the Armed Forces Journal article, which I especially urge you to read.
My Dearest Friends,I haven't talked to many of you in awhile, but so the rest of this makes sense, i was deployed to Afghanistan for a year between November 2010 and October 2011. i saw many things during that deployment – the fourth combat deployment of my career – that i found disturbing. eventually i felt morally obligated to do something about what i saw to such an extent that i was incapable of notacting. here's what i've done and things that are being done as a result:Scott Shane from the New York Times will publish a story on the actions i've taken, and the Armed Forces Journal will simultaneously publish an article i've written explaining why i submitted a Department of Defense Inspector General complaint against select senior leaders of the Armed Forces for so being so deceptive to the US Congress and American people that the truth is no longer recognizable – and the biggest bill-payer for this deception has been the lives and bodies of America's service men and women. additionally i have briefed three members of the House (Jones, Garamendi, and McGovern), four Senators (Merkley, Bennet, Tom Udall, and Manchen) as well as 18 other Senate staffers representing numerous other offices. this briefing included a classified and unclassified portion (and the DoD IG complaint also included a classified and unclassified component), and was also submitted in the form of a request for Congress to investigate my allegations.
Supposedly, the three House members are planning on going to the House floor on Tuesday with up to 10 other Members to speak on the matter and demand an investigation and hearings (or whatever they do on the floor!); the Senators suggested they are considering similar action.
Part of my AFJ article includes a link to a web site i set up for the purpose of hanging the unclassified report for everyone to see (the AFJ article is only 2,400 words, while the unclass report is 86 pages; the classified report is 58 pages). however, there is a battle within the Army Public Affairs on releasing the document, which i submitted for review on 20 January – the same day i disclosed to the Army's senior leaders and my chain of command what was coming. officers from the Army Media Relations department tried to pry it loose on Friday because they believe it is the right thing to do, but someone – they didn't tell me who – overruled them and said it would take longer still…
in case you'd like to read the Armed Forces Journal article i wrote to see what exactly i witnessed, the article has just been posted on their web site.
The New York Times will publish the story on my actions in their Monday paper edition, but an online version has also just been published at:
once i became aware of the truth on the ground, i could no longer rationalize inaction on my part. essentially, i would have had to keep my mouth shut and thus not risk running afoul of the Army's senior leaders – but turned a blind eye to the thousands of combat troops who continue risking their lives each and every day they go outside the wire while i lived comfortably in the safety and security of America. once i looked at it in those terms, i was compelled to act…
anyway, thought you'd like a little heads up!
–danny
Phi Beta Iota: Military / National Security Reform cannot be achieved without first restoring the integrity of the government (Electoral Reform, Intelligence Reform, Governance Reform). It's been lonely out here, not drinking the kool-aid. “Integrity” remains the most searched term on this website. We stood our ground and God Bless America, the calvary is coming over the hill. Colonel Danny Davis, USA is the first to truly break ranks and honor his oath to defend and support the Constitution of the United States of America instead of a corrupt, abysmally ignorant chain of command that will stop at nothing to keep their nests feathered (and their post-retirement sweetheart deals secure), never mind the cost in national blood, treasure, and tears. ARUGAH!
See Also:
1961-2011: 50 Years of The Military-Industrial Complex
