Not everyone has heard yet the story of the three Navy SEALs being court marshaled for allegedly “hitting” a terrorist in Iraq. Here is their story:
“It makes me happy when hearing about a terrorist detainee getting a split lip, courtesy of a Navy SEAL who captured him. Especially when the detainee is the accused brains behind the grisly ambush of four U.S. contractors in Fallujah in 2004, their bodies burned inside their vehicle, dragged through the streets by a chanting mob, then hanged from a Euphrates River bridge. The cruel episode was photographed and posted online as a warning to the Big Bad West: Thus to our enemies. If, as the government claims, Ahmed Hashim Abed is the guy behind the horror, he should thank Allah he has survived long enough to be able to accuse one of his captors of punching him in the stomach. Or the face.” (courtesy of reader Rhonda Ringstad)
Petty Officer 1st class Julio Huertas, 28, pleaded not guilty to charges of dereliction, impeding an investigation and lying to investigators. Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe of Yorktown, 25, is charged with dereliction and lying. These two SEALs will face the man they “hit” in a trial now set in Camp Victory, Iraq on April 5th.
A third SEAL, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe, 24, deferred a plea on charges of hitting a detainee, dereliction of duty and lying to investigators.
The SEALs are attracting much support in the form of 350,000 members on a Facebook pages and protestors at the court house. The mother of one of the slain contractors drove from Ohio to offer the men “everything I can give them.”
I personally feel that this situation is ridiculous. From now on, every captured terrorist will cry that he has been “mistreated.” Do terrorists have that kind of consideration for their victims? Hell, no. Let’s stop wasting government money taking our warriors to court for doing their job and rounding up the scum of the earth. Please show your support for these three Navy SEALs by signing a petition online and/or writing your congressman and senator.
My thanks,
Marliss Melton
Navy SEALs Series Team Twelve
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You’re loosing your grip on reality.. Remember what is being fought for: Freedom. Human Rights.
Like it or not, but we’re not living in Biblical times, the motto an eye for an eye does not apply.
And if our captives aren’t given their basic human rights, one of which is “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
(http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/)
And yes, the USA is a member of the UN and therefore the Declaration of Human Rights does apply, even to members of the military.
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Marliss, It seems as if you’ve forgotten what makes America different. We are better than the terrorists. We don’t torture because Americans don’t do that. We don’t take advantage of people in prison or being interrogated because we are better people than that.
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Torturing Terrorists means electrocuting them and shooting them in the knees.
THE MAN GOT A SPLIT LIP, which he probably provoked by squirming and trying to get away as he was carried into the jail cell.
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Mariliss. I am totally on board with you – have even blogged about this horrible miscarriage of justice against our fighting men who lay so much on the line.
What some people don’t seem to understand is that every time the US government validates a claim like this from a terrorist, it feeds into their jihad platform. Terrorists have NO regard for human life or human rights. They use women and children as human IEDs, they bomb schools for shock value. And we are giving credence to a claim that the mastermind of a horrible atrocity against Americans got a boo boo on his lip? Come on. WE are not the bad guys here.
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Thank you, Cindy. If we validate this terrorist’s claims, every terrorist on the planet will cry the same thing, and we’ll be pulling our special ops guys off duty, spending thousands of American dollars to try them, while the terrorist with the little cut on his lip laughs to himself.
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Did you see where the trial for 2 of the guys is being moved to Iraq? Can you imagine the expense the SEALS will personally incur if they want to call witnesses for their defense? And yes, if they need a witness from the US, THEY have to cover the cost of getting them there.
I’m sick at heart over this entire debacle.
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How ’bout they just give the man a Band-Aid and apologize? It would save a lot of money now and a lot of head ache later when this same ridiculous phenomenon happens over and over again….
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It’s all so very, very sad. I love my country. I love what we stand for. and yes, human rights is pivotal to our way of life but these Jihadists have NO regard for our values, and therefore have no rights under our law. People who think otherwise need to take off the PC blinders and get real. I recommend Vince Flynn’s Extreme Measures. Not only a GREAT read but an eye opening insight into the Jihadist’s mind set. Chilling.
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Cindy, I just love Vince Flynn. His books have really solidified the way I feel about terrorists and the brave men who go after them. I just finished ACT OF TREASON, and it rocked, one of my favorites!
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Only one thing and then I’ll shut up. In the newspaper accounts I read, one of the SEALS punched the terrorist–whom I agree is a terrible evil, person–in the stomach. No mention of a split lip. Another charge against them is failure to report the incident. Why, Marisa, if this is so innocent, didn’t you mention the real charges and the real injury?
I really am insulted, Cindy, by your saying I wear PC blinders because I have a different point of view. Surely as patriots, we can agree to disagree.
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Monica, I’m sorry you felt insulted and absolutely, you are free to disagree, just as I am free to state that if we do not understand that every jihadist’s sole reason for living is to kill Americans and anyone who believes in human rights, then, sweetie, you are not seeing the picture clearly. Sadly, there are too many among us who actually think we can sit down and reason with them. It’s never going to happen. They don’t want to reason. They want us dead.
To place these SEALS, who risk their lives on a daily basis, in this position JUST for doing their jobs and protecting our lives so that WE don’t have to endure yet another terrorist attack on OUR soil, is beyond unforgivable.
Truly, check out the Vince Flynn books. They opened my eyes but good to the ‘jihadist’ mind set. There is no reasoning and no talking with them. They are religious zealots of the worst kind, and no American would ever survive their imprisonment with something as minor as a split lip or whatever boo boo they got, let a lone a trial for alleged abuse of a prisoner. These SEALS deserve medals, not trials.
BTW – it takes a lot to get me to speak out publicly on an issue that straddles the line of political rhetoric but this, this is just too important to ignore.
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Ok, so what you’re saying is that, as long as we’re fighting an evil person, we are allowed to disregard the laws?
Cool. I happen to think my ex is evil. He beat me and kicked me. Can I legally beat him up now? Or can I kill him, in case he tries to do it again? Can I “teach him a lesson” by hurting his family by either killing or injuring one of his family member? Can I put a padlock on his door and force him to stay inside and decide what does and does not enter his house (food, water, medication,…)
Is that all ok because he is an evil person?
Because that’s your argument. Because they’re terrorists, we can do whatever we wish with them. Except… Has it been proven that the beaten up man really is a terrorist? By a court?
You can not measure the same deed with different scales. You can not say “if it’s done to a terrorist it is ok” just like you can not say “If it’s done to a black man it is ok” or “If it’s done to a woman it is ok.” or “If it’s done to someone who doesn’t have the right to vote, it is ok”
It is never ok. It is never right. The ends never justify the means. Never.
If we let this happen once we will let it happen again, and if we do it for a good reason we will soon do it for a bad reason and for no reason at all.
We have a justice system. We need to use it. If we don’t use it for the soldiers, why use it for the civilians?
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Cindy is right. Everyone will have their own opinion about this. I agree with Nicole and Monica in that we should not torture or cold-bloodedly kill the enemy. I just think, in this situation, we are going too far to court martial the SEALs in question. The men did not torture their prisoner. They should be reprimanded for splitting his lip (and lying to cover it up) but not a single one of us has walked in these men’s footsteps nor understands the hostility that they face on a day-to-day basis. I think we should be more understanding. For a split lip, let there be extra duty or the equivalent of community service. We all know there are civilians who do far worse damage than splitting a fellow-man’s lip, and they walk away free. I say, let the punishment fit the crime.
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Oh, Nicole, of course I don’t condone violence. I hate it. I hate what happened to you and to anyone who’s been a victim of a violent crime. And I truly hate that we must send our young people, our sons and daughters, into harm’s way, have them do their job and then be forced to face the prospect of a court martial for doing it.
With all due respect, you’re argument pertains to a legal system set in place to protect law abiding American citizens. The man these SEALS captured is neither law abiding nor a US citizen. To refresh: Ahmed Hashim Abed is a KNOWN terrorist, in addition to being the accused brains behind the grisly ambush of four U.S. contractors in Fallujah in 2004. The contractors were protecting a convoy when they were attacked by Iraqi insurgents. Their bodies were burned inside their vehicle, dragged through the streets then hanged from a Euphrates River bridge. The cruel episode was photographed and posted online as a warning to the all Infidels. That’s us.
To suggest that this man be allowed a day in court, is, in itself, a travesty because he HAS no sense of justice. Yet our SEALS must face trial? Where is the justice in that?
So sorry. We will, apparently, not see eye to eye on this one.
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I wish I had your eloquence, Cindy. And, Nicole, I definitely see your point. I’ve been on the receiving end of a monster, myself. If I had split his lip in self defense, I wouldn’t have been treated like a criminal, though, because I’d have been acting in self defense. That’s what our SEALs are doing for us. They’re defending us from monsters. But you are welcome to stand for what you believe in. That’s the great thing about this country.
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If they truly acted in self defence they will not be found guilty! That’s the whole point of putting them before court. That’s why it’s so important to go through the motions, of doing it fairly and equally and without exceptions. So nobody can say “They put our people in front of court and they don’t put their own people in front of court.” so nobody can say America has double standards.
If you could take away basic human rights from terrorists, what would stop you from taking them away from anyone else?
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Cindy, the legal system I’m talking about is based on the UN human rights. They don’t just apply to law abiding Americans, they apply to all human beings. And by signing the charter America recognises them, which means America recognises that all human beings, regardless of race, colour, sex, religious beliefs,… have the same, basic human rights. Even if they are terrorists they still have human rights. There are no exceptions.
I’m not saying let the terrorists walk free. I’m really not. But they need to have a fair trial so nobody can step up afterwards and say they were treated unfairly, and if they had been treated fair they would not have been found guilty.
What they did was terrible. They should be punished for it. But not by individuals. Not without a trial.
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Excuse me?? This pond-scum, low-life terrorist got a split lip…. and in response we are persecuting 3 American heroes??
That’s right….. “HEROES”. These guys risk everything they have in service to our country. They capture someone who is a huge, huge threat to every American. We in turn get all whiney because they slapped up a terrorist. Nice message we are sending.
Personally, I wish I could given this guy a couple punches to the head and a well placed kick to the groin. I would feel no guilt whatsoever.
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Steve, I sincerely hope you’re not in a position to do that. I also hope you are not involved in the military in any way.
Innocent until _proven_ guilty.
Or would you like that to be changed? then you could land yourself in a situation where you’re being beaten up without a trial and your perpetrator would get a medal? Or would you like it to be changed for non americans only? Non white americans? Non christian americans?