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10/19/09 Mestrovic uses experiences as expert witness in war crime trials for new book
- Sociology Professor Stjepan Mestrovic’s book, The “Good Soldier” on Trial: A Sociological Study of U.S. Military Misconduct in Iraq (New York: Algora, 2009), reveals how U.S. soldiers implicated in war crimes are treated.
- Mestrovic uses his experience as an expert witness in legal cases involving rules of engagement, such as Sergeant Michael Leahy’s 2009 trial, to distinguish the profound contradictions and flaws that Mestrovic believes plague the U.S. military.
Mestrovic uses experiences as expert witness in war crime trials for new book
Sociology Professor Stjepan Mestrovic’s book, The “Good Soldier” on Trial: A Sociological Study of U.S. Military Misconduct in Iraq (New York: Algora Publishing, 2009), reveals how U.S. soldiers implicated in war crimes are treated.
Mestrovic uses his experience as an expert witness in legal cases involving rules of engagement, such as Sergeant Michael Leahy’s 2009 trial, to distinguish the profound contradictions and flaws that Mestrovic believes plague the U.S. military. The book outlines the treatment of U.S. soldiers who apparently followed their orders as they understood them, then were subsequently accused of war crimes involving rules of engagement and the murder of prisoners. This leads to a key theme of the book in which Mestrovic questions why the U.S. military does not hold the officers accountable when the soldiers under their command act wrongly as a result of their understanding of the rules of engagement?
Mestrovic received his B.A. in psychology and social relations, Master’s of Education in clinical psychology, and Master’s in theological studies from Harvard University. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Syracuse University. Mestrovic’s latest books include Rules of Engagement? A Social Anatomy of an American War Crime-- Operation Iron Triangle, Iraq (New York: Algora, 2008), Heart of Stone: My Grandfather, Ivan Mestrovic (Zagreb, Croatia: Mozaik Publishers, 2007), and The Trials of Abu Ghraib: An Expert Witness Account of Shame and Honor (Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publications, 2007). He delivered the College of Liberal Arts’ 2007 Fallon-Marshall Lecture on, “Professional Ethics, Honor, and the Abuse at Abu Ghraib."
Find out more about Mestrovic's book, The 'Good Soldier' here.
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Contact: Monica Sales, sales22@libarts.tamu.edu, 979.862.4879
