Meaning of accountability especially as it relates to leaders

1. ACCOUNTABLE LEADERS
By Colonel AllanDouglas
A friendof mine recentlyinquiredof me whyitwasthat a soldiercouldbe chargedinrelationtothe
killingof Mr.Clarke,butyethis commandingofficerwasnotlikewise chargedorinanyway held
responsible?Ibelievehisquestiongoestothe heartof the matter of accountabilityof leadersandin
relationtothe specificinquiry,militarycommanders.
The questionhascome at a time wheninternationally there are twoprominent mattersthathave made
newsrelatingtoleadersandaccountability.The firstisinrespect tothe BosnianSerbwartime leader
RadovanKaradzicand the otheris the terroristattack inBenghazi,Libya,thatclaimedthe livesof four
Americansincluding anambassador. InKaradzic’s case, itis onlyrightandproperthat he be calledupon
to answerforthe wartime atrocitiescommittedagainst BosnianMuslims. However,inthe case of
PresidentObama’sacceptance of responsibilityforsecurityweaknesseswithdiplomaticsecurityin
Libya,it appearsto be more in keepingwith“the buckstopshere”creedasitrelatestobosses,political
or otherwise.
At one pointinmy militarycareer,Iservedasan infantrybattalioncommander.Mywife would
repeatedlyrebuke me wheneverIbecame concernedwithincidentsassociatedwithmybattalion.She
wouldoftensay,“GoodGod, Allan,whyworryaboutitwhenyouwere nowhere nearthe incident!After
all,youwere inyour bedfastasleepwhenthe incidentoccurred!”The questionthenmustbe,isa
commanderalwaysresponsibleforthe actionsof hisunitsor subordinates?
Where shouldthe buck,forinstance, have stoppedinrespect tothe Michael Gayle killing? Whatof an
incidentinvolvingayoungman who wasdraggedfrom hisbicycle ata police/soldiercheckpointand
beatenbysoldiersandpolicemenand,asa resultof the mercilessbeating,died?Whowouldbe the
accountable personsforthatmurder?Certainlythe soldiersandpolicemen involvedwouldbe.Butwhat
aboutthe commanderwhowason the groundand witnessedthe beatingand didnothingtostop it?
Andevenif he didnot witnessbutwasthe commanderonthe ground,shouldhe be heldaccountable or
responsible?Whatif he orderedthe beating?Shouldthe soldiercarryingoutthe act be heldliable for
obeyingthe commandof hiscommander?
In attemptingtoanswerthese questions, there hastobe an understandingfirstandforemostthatthere
are layersinthe militarycommandstructure.Forinstance,aninfantrybattalionhasabattalion
commander.Each infantrybattalionhasthree riflecompanieseachcommandedbyacompany
commander. Withineachof these rifle companies,there are three platoonseachhavingitsownplatoon
commander. And finally,eachof these platoons hasthree sections,eachhavingasectioncommander.
So there isa battalioncommander,companycommanders,platooncommandersandsection
commanders.Indeed,it’sthe battalioncommander whohasresponsibilityforall mattersrelatingtohis
command,and he may delegate some of hisauthority, butneverhisresponsibility.

2. Certainlyabattalioncommandermustgrantapproval forthe deploymentof histroopsandmustbe fully
conversantandapprove of the nature or conceptof the operation.Inotherwords,abattalion
commandercannothide behindthe “Iwasnot aware”mask. He must ensure thathisordersor
instructionsare clearandunambiguous.He mustat all timesensure that, where he hastoaddresshis
battalionasa bodyandnot throughhisrespective commanders,thenhislanguage istemperate andnot
lacedwithmerelycolourable exercise of powerorgiventoemotional outbursts orexaggeration,
especiallywhenrallyingtroopsforan internal securitytype operation. “Tonightwe are goingoff todo
war withinnercityx,and some of you mightnotreturn,but…” isnot the type of charge that a battalion
commandershouldrallyhistroopsbehind,because Iwouldsuggestthathe wouldhave successfullyput
himself inthe firingline wereanymemberof hisbattaliontoresorttoexcessesduringthe course of the
operation. Afterall,the exigenciesof wardonot call for a soldiertonecessarilyobserve aregardfor
legal restraint. Iwouldsuggestthathe wouldbe more thanaccountable forincitinghistroopsintowar-
like conductwhile executinganoperationthatcallsforgreatlegal restraintanda respectforthe rights
of civilians.
His ordersthathe issuesmustbe lawful and,above all that, troopsthatare to be deployedare
adequatelyequippedandtrainedtocarryout the particularmissionortask. Soin the Clarke killing,
those are the areasof the battalioncommander’sresponsibilitywhohadcommandoverthe troops
employedforthatparticularoperationthatrequirescloseinvestigation.If he were tobe foundwanting
inany or all of those areas, thenitmay be that he should alsobe chargedor heldaccountable asthe
soldiersexecutingthe taskor mission.Atthe other leadership layers,there shouldbe asimilarprobe
and consequences similarlywould follow.
What aboutthe soldierwhoissimplycarryingoutorders? Isn’the duty-boundtocarryout the ordersof
hissuperiors?Andwouldhisfailure tocarry outan order openhimtobeingchargedfor disobeyingan
order?The answertothese questionsis, Ibelieve, bestansweredfromtwosources.The firstisfrom
whatis referredtoas the Nurembergprinciples,asa resultof the Nurembergtrialsheldbythe Allied
Forcesof WorldWar II for the prosecutionof prominentmembersof the political,militaryandeconomic
leadershipof Nazi Germany.Principle 1V states,“The factthat a personactedpursuantto the order of
hisgovernmentorof a superiordoesnotrelieve himfromresponsibilityprovidedamoral choice was
available tohim.”
The secondsource is The Defence Act(Jamaica),whichatsection44 dealswiththe disobedience to
particularorders.Subsection(2) states,“Anypersonsubjecttomilitarylaw …whowhetherwillfullyor
throughneglect,disobeysanylawful commandshall,onconvictionbycourtmartial,be liable to
imprisonment…”The footnote tothissection,however, statesthat“…if a commandis manifestlyillegal
the personto whomitis givenwouldbe justifiedinquestioningandevenrefusingtoexecute it.”
So itseemsthat, for instance, inthe Clarke case or inany other similarsuchincident,the soldier
chargedcouldnot relyon a defence of carryingouthissuperior’sorders,ashischoice shouldhave been
to disobeywhatwouldhave amountedtoanunlawful order.

3. Let us,though,assume thatthe soldierwasnotorderedto kill Mr Clarke,butto detainorcapture him
alive andthe soldierinthe course of executingthe taskerred.Itwouldseemtome thathe should
rightlyneverthelessbe charged.Sowhataboutthe commanderonthe ground,shouldhe notalsobe
chargedfor the actionsof hissubordinate?Indeed,he certainlyhasquestionstoanswer.Didhe exercise
propercommandand control overhistroops andwere hisorderscomplete andclear?Didhe foresee as
any reasonable commandershouldall the possibleoutcomesof thisoperationandputinplace
measures topreventanyunjustifiablekilling?The same questionmustbe poisedupthroughall the
variousearliermentionedlayersof command.
In answeringmyfriend’squestionthen,itwouldbe strange if onlythe soldierwhofiredthe fatal bullet
was calleduponto answeror account forhis actions or justifyhisconductbefore the law.