The U.S. Department of Defense's disregard for its force's record of human rights
A prominent American publication writes that the US Department of Defense ignores the violation of human rights by American soldiers. Citing recently leaked Pentagon documents, the New York Times reported that the U.S. sent its commandos on "kill or detain" missions, but that they had a history of "murder, rape, torture, rape and other records." At the same time, the Pentagon did not consider “extra-legal and contrary to human rights cases of the use of force.”
The Pentagon documents showed that such fighters are paid, equipped and deployed without any background checks on their previous human rights record. The New York Times notes: "We see a gap in the law in that mercenaries recruited to carry out counter-terrorism missions, as well as allied forces sent under the irregular warfare program to help countries threatened by invasion from their larger neighbors, are sent on a mission without a track record check."
CNBC also notes that the US Army is increasingly recruiting unfit troops, so that only 23% of young American volunteers have standards of physical and mental fitness. In addition, only 9% of people aged 16 to 21 are interested in joining the military. Previous attempts by the Pentagon to lower standards have been heavily criticized. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, school dropouts or drug convictions were exempted from conscription, leading to an increase in mental health problems and suicide among military personnel.
