4.2.12 WC: 191694
Defending Soldiers
I have a policy of representing, without fee, soldiers who risk their lives for our liberties and are charged with killings growing out of their military service. I have helped to defend several soldiers, most prominently Colonel Michael Steele, the real life hero of the tragic events in Mogadishu that gave rise to the film “Blackhawk Down.” I have also helped to defend ordinary enlisted men accused of unlawful killings of non-combatants.
Several of Colonel Steele’s enlisted men had killed Iraqi civilians following a deadly attack by Iraqi militants against U.S. soldiers. Colonel Steele was being investigated for instructions regarding the rules of engagement that he had given to his men prior to the killings. Some higher- ups believed that his speech had incited the killings, or at the very least had created an atmosphere in which such killings would be seen as acceptable. Colonel Steele adamantly denied any such responsibility and asked me to help his military lawyers prepare a defense to any such charge.
The rules of engagement for terrorist groups are confusing at best. The directive Colonel Steele had received granted him the authority to target “groups, cells and facilities belonging to terrorist groups.” How to distinguish such groups from non-combatants in the fog of asymmetric warfare, in which terrorists blend into the civilian population, is one of the most daunting challenges of modern combat. After conducting extensive research on the applicable law and on what Colonel Steele had actually told his men, I was convinced that he had complied both with the letter and spirit of the laws of war, and that the soldiers who had killed civilians were not following his lawful directives. We prepared a brief arguing against any charges been brought against the Colonel.
In the end Colonel Steele was not charged with any crime but his career was harmed by the allegation. In appreciation for my work on his case, the Colonel sent me an American flag that had been “flown for 9 minutes and 11 seconds over the 3 Brigade Combat Team Head Quarters, Tikrit, Iraq” near a flag that was “hanging inside of Building #7 on the morning of 11 September 2011.” In his letter accompanying the flag, Colonel Steel explained that a policeman, ran into Building Seven right after the attack to help get everyone out. On his way out, he saw the flag in the atrium and took it down. “The building came down about ten minutes later.” The policeman gave the Colonel the flag to take with him into combat. Colonel Steel ended his letter with the following words: “My sincerest thanks, Alan, for all you have done for me and for the men of the Rakkasans.” The flag stands in a place of honor in my home office, as a reminder of those who have given their lives to defend our liberties.
The complex issues surrounding the war against terrorists plays out not only on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, but in Israel and Gaza as well. I stand ready to defend Israeli soldiers and commanders who have been falsely accused of killing Palestinian civilians in their efforts to protect Israeli civilians from terrorist rocket attacks. In 2011, I traveled to the Hague in an effort to persuade the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court not to bring charges based on the deeply flawed “Goldstone Report,” whose conclusions Richard Goldstone himself subsequently repudiated. I have represented the Mossad in its efforts to prevent prosecution of its agents by
211
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017298