Senate showdown over military sexual assault bill

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By DONNA CASSATA

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has secured public support from nearly half the Senate, but not enough votes, for her proposal to give victims of rape and sexual assault in the military an independent route outside the chain of command for prosecuting attackers.

Gillibrand's solution for a problem the military calls an epidemic appears to have stalled in the face of united opposition from the Pentagon's top echelon and its allies in Congress, including two female senators who are former prosecutors.

Opponents of the proposal by Gillibrand, D-N.Y., insist that commanders, not an outside military lawyer, must be accountable for meting out justice.

Even so, major changes are coming for a decades-old military system just a few months after several high-profile cases infuriated Republicans and Democrats.

"Sexual assault in the military is not new, but it has been allowed to fester," Gillibrand said in a recent Senate speech.

FULL story at link.



Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20131117/DAA496OG1.html

[MADem]

1. She needs to split the difference to get this to pass, I think.

Rather than take the prosecution out of the hands of the chain of command, leave it there, but require independent oversight--a third party who provides input to the commander on how to manage the prosecution, how to ensure proper treatment of victims and witnesses, and just be someone who keeps an eye out to ensure that the process is conducted fairly. The third party needs to be sufficiently senior and not beholden--that, in itself, can be a challenge.

While her solution would probably be the most efficacious, if it's not going to pass, it's not going to do anyone any good. She should see if she can get more votes by tweaking the process as I've suggested.

[bemildred]

2. One cannot allow self-investigation unless one cares nothing for justice.

And the notion that the military needs to operate outside the rules applied to the rest of us is the idea that created this mess.

[warrant46]

4. Its a breeding ground for lots of other outrages