Letter to General Martin E. Dempsey, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman - Reverse Rape Policy

Letter

Dear General Dempsey:

I urge you to immediately reverse the Pentagon's shameful policy of punishing soldiers who try to stop the sexual abuse of children in Afghanistan, as reported today by the New York Times.

According to the Times, American soldiers serving our nation in the Army and Marines in Afghanistan have been told to stand down when encountering child sexual abuse perpetrated by local allies. Protecting child predators is abhorrent and inconsistent with our values as a nation. I call on you to end this shameful policy immediately.

It is bad enough if the Pentagon is telling our soldiers to ignore this type of barbaric and savage behavior, but it's even worse if we are punishing those who try to stop it.

The only people who should be punished are the ones who created and condoned this immoral and savage code.

According to the Times, Captain Dan Quinn and Sgt. First Class Charles Martland confronted an American-backed Afghan commander "for keeping a boy chained to his bed as a sex slave." Instead of commending Captain Quinn, the Army relieved him of his command. It is now trying to forcibly retire Sergeant Martland as well.

It is deeply troubling that our service members are instructed to ignore child sexual abuse. You must end this policy, which requires Americans to "look the other way" when horrific crimes are committed by our supposed allies.

Fighting in a foreign theater should not require our service members to turn a blind eye towards criminal perversion. Those who wear the uniform of the U.S. military should be commended, not punished, for upholding American values.

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