by Bob McCarty
In recent years, I’ve published too many posts about members of the Armed Forces facing undeserved charges:
First, it was the so-called “Haditha Marines” who faced trumped-up charges, thanks largely to idiots like Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) declaring them guilty before a mainstream media eager to paint them in a bad light.
Next, it was Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna who was wrongly convicted of executing an Iraqi detainee, Ali Mansur, on May 16, 2008, and is now serving a 25-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
Now, I’m following the case of three Navy SEALs facing assault charges related to their capture of Ahmed Hashim Abed. Who is Abed? He’s the alleged planner of the March 2004 ambush, killing and mutilation of four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah, Iraq. The SEALS gave this enemy combatant piece of dirt a fat lip while apprehending him.
As my first investigative reporting effort related to the SEALs’ case, I offer six important facts about the case you’re likely not to read about in the mainstream media supplied to me by a source whom I cannot name inside the Pentagon:
1) The charges or accusations against the three Navy SEALs were not made from within the SEAL community. Sources tell me they came from someone within the Navy’s Master-at-Arm community.
2) The SEALs were presented with the option of going to Captain’s Mast for these charges but declined this form of non-judicial punishment and opted for court-martial instead. Why? Because they did not want to be judged by those outside of the SEAL community and believed the court-martial route would assure them the representation necessary to prove their innocence.
3) At no time did anyone within the Naval Special Warfare community have any control over these accusations or events other than providing advice or guidance to the accused SEALs.
4) The integrity of the chain of custody of the prisoner is at question.
5) There are extenuating circumstances that indicate there is questionable evidence in some of the accusations made.
6) Evidence will come out in a court-martial that might not have come out in a Captain’s Mast in favor of the accused SEALs.
Cross-posted at BobMcCarty.com