The Colombian military and "false positives"

The Colombian government has fired 27 army officers, including three generals, for being involved in the murders of civilians, who were then dressed up to look like guerrillas. The point of such murders was to increase the guerrilla body count, for which soldiers would receive benefits. These are euphemistically referred to as "false positives." There are several very positive outcomes of this action.

First, since the purge included soldiers of all ranks, it sends a signal--that will likely need to be repeated--that this sort of thing won't be tolerated at any level.

Second, the soldiers are going to be tried in civilian, not military courts. This is important because the latter are beyond civilian control and typically much more lenient.

Third, the army is now going to measure success through demobilizations and captures. Better late than never.

Fourth, Uribe is finally admitting that such actions take place, whereas up to now he's been denying it. No doubt that such denials contributed even more to the overall sense of impunity.