Yesterday, during the visit of the secretary of defense, Leon Panetta's, in Afghanistan Marines were ordered to come to the meet unarmed - something that is something extraordinary. So far, the soldiers had weapons with them at meetings with Panetta.
Of course there are various official and unofficial explanation of this decision. But, it looks as if the Secretary of Defense feared his own troops. Does he have a reason for it?
U.S. troops are under great stress. Many of them are already on the third and fourth deployment. There is a lot of publicity around the sergeant who few days ago, killed more then a dozen people including children. Panetta has already judged him and it is said that he is facing a death penalty. But, a dead silence fell around the massacre at Fort Hood (2009), where Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 soldiers and wounded another 29.
Last week, Panetta told the Congress that neither he nor the president does need Congressional approval for military action in Syria. All he needs is UN permission. This upset many lawmakers. They already to steps to start impeachment proceedings if the president issues such an order. Constitution allows only Congress to declare a war. According to the same constitution, army (armed forces) has a duty to defend the Constitution - even against their own government.
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