something i wonder lately, is the actual goal of activism self aggrandizement of activists? Symbolic acts of defiance that do nothing to prevent what ever activists are against while getting lots of attention for the activists themselves fit this model. I'm looking at you code pink... If they actually got laws changed, or or convinced people to behave differently, they wouldn't be activists, they would be lobbyist or innovators.
at the same time, the primary mission of the military is upholding the public image of the military, accomplishing missions is just one of the ways they do it. Problems don't get fixed until a media shit storm is raised (body armor, unarmored trucks, Walther reed, etc) War crimes are always found to be the fault of the lowest ranking officer involved. A crack down on incompetent officers, rapists, or sociopaths would hurt the public image of the military more than insisting everything is fine and just making examples of the people who make the military look bad in public.
at the same time, the primary mission of the military is upholding the public image of the military, accomplishing missions is just one of the ways they do it. Problems don't get fixed until a media shit storm is raised (body armor, unarmored trucks, Walther reed, etc) War crimes are always found to be the fault of the lowest ranking officer involved. A crack down on incompetent officers, rapists, or sociopaths would hurt the public image of the military more than insisting everything is fine and just making examples of the people who make the military look bad in public.