Tumult over U.S. military sexual assaults far from over

ban the “good soldier defense” to make sure a defendant’s fate is determined solely by evidence.

What evidence is there if the good soldier defense comes into play? Its the same thing done in any court. When there is no evidence and its a "he said, she said" situation, it comes down to character. In the case of a soldier, his character is recorded in triplicate. Its the same thing that happened with Strauss-Kahn and the maid Diallo. He said, she said, they fell back on character. Strauss-Kahn is a rich white politician. Diallo is a black, immigrant maid. I don't like it, but that is the way it works. It should just be that if you don't have evidence, its case closed.

Anyway, the problem in the U.S. military is not the lack of prosecutions or vengeance after the fact. Its the failure to take soldier's sexual needs seriously. Adultery and fraternization are still crimes in the U.S. military, and with month's long deployments and general confinements to base, do they expect celibacy to ensue? A realistic solution would account for sexual needs, but that is nigh impossible in America where a general sleeping with a captain is seen as some sort of perversion off the cuff before any other details are mentioned, as if one or the other could not have possibly wanted it.

The sexual assault problem in the U.S. military must be delt with... I supported the bill that would have taken prosecutions out of the hands of the commanders ...however, it's a bit curious that this article is in the crime section of JapanToday. Minus this one, the first 21 articles are about crime in Japan (I stopped counting after 21). Some anti-Americanism, I suppose...

When the perverts do not face justice the abuse continues to increase as we see. If the military is unable or unwilling to prosecute it's time the victims get a hearing in civilian courts.