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US Military Accuses its own Top Commander for Scandals in Iraq

afp.com — Steele's arrest is the latest in a string of scandals to hit the military since the 2003 invasion. The charge sheet also accuses him of "willfully failing to fulfill obligations as an approving authority" in the expenditure of funds. The charges against Steele cover a period of almost 17 months between October 1, 2005 and February 22, 2007

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  • dukeeeey, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3doesn't america ever get bored of scandals ?
    • cindylauper, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9not bored enough to stop creating them
    • fuzzmeister, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Not really, makes good news.
    • OneHine, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16@cindylauper

      Hell, a good 30% of voters in this country are not only not bored of scandals, they think scandals are a good way to run the country.
  • sulagna, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Why such a hype for a this guy? What type of punishment is he supposed to get? If we are accusing him then why not the top leaders of the Nation?
  • Newportbeachguy, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2The Bush administration is JOKE, they send these boys and girls over there to fight the Administrations war. And what do they do in return? They slap handcuffs on them, then they prosecute them. ***** that *****, if you send them to fight, let them FIGHT!!!

    • jackhole, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Lt. Col. Bill Steele is not one of the "boys and girls" any more than a CEO can be considered part of the "work force." And I believe his ability and inclination to fight is precisely what is at issue here.
    • datastorageguy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2We don't send boys and girls to fight. Men and women have enlisted to fight for their country.
    • polyGone, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4@18.....they are still boys and girls.
  • gubin09, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I like how they had to say, "...possessing pornographic videos." Dude is in a ***** war zone... give him a break.
    • schnuck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1fair enough, but this smells like homemade porn with iraqi women.
    • Nydas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Most of the soldiers i know have porn out here. Hell i had about 10 gigs until i accidentally broke my external hard drive. Now I got nothing but a playboy my uncle sent me (which is kinda creepy, actually).
    • AgelessStranger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The military has strong policies on this type of behavior. Basically he was ***** his interpreter and others which is a direct violation of the UCMJ. He'll be retired soon.
  • scairborn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Woah woah woah! I wouldn't exactly call a Lieutenant Colonal a "Top Commander" here people. Yes he ran A prison system, but not THE prison system that's a Bridadier General's job. He's basically a squadron commander (im air force) so he only commanded 600-700 troops AT BEST! And yes the dude ***** up and stuff, but lets not blow this out of proportion people. I also wouldn't call this a "scandal". This was an incident that is being taken to trial.
    • DavidDigg, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Damn - I was going to make some snarky comment about how the Greeks executed one of their returning generals in the twilight of their civilization.

      Man, when is this civilization going to collapse??!?! I mean, jeez, lets see the fireworks already! Nuke war extravaganza! Woohoo!
    • bizchris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is something I don't get - are you really in the military, or just faking it on the internet? Sounds like you have an idea what you're talking about, but I'm not military and even I know it's spelled "Colonel".

      Not trying to be snarky or a spelling nazi, but it does call your credibility into question.
  • scairborn, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4@gubin09

    Pornography in the AOR is a huge no, no. Its part of General Order No. 1. I totally get what you're saying, I'd like to rub one out every once in a while when I'm deployed too. But, when we're trying towin the hearts and minds of a people that have a drastically more conservative culture than yours you have to adhere to those customs. Ignorance of the arab culture and history of their people is 90% of the reason we're in the mess we're in.
    • EuphopiaB, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Okay, last I checked, porn is a private thing. Sure its against regulations etc but I doubt the reason is the case of an Arab person walking in on him wanking off and causing an international crisis. Yes, we should be accepting to their culture, but shouldn't they be, in turn, accepting to our culture or should we all become Arabic?

      The failing to obey and order and possession of classified material are the only two I really see as notable crimes. Porn and a bad relationship with someone is grounds for a yelling at by a superior.
    • Deaus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Porn isnt a "huge no, no". It's not allowed, mildly frowned upon, but generally accepted as a fact of life. I *just* got back from Iraq 6 months ago, and everyone has porn. Everyone. If you see a non-military laptop, its got porn on it. And people trade it with each other all the time. From upper level enlisted to the lowest private.

      The reason we aren't allowed to have it has nothing at all to do with arab culture. Its a standing order for almost anywhere the military deploys. I have yet to hear a good reason why the rule exists (and I spent a year asking), but most people I asked agreed that someone, somewhere seems to think looking at porn makes you horny, if you're horny you might lose your inhibitions, and then you might rape someone. Zero to do with the arab culture.
    • Nydas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Ignorance of the arab culture and history of their people is 90% of the reason we're in the mess we're in."

      Im in Iraq right now and the Iraqi Bazaar at our post sell us porn. Hell, ive even seen a collection of Hentai. Which i may or may not have bought.
  • Lister169, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Cell phones for prisoners? So that's what they mean by more bars in more places.
  • edm1950, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Looks like Linsley England's story just got a little more cred.
  • asaone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2LTC Steele, is now facing an article 32 hearing under UCMJ (Uniformed Code Of Military Justice) as amended. The article 32 hearing is a pretrial hearing where it will be determined if there is enough evidence to hold LTC Steele over for a court-martial. If LTC Steele is held over for a court-martial, there are 3 different types of court martial depending on the severity of the crime. The worst or highest court-martial is a general court-martial. I am sure others can expand on the processes.
  • hellotyler, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Wow, I can't believe anyone signs up for this *****. I'd go to war if our country was at risk, because fighting was the last option, but anybody who chooses a job where you can't even read a porn mag ? Talk about kissing your freedom goodbye. (isn't that 'what we're fighting for' anyways?)
  • crocodilexp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0The article is very imprecise. It is quite possible that *all* of these charges are minor -- there are no details provided to show that he did anything seriously wrong.

    - "providing umonitored cellphone access to prisoners" - could be that appropriate lines don't exist or don't work, and that he allowed some prisoners to contact his family (their children may not know if the prisoner is alive or not). Sounds to me like a possible show of humanity, even if it is technically a violation?
    - "unauthorised posession of classified information" - how critical? Possibly a minor infraction or a bureacuratic messup.
    - "relationship with Iraqi interpreter" - so what? He's not the pope, he's a soldier. As long as he does his soldiering well, does he really need to remain celibate?
    - "posessiong porn" - is it better to find sexual outlets Specialist Graner style?
    - "expenditure of funds" - he might have been caught in a bureaucratic hard place. Maybe the "authority" provided starvation rations to detainees and didn't budget for security? I see no allegations that he did it for personal gain.

    Moreover, if the powers that be really feel it necessary to include silly minor charges (porn and a girlfriend), it shows that they don't truly have him for serious violations. Maybe he just stepped on the wrong superior's toe one day?
    • BarneyF, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0It does sound like he's being railroaded. Half the charges obviously come from confiscating his mobile charges and laptop, and looking for dirt. I mean "posssesion of porn", really. And "unauthorised posession of classified information" means he had some stuff he was working on stored locally.

      Also the idea that it is a crime to be nice/friendly to Iraqis pretty much explains why we lost this war doesn't it? I mean I thought we were liberators. Now all Iraqis are enemies and being friendly with the is fraternizing with the enemy. We are not at war with Iraq. God knows what the Pentagon thinks it's doing over there.

      On the other hand the article is of such low quality it's hard to guess what's really going on.
  • laserblazer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1"The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them."

    - Albert Einstein

    I think we need to consider this while trying to figure out how to get out of the cataclysmic ***** that Bush and his cronies got us into.
  • rmad1949, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Let me think about this... LC Steele allegedly gives a prisoner a cell phone, is screwing his daughter, is screwing an interpreter, has a stack of porn... or the military is probably just railroading him because he is a dick... therefore, he is a great guy?
  • 1337diggster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Send him to guantanamo to get tortured, he is a traitor! If he is lucky the least he should get is death.
  • caution, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Your headline is not accurate. He's a Lt. Col. not a top US commander. He was in charge of a prison. He screwed up. Now he'll pay.

    FWIW, President Bush has nothing to do with a stupid Lt. Col. who bangs Iraqi chicks and sells his soul to the enemy.
  • BohicaTwentyTwo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Buried as inaccurate. Light Colonel is not a top commander. This is not a scandal.

    What, are we going to hear about every court martial and Article 15 that happens in Iraq now?

    "In a huge blow to the Bush Administration, PFC Snuffy was busted to PV2 and given 14 days of extra duty after telling his Platoon Sergeant to "Stuff It" Sen. Waxman has declared this a Rovian style cover-up of Bush incopetance and is launching hearings."
    • an0nymous, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You gotta be kidding. It's Lieutenant Colonel. They command 300 to 100 men Oh, and it is a scandal.
      And yeah you are probably going to hear about every court martial above the pay grade of Major.
      Guess you never served.
    • an0nymous, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1edit that was supposed to be 300-1000 servicepeople, but bad edit.
  • limeaid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I guess I did - not sure about Bohica - it's a freakin Light Colonel - nothing on the food chain

    Buried as inaccurate

  • schnoggi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1my ***** detector went off right away...what did this guy REALLY do? he must have refused to toe the line on some ***** order, or exposed some higher-up's ass to the flame or something, or they wouldn't be bothering with these other charges. who's he the patsy for? they just needed a fall guy for something, he wouldn't play ball with somebody and is getting the formal hosing.
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