Navy Seals charged for punching terrorist. In a war zone.

[WashingtonBay]

Note: There will evidently be a press conference about this later on today.



CNSNews.com - Nearly 160,000 Sign Petitions Urging Pentagon to Drop Charges Against Navy Seals for Allegedly Punching Terrorist (http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/62250)
Thursday, March 04, 2010
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer


(CNSNews.com) – About 160,000 people have signed a pair of petitions callling on top military commanders to drop the charges brought against three Navy SEALs over the alleged punching of a terroirst in Iraq.

The petitions will be sent to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Maj. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, commanding general of Special Operations Command Central, who ordered the court martial, and to Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of Naval Operations.

The petitions were circulated by the offices of Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), which gained more than 40,000 signatures, and Human Events, the conservatives weekly that gained 118,000 names, said Tara Setmayer, spokeswoman for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.).

Burton and Rohrabacher will be joined by one of the SEALs, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew V. McCabe, 24 of Perrysburg, Ohio, his attorney Neal Puckett, and retired Navy SEAL Capt. Larry Bailey at a Capitol Hill event on Thursday, March 4.

The other two SEALs charged in the case are Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathon E. Keefe, 25, of Yorktown, Va., and Petty Officer 1st Class Julio A. Huertas Jr., 28, of Blue Island, Ill. They are not scheduled to be at Thursday’s gathering.

A military judge moved the trials of Keefe and Huertas to Camp Victory in Baghdad, a military base in Iraq, after defense attorneys asked that their clients be able to face their accusers. McCabe’s attorney, Neal Puckett, did not request that his client be able to face his accuser, thus McCabe’s trial will proceed in Norfolk, Va.

The three SEALs were part of a team that captured Ahmed Hashim Abed, the alleged architect of the murder of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. The bodies of the four Americans were mutilated, burned, and hanged from a bridge over the Euphrates River.

http://media.cnsnews.com/resources/61199.jpg
Plainclothes contractors working for Blackwater USA take part in a firefight in Najaf, Iraq in April 2004. (AP Photo/Gervasio Sanchez, File)


McCabe is charged with assault for allegedly punching Abed in the mid-section, with dereliction of duty for failing to protect Abed, and with making a false statement.

Keefe is charged with dereliction of duty for not protecting the terror suspect and making a false statement. Huertas is charged with dereliction of duty, making a false statement, and impeding an investigation. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.

If convicted, the maximum penalty for all three SEALs would be up to one year of confinement, forfeiture of part of their pay, and a bad conduct discharge. The charges are equivalent to misdemeanor charges, or a special court-martial in military terms. A general court-martial applies to more serious charges, or felonies in civilian standards.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

An interesting angle to this is that these SEALs were first faced with an Article 15 hearing, commonly called a "Captain's Mast", or "Nonjudicial Punishment" (NJP). This is what's typically done for "minor" sorts of violations like this. Like what might happen if you go out and get in a fight in a bar, or something like that.

The SEALs, however, must really believe in their case because (as is their prerogative) they have refused the Article 15 and have insisted on a full Special Courts-Martial. That's heavy, because the punishments by CM can be more severe. Likewise though, and unlike an NJP, a CM can also find a defendant "not guilty". An Article 15 isn't a court and doesn't officially find guilt or innocence, it just metes out some quick punishment for bad behavior, like some days in the brig or something, and a note goes in their record.

By bypassing the Article 15 and insisting on a full Courts-Martial... the SEALs are essentially saying "Oh yeah? Well bring it on..." because they believe that much in their own side of the story.

I fully expect them to be found not-guilty.

[WashingtonBay]

They've got guts... But most of the guys in that job *do*.

I certainly hope they are found not guilty. I find it appalling that any military would have pushed for punishment 'at all'.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I agree. It's ridiculous. If we'd fought WWII like this, Germans would still be running Europe.

[mare]

I agree they should never have been charged. Sure hope the outcome is "not guilty."

[vicklynn]

Hello, ya, its me. While I detest the guy who did this awful act(detest the guy who got punched), I am wondering when he got punched. Now, if it was right after it happened and he(the seal) was pissed, ya dude, go for it. He should be set free. If it was some time afterwards(I dont know the whole story here)then, like a cop would, he should of taken the idiot in to be tried.

Im not saying I like what he did at all, sick bast.... If I had my way, and didnt get caught, hed already be dead. Thats not the story here though.

Rules are rules no matter where we go.
If a cop stopped someone, found out he had a ticket, was a cop killer, ect, he would need to professionally take said person in.

I didnt say I liked the rule, but it is the rule.

So, do any of you think Im a go by the rules book kind of person? I know, its a pain.

I hate that there are certain rules in war. Makes me sick sometimes. This being one of those times.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

[...]I am wondering when he got punched. Now, if it was right after it happened and he(the seal) was pissed, ya dude, go for it. He should be set free. If it was some time afterwards(I dont know the whole story here)then, like a cop would, he should of taken the idiot in to be tried.
[...]


As I understand it, the SEALs are maintaining that they never did it. They captured the guy, and... get this... handed him over as instructed (and in unmolested condition) to the Iraqi police. He was held by them for some days, maybe a couple of weeks, and then the Iraqi police processed him back over to some U.S. detention facility. He never complained about anything until after he got back in U.S. hands again. Then he started whining about how mean to him the SEALs were.

It's in the Al Queda training manual: If you are captured you should immediately begin complaining of mistreatment. Play the western media.

I don't believe him for a minute. If he had any marks on him, I'd say it was more likely they came at the hands of the Iraqi cops... but he doesn't get any mileage out of that in the press, so he makes up some story about the SEALs instead.

Just like the "complaints" that came out of Guantanamo... flushing korans down toilets and such... none of it ever happened. That's just the game they play.

[vicklynn]

Aw gesh...what a lame @ss bunch of bull crud that is. Jerk, I hope he gets his due for that.
Some game.

I hope he ends up somewhere where some seals find him and opsy, what guy.

[rocknK]

I agree. It's ridiculous. If we'd fought WWII like this, Germans would still be running Europe.

And probably here too!!! I thought the idea of a war was to kill so damn many of the enemy in so many horrible ways that they would give up all ideas of ever going to war again! At least in RocknK's world that would be they way it would be!:2cents:

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

And probably here too!!! I thought the idea of a war was to kill so damn many of the enemy in so many horrible ways that they would give up all ideas of ever going to war again! At least in RocknK's world that would be they way it would be!:2cents:

Well... yah... in that vein I pretty much belong to the Willam Tecumseh Sherman school of warfare: War should be so ugly and so repulsive that it becomes something to be avoided at all costs. But when it becomes unavoidable you make war and you make it without thought to the ugliness of it. In fact, you make war with the POINT of making it ugly.

I think he's got a point there.

After 9/11 I saw something written regarding Afghanistan, and I don't know if I can do it justice... but it was something like this:

I want them to fear us, and greatly. I want generations of them to cower in fear when any helicopter or jet flies overhead, for fear that the "mericans" are going to punish them further for wickedness of their forefathers. I want them to tell these stories around their campfires for generations to come... to be afraid of the thunder that comes without weather, if they consider evil thoughts.

[outriding01]

Such a load of BS.... I personally don't give a crud if they did or didn't punch the guy... To be standing trial over it with the threat of those consequences is ridiculous.
Hell, I got in a bar fight Thursday night and punched a girl in the face..... Some guy thought it was awesome and bought me a shot. The end.

[Bessie13]

(From Outriding) ... Hell, I got in a bar fight Thursday night and punched a girl in the face..... Some guy thought it was awesome and bought me a shot. The end.

Oh my, Now I know.. why you get along with ponies so well. :) Ha Ha.. you made my day with that one. Thanks,

[Tiz]

Bar guys always think cat fights are "awesome". Give it a little time for them to organize and they would have a kiddie pool there, filled with mud, so you could really go at it. Entertaining, and classy too, don't you think?


George Patton...can you imagine him playing by our current "Rules of Engagement"? If I had a loved one in a war zone now, I would be down at the local TV station every morning yelling my head off about them.

[vicklynn]

LOL outriding...while I dont agree with fighting, your cat fight in a bar is what guys love...LOL

[IrisGreen]

I think the Navy guys are just trying to keep there jobs. If they would have took the article 15 they would have dicharged them from the Navy mostlikely.

The Navy has very little tollerance for bad behavior. In the past you could get DUI's and even pop a dirty drug test and they would repremand you but you would'nt be kicked out. Now days it's no tollerance the first DUI or bad drug test and you are gone.

The Navy has very high standards of conduct and currently there not recrutting new people. There FULL for the most part so if you get a misconduct they don't tollerate it because there's thousands of people on waiting lists that want to get in.

My husband has been in for 6 years and he even got denied a week ago when he put in for another re-enlistment term because there's not many jobs open right now. He has to change job titles just to find an opening and his record is chalked full of recommendations, awards, perfect evaluations and achievements.

I'm sure the Navy just wanted to make an example that they won't tolerate misconduct or behavior that makes them look like there beating defenseless prisoners. They do have very high standards of conduct and if these guys are lose cannons and can't restrain themselves then they might not be right for that kind of job. The Navy would have dealt with them quietly, given them there benifets and discarged them I'm guessing. Like a "thanks for playing but we can't have lose cannons on are seal team".

Who knows. All I know is the Navy has a no tollerance policy because they can chose from the very best on waiting lists. There's a guy that got a perfect score on the ASVAB, was qualified to do some high tech job like nuclear physicist or missile guidance engineer or something and he's even on a waiting list, that's how full the Navy is right now. So, they will get ride of anyone they feel is a bad seed or can not control themselves under pressure.

I'm not saying I think it's right that these guys might end up in prison for a year for punching that guy but I know how the Navy works, they only want the best qualified people for the job that can handle themselves and not give the Navy a bad reputation for beating prisoners or losing your cool under pressure.

[WashingtonBay]

I respect and admire the high standards of conduct in not just the Navy, but all our armed forces. It is why our troops are worthy of all of our respect.

From the inside, they can be as hard on these guys as they want to be. That's their right, and their business, and those seals, as much as anyone signed on to that.

But from the outside, I don't want to see the troops that we send in to the most dangerous places in the world, to fight the most dangerous people, put on trial in the public square for minor judgments and second guessing about 'handling'. To warrant this kind of scrutiny, you'd think the man was killed in custody, or rendered disabled by crippling injuries from his mistreatment. Not a split lip.

In this, I support the men who were there, over the political brass who were not. This never should have been brought this far.

[IrisGreen]

True, I agree with you. This never should have been brought this far. It wouldn't have been but the guys lied, covered it up, and closed ranks to protect the seal that through the punch. Then they wonder why the Navy is coming down on them when it could have been nothing to start out with but now it's a loyalty issue.


Another possible reason to bring these guys up on charges is loyalty, not to the guy that lost his cool and trough a punch but to your superiors and to the rules of conduct you should serve. It's like cops and there "blue wall". They protect a bad cop just because he's a fellow cop and that's wrong. They should uphold there rules of conduct and get rid of the bad cop not tighten ranks and protect him from justice.

The Navy wants loyalty to there standards first, not some guy that cant hold his fist and now the whole unit is covering for him, lieing, and tightened ranks to protect him from the rules that each of them swore to uphold.

It's a lesson that needs to be enforced to remind them where there loyalty should lie and gathering ranks against your superiors is not how the Navy is run and wont be tolerated. You should be loyal to your service, your duty, your countrys standards of conduct, not the guy on your team that wasn't.

I'm still not saying this is right, I think it should have never gone this far but I'm just voicing a different view on the possible reasons why the Navy even set out to reprimand these guys in the first place.

[WashingtonBay]

True, I agree with you. This never should have been brought this far. It wouldn't have been but the guys lied, covered it up, and closed ranks to protect the seal that through the punch. Then they wonder why the Navy is coming down on them when it could have been nothing to start out with but now it's a loyalty issue.

It's my understanding that if you plead not guilty or defend yourself at all in your statements, you're charged with the 'giving false statements' charge and the 'impeding the investigation' charge. They are 'pile it on' charges. It's an automatic, then, if you're convicted, you must have given false statements and impeded the investigation.

closed ranks to protect the seal that through the punch

If anyone [threw] a punch.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Or... maybe they didn't do it.

[vicklynn]

Or... maybe they didn't do it.
Exactly!

[rocknK]

What a terrible waste of manpower! Shouldn't them Seals be doing what Seals do, instead of waiting around for trials???

[natisha]

If I remember this case correctly, the guy was caught, initially turned over to the Iraqi forces & while there stated the Americans hit him. He was fine when turned over but when he came back he had the fat lip. Speculation is he did it to himself.
They have learned what to say to get attention & claiming American brutality does it every time. Beheadings are OK though? :rolleyes:

[Sundays Man]

What's lame, what's pathetic and what's sickening is the fact that there is ANYONE in our ranks that would even listen to him OR, for that matter, even CARE what they did to the maggot. It scares me to death what this country has come to. What these SEALS are accused of doing was being done to our own recruits every day prior to the late 70's. I've had my share of bruises from DI's at Paris Island and never even thought to call my mommie and cry about it. They were generally pretty careful not to leave marks, but sometimes they did. A blow to the midsection is laughable. I agree with Vick, they should have shot him between the eyes and been put in for a medal. These terrorist pukes know exactly how to play the game with the bleeding heart liberal leadership and it works. Sad, sad state of affairs.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

A cheery update on the Navy seals story. This is the first of the three, and a good start. Shame on us for bringing charges in the first place.

------------

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/04/22/seal-trial-jury-deliberates-iraqi-abuse-case/

US military jury clears SEAL in Iraq abuse case


Associated Press

BAGHDAD




BAGHDAD (AP) — A U.S. military jury cleared a Navy SEAL Thursday of failing to prevent the beating of an Iraqi prisoner suspected of masterminding a 2004 attack that killed four American security contractors.

The contractors' burned bodies were dragged through the streets and two were hanged from a bridge over the Euphrates river in the former insurgent hotbed of Fallujah, in what became a turning point in the Iraq war.

The trial of three SEALs, the Navy's elite special forces unit, in the abuse case has outraged many Americans who see it as coddling terrorists.

A six-man jury found Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas, 29, of Blue Island, Illinois, not guilty of charges of dereliction of duty and attempting to influence the testimony of another service member. The jury spent two hours deliberating the verdict.

"It's a big weight off my shoulders," a smiling and composed Huertas said as he left the courthouse at the U.S. military's Camp Victory on Baghdad's western outskirts.

"Compared to all the physical activity we go through, this has been mentally more challenging."

Huertas said he plans now to continue with his military career and "to go home and kiss my wife."

Huertas was the first of three SEALS to face a court-martial for charges related to the abuse incident and the verdict was a major blow to the government's case. All three SEALs could have received only a disciplinary reprimand, but insisted on a military trial to clear their names and save their careers.

The trial stems from an attack on four Blackwater security contractors who were driving through the city of Fallujah west of Baghdad in early 2004. The images of the bodies hanging from the bridge drove home to many the rising power of the insurgency and helped spark a bloody U.S. invasion of the city to root out the insurgents later that year.

The Iraqi prisoner who was allegedly abused, Ahmed Hashim Abed, testified Wednesday on the opening day of the trial that he was beaten by U.S. troops while hooded and tied to a chair.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Kevin DeMartino, who was assigned to process and transport the prisoner and is not a SEAL, testified he saw one SEAL punch the prisoner in the stomach and watched blood spurt from his mouth. Huertas and the third SEAL were in the narrow holding-room at the time of the incident, he added.

But defense attorneys tried to cast doubt on the beating claims, showing photographs of Abed after the alleged beating in which he had a visible cut inside his lip but no obvious signs of bruising or injuries anywhere else.

In her closing arguments, Huertas' civilian attorney Monica Lombardi pointed to inconsistencies between DeMartino's testimony and nearly every other Navy witness. She also reminded the jury of the terrorism charges against Abed, who is in Iraqi custody and has not yet been tried, saying he could not be trusted and may have inflicted wounds on himself as a way of casting blame on American troops.
"There was no abuse," Lombardi said. "This is classic terrorist training."

After the verdict, Lombardi said the jurors told her they had made their ruling because there were too many inconsistencies in the case and that they did not believe the prisoner.

Prosecutors refused to comment after the verdict, but in his closing argument Lt. Cmdr. Jason Grover said the SEALs were itching for payback for the killings of the Blackwater guards — two of whom were former SEALs — and that now the elite unit had "circled the wagons."

The court-martial of Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe, of Yorktown, Virginia, who is also charged with dereliction of duty on allegations he failed to safeguard the prisoner, is scheduled to begin Friday also at Camp Victory.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe, of Perrysburg, Ohio, the SEAL charged with assaulting Abed, is scheduled to be court-martialed May 3 in Virginia, where the three men are based.

[mare]

I was glad to catch this on the net news. Hope this is a good indication for what the other two may expect.

[natisha]

I was so happy to hear this.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Another update breaking now: The second Navy Seal has been found not guilty in his court martial.

Woohoo! Two down, one to go.

:happydance:

[miatapony]

about time good news for two ..one more....

[vicklynn]

Good news for sure!

[WashingtonBoy]

:banana:

[rocknK]

The prosecution has rested in the trial of the third Seal, I'm hoping the result is the same as the two other trials!

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I heard the trial was starting yesterday, seating the jury and whatnot. Thoughts and prayers are with this SEAL. I hope it comes out the same as the others. But you never know... different juries... anything can happen.

That it's happening at all is a travesty of justice.

[natisha]

Found not guilty!!!!!

[rocknK]

Found not guilty!!!!!

That is so cool, maybe now those Seals can get back to kickin' butt instead of defending themselves in court!

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Really?? Way cool. doing my happy dance now.

:)

[miatapony]

YES so were not a tottal LOSS then YES!!!