Military Times: Carter: 'Combat' death does not mean 'combat role'
Defense Secretary Ash Carter said it was hard to describe in detail what happened in the moments leading up to the Thursday death of Army Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, the first American killed in action in Iraq since 2011.
"This is combat, things are complicated," Carter told reporters Friday, while declining to offer a full account of the fatal commando raid involving dozens of U.S. special operations soldiers targeting an Islamic State detention center in Iraq.
"Combat" is a term that Carter and many military officials have studiously avoided using over the past few months in an effort to comport with President Obama's vow to keep U.S. troops out of combat in Iraq.
Update #1: U.S. soldier killed in Iraq raid rushed into firefight: Carter
Update #2: Is the U.S. back in combat in Iraq? -- CNN
WNU Editor: I always roll my eyes when I see officials try their best to paint a different picture from what had actually happened. This is one of those cases .... it is obvious to me that Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler died in combat .... but the Pentagon has a different interpretation, and it is an interpretation that is forwarded to satisfy the White House.
Update: This reminds me of how Moscow tries to explain combat deaths of Russians in Ukraine .... everyone knows the truth, but the official explanation is something else.
No comments:
Post a Comment