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Politico
Pentagon
cribs Hill ideas on sex
assault
By Darren Samuelsohn and Juana
Summers
8-5-13
The
Pentagon, desperate to show
Congress it’s serious about cracking down on sexual assault in the
ranks, is
preparing to unveil another round of new policies as soon as this week.
But
there’s a catch: the Defense
Department keeps pitching ideas they’re about to be forced to follow
anyway.
Adm.
James Winnefeld, the vice
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave a preview last week of one
of the
half-dozen new rules, explaining it would speed up the role a commander
plays
in sex assault cases — a requirement prominent in this year’s
House-passed
defense bill.
Defense
Secretary Chuck Hagel did
the same thing this spring when he announced an expert panel studying
the issue
had 12 months, not 18, to complete its work — an idea kicking around on
the
Hill that ended up in the House and Senate bills.
Neither
new rule goes nearly as far
in changing the system as a proposal picking up momentum in the Senate
that
would remove the chain of command from prosecuting sex assault cases, a
proposal the Pentagon has lobbied ferociously to block, arguing the
change
would have vast unintended consequences.
The
fact the Pentagon is
volunteering more new steps, even if the ideas aren’t original,
suggests that
for the first time in 25 years of promising Congress to solve the
problem of
sexual assault, it’s finally starting to feel the pressure. So for now,
its
better to look pro-active than risk the worst — and take a direct blow
to its
hierarchy if the chain of command is removed.
For
their part, many lawmakers —
frustrated by military leaders repeatedly promising to stamp out sexual
assault
and failing — don’t care if the ideas aren’t original.
“We
just want it to work. I don’t
care who gets the credit,” said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), a senior
member of
the Armed Services Committee that adopted a defense authorization bill
in June
with more than 20 provisions specifically demanding stronger steps on
sexual
assault...
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the rest of the article at Politico
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