Army Rewrites History of Battle

The Army has released its official history of the battle of Wanat—a fight in Afghanistan in July 2008 that killed nine U.S. soldiers—and it is conspicuously different than an earlier draft from last year. The new history pins the blame for the losses on low-level commanders, whereas the earlier draft had blamed higher-level battalion and brigade commanders, saying they failed to adequately supply their troops. Gen. David Petraeus, who was in charge at the time, recommended that the company, battalion, and brigade commanders be given reprimands that would essentially end their careers. However, the officers successfully appealed their reprimands.