Has the United States military, or any military commander thereof, ever been convicted of perfidy? If so, I’d be interested in hearing the details.
Committed? Many times, especially during the Indian wars. Convicted of? Doubtful. Winners rarely courtmartial their own.
This administration, and Commander in Chief, have committed perfidy, obviously.
While there have been countless cases of mopery, I cannot recall a case of perfidy.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it had happened, but I don’t know of any prosecutions or convictions.
per·fi·dy /ˈpɜrfɪdi/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pur-fi-dee]
–noun, plural -dies.
- deliberate breach of faith or trust; faithlessness; treachery: perfidy that goes unpunished.
- an act or instance of faithlessness or treachery.
[Origin: 1585–95; < L perfidia faithlessness, equiv. to perfid(us) faithless, lit., through (i.e., beyond the limits of) faith (per- per- + fid(és) faith + -us adj. suffix) + -ia -y3]
—Synonyms See disloyalty.
I find it interesting that some jurisdictions may expand on that to a felony, as in “aggrevated mopery, with an intent to creep”.
Or worse, “accessory to jaywalking, with aggrevated mopery”.
Tripler
Yup. “Mopery”: I hear Eeyore is the Defense Counsel on this one.
Respectfully, vetbridge’s definition has no corrleation to what the OP is asking, I don’t think. In a military sense, perfidy means having soldiers pose as civilians, wearing the enemy’s uniform, or pretending to surrender as a ruse to an attack. These sorts of things have long been regarded as a violation of the rules of war, and are codified in the Geneva convention. See wikipedia’s entry on the subject.
And again, with all due respect to bonitahi, the claim that the Bush administration has committed perfidy might be true in the generic sense of the word, but certainly not in a military context. On the contrary, perfidy is a defining trait of most guerrila movements, and certainly it has been committed repeatedly by the insurgents in Iraq.
To the OP’s question, I don’t believe any US military commander has ever been charged with perfidy. There are certainly examples of CIA sponsored “false flag” missions, but that’s not military per se.
While the OP may be answered with strictly factual answers, I think this one is better suited to Great Debates.
samclem GQ moderator
A great uncle of mine was brought before a court martial for hooliganism and scalawaggery. But he cut a deal, pled guilty to tomfoolery and got off with a fine.
Thank you. I had no idea what the term meant other than the dictionary definition.
I think you could claim that the US (and the rest of the Nuclear Club) have been pretty perfidious when it comes to upholding their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty:
There’s one case of perfidy that’s celebrated and can be found on every bottle of Snapple–the Boston Tea Party.
I know, I know, the Sons of Liberty weren’t a government and weren’t posing as real Indians either, but it’s the only open case of perfidy I can think of that everybody knows about.
An argument could be raised that we gave Saddam a tacit OK to go into Kuwait. It has been said that through diplomatic channels it was said we would not interfere.
After Iraq1 it has been said that we told the Kurds we would do something to help them if they fought against the Saddam regime. They did and we did not.
Both perfidious.
No, that would be Albion.
Benedict Arnold was a perfidious wretch.
The last sentence is certainly of the “paint with a broad brush” school, isn’t it? Unless, of course, you’d care to explain why there were courts-martial in just about every war we fought.
By this definition, the Andrews Raid, or the Great Locomotive Chase, during the Civil War might qualify. US soldiers out of uniform captured a Confederate train and used it to sabotoge a rail line. James Andrews, a civilian, was the leader. He and seven others were convicted as spies by the Confederates and executed. Many of the participants received the Medal of Honor.
While not convicted of “perfidy,” it would seem by posing as civilians to make an attack behind enemy lines this is what they did.
Nice knee-jerk there. Looks like your nervous system’s okay.
West Bromwich or Stirling?