Hmmmm, I was asked to come look at this question, so...

Insofar as Command Responsibility, as the Commander is he ultimately responsible for the actions of the troops under his direct command? Yes - depending upon whether the troops who carried out any improper actions, acted contrary to, or in compliance with, his orders.

However, this situation does not appear to be that clear cut, because from what I am seeing, he was not in 'control' of the actual actions, but only in charge of the overall strategy... Then the responsibility for the conduct of the troops falls on the Tactical Commander of the troops on the ground.

Logically, he is unlikely to be calling for an inquiry into his own conduct (unless he is trying to clear his name), so that suggests he was not actually in 'command' of the troops involved.

Does that extricate him from his basic obligation, as a servant of the people to act in a manner that is honest and transparent? NO.

The General is in the right there and the suggestions he is acting contrary to the good of the State strongly suggest that the responsibility for any wrongdoing which might ultimately be uncovered, lies with the ruling family, whether directly or indirectly.

Will that save him? Probably not, Asian Politics are a brutal place, his only real chance lies in the fact that a lot of the Army might just agree with him (he is obviously playing from a position of some strength, if he weren't he would have been silenced already), in which case, the ruling family is in far more trouble than he is.

That is the trouble with particularly corrupt governments, when they raise huge armies and General's gain in popularity, once the immediate crisis is dealt with, the General's tend to stage a coup and get rid of the Government. The Roman Empire is the best example of this.

Dear Custard,

Your explanation makes sense and gives us
an added persepctive to the topic from
your professional background.

Much appreciated.

Custard,foxy

Thank you for your input they make sense.
The problem is that this situation speaks loudly of the lack of checks and balances.

The question I posed was also oriented towards the the WikiLeaks issue of the US person who leaked film of the US army executing civilians.

Then again there's the issue of the Israeli who blew the whistle on Israel's deceit about their nuclear bomb research.

Even though he has served his time for the crime he is not allowed to talk to foreigners or even leave the country even to migrate to Israel's closest ally the US. That in its self say volumes.

My point is not to throw stones at Israel but to highlight the shallowness of what is supposedly in national interests.

Unlike some on OLO I don't necessarily dismiss "Asian" governments as "tribal" (which is clearly nonsense). Simply put we have similar issues albeit less violent here in Australia.

We all know those who practice XENOPHOBIA and Cultural paranoia on OLO.

The problem in Asia is clearly the more disproportionate power between the Peasants and the self interested 'elite'.

IMO the real difference between us and them is just a matter of degree in power distribution. Usually it comes down to the level of ignorance of the bulk of the people.
Ignorance is most often the motivator for fear et al. Sadly in Aus the ignorance is often wanton, due to indifference.