Ian Fishback: A Whistleblower Who Reminded the U.S. Military of Its Values
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By TOM MALINOWSKI
12/27/2021 05:00 AM EST
Rep. Tom Malinowski represents New Jersey’s 7th District in Congress. He previously served as a senior director on the National Security Council, chief advocate for Human Rights Watch and assistant secretary of State for democracy, human rights and labor.
At an American forward operating base in Iraq in 2002, U.S. Army Captain Ian Fishback saw prisoners being abused, and knew that it was wrong.
From his earliest days growing up in rural Michigan, Fishback had wrestled with what would be required of him to lead a just and honorable life. His journey had led him to West Point, where he embraced the written and unwritten rules of military service. This included respect for the chain of command and a soldier’s duty to obey orders. But his training had also included the Geneva Conventions, reinforcing his belief that Americans’ conduct on the battlefield must reflect the ideals that our military fights to defend. Fishback never lost sight of those ideals — and by coming forward with the truth, he reminded the country why they were worth fighting for.
Like many whistleblowers, Fishback did not set out to be one. When he learned that detainees on his base were being beaten, stacked in pyramids and subjected to sleep deprivation and extreme cold, he raised his concerns privately with his fellow officers and with his pastor. He asked his superiors for clarification — were soldiers supposed to follow their training and military manuals, which forbade torture, or listen to the guidance coming from the highest levels of the Bush administration, which seemed to encourage it?
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/12/27/2021-obituary-ian-fishback-520597
