The Shocking Prosecution of Lt. Clint Lorance
(6.00)393 pages.
Having recently read Stolen Honor, Clint Lorrance's autobiography, I was looking for more information about the incident that lead to Clint's imprisonment. I wondered if the reason Clint had not described the incident in more detail, was that his lawyer had already done so in a previous book.
Therefore, I tracked down this book, by one of Clint's legal team. This was written before Clint's pardon, and is probably the chief reason he was granted that pardon.
Note that this is not an even-handed discussion of the evidence. The author is making an argument for Clint's innocence, and does not present the contrary argument except when rebutting certain claims.
This book very much reads like a lawyer building a case. He begins with Clint's conviction for murder in the death of motorcyclists in Afghanistan, jumps back to President Obama's decision to 'surge' as an exit strategy, then jumps forward to discuss multiple incidents of the Taliban using motorcycles as weapons of terror.
Next, the author discusses the days when Clint was in command at an Afghan outpost, with the goal of refuting what he sees as the prosecution's argument that Clint's act took place in an otherwise peaceful situation. Clint's unit had come under sniper fire at that same location the day before, and immediately after the controversial incident, his unit was again involved in action in the adjacent Afghan village.
The author also disparages the rules of engagement at that time, which he blames on the Obama administration's effort to soothe the Afghan government after a rogue U.S. soldier murdered civilians. He contends that the complicated rules forced soldiers to think like lawyers, hamstringing their ability to defend themselves.
As for the incident itself:
- The author reminds us that Clint never fired a shot, he was traversing rough terrain, could not see the situation, and relied on what his soldiers told him.
- It is unknown whose shots killed the Afghans. There is sworn testimony that Afghan government soldiers fired first.
- Due to ongoing action, the bodies and motorcycles were never fully examined. However, the bodies did test positive for explosive residue associated with bomb-making, and biometrics identified the individuals as Taliban.
Some of the exculpatory evidence was apparently concealed by the prosecution.
The rest of the book deals with the court case, much of which duplicates what is in Clint's authbiography… except that at the time of this book, Clint was still in prison.
In my opinion, this book succeeds in exonerating Clint from the charge of murder. It also is an indictment of the Obama administration's rules of engagement, and the military justice system.
My few disappointments with this book mostly are due to the book being intentionally one-sided. The author builds up Clint as an exceptional soldier, which is factual enough, without stressing that Clint lacked what I would call 'frontline' combat experience. The culpability of Clint's men is not discussed, when it appears that they may have turned on Clint to save themselves from prosecution. Clint's homosexuality is not mentioned, or whether it could have been a factor in Clint's men turning on him.
My other disappointment is that the map provided of the incident is far too small and lacks detail.
Can you game it? The events of those two days lack the scope to make an interesting wargame scenario, although it could inspire something on a larger scale.
I recommend this book for anyone wanting to know more about Afghanistan during the surge, and life at a remote Afghan outpost.
Reviewed by 
Editor in Chief Bill 
.