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When Marine Corps General Peter Pace became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff last month, he was interviewed on the NewsHour on PBS. I was impressed. He seemed to be a straight talker and a clear thinker. When interviewer Jim Lehrer asked how many insurgents had been killed in a recent military operation, Pace said this:

GENERAL PETER PACE: I know the answer to that question. But, if you don’t mind, I’m not going to tell you because I truly believe that we do not want the American public or anybody else watching this broadcast to start counting bodies.

This is not the way we count success. We count success and we measure success by the security that we provide in these towns for the Iraqi people. This is not about killing of people. It is about providing security for people.

And if we inadvertently, mistakenly start counting how many of the enemy are killed, we will be sending the wrong messages to our own troops and to the Iraqi people. We want to provide security for them.

JIM LEHRER: And now, General, isn’t that a change — what you just expressed — a change? Because up till this point in time, every time there’s been one of these sweeps, every time there’s been one of these, the U.S. military in Iraq is quick to say how many insurgents have been captured, how many insurgents have been killed and the whole point of the exercise is to destroy the insurgency. You are saying no more?

GENERAL PETER PACE: No. I am saying that anyone who, in the past, has been counting bodies has been presenting the wrong measure of success; that the correct measure of success is how much of this country, how much of Iraq is being controlled by coalition forces to include, and most importantly, to include the Iraqi armed forces themselves, how much security is being provided, and it’s not about death counts. It’s about defining security so that the Iraqi people can live in freedom.

JIM LEHRER: So how do we measure success of this operation?

GENERAL PETER PACE: We measure success of this operation by how quickly we are able to establish Iraqi government control of the area and we measure success by watching as time goes on the ability of the Iraqi armed forces and the Iraqi police to continue to provide that security.

Washington Post reporter Dana Milbank wrote about a recent Pentagon briefing by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Pace:

When UPI’s Pam Hess asked about torture by Iraqi authorities, Rumsfeld replied that “obviously, the United States does not have a responsibility” other than to voice disapproval.

But Pace had a different view. “It is the absolute responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene, to stop it,” the general said.

Rumsfeld interjected: “I don’t think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it’s to report it.”

But Pace meant what he said. “If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it,” he said, firmly.

(Crooks and Liars has video.)

So, three cheers for General Pace — not for standing up to Don Rumsfeld, but for standing up for a higher standard of conduct than that proposed by the excuse-makers and corner-cutters of the Bush Administration.

Our uniformed services deserve better civilian leadership.