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Old 02-21-2010, 07:04 PM
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Cool 5 potential witnesses could support seals accused of abuse

5 POTENTIAL WITNESSES COULD SUPPORT SEALS ACCUSED OF ABUSE
Source: Virginia Pilot
Published: 02/20/2010 Author: Kate Wiltrout
Posted On: February 21, 2010 at 7:49 AM By: Kathy
NORFOLK Five sailors could offer testimony contradicting the government’s main witness in the controversial prosecution of three Navy SEALs accused of mistreating a suspected Iraqi terrorist. But whether they’ll take the stand is in question after the government denied their requests for immunity on Friday. Attorney Charles Gittins represents the five potential witnesses, including two officers who led the SEAL detachment that captured Ahmed Hashim Abed in Fallujah in September. Abed is the alleged mastermind of the murders of four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah in 2004. Gittins said his clients’ testimony would be inconsistent with some or all of the statements made by Petty Officer 3rd Class Kevin Demartino, the Navy master-at-arms who claimed to have seen a SEAL hit Abed while he was being held in a U.S. detainee facility after his capture. “If your intent is to have a fair trial, they are witnesses you’d want to hear from,” Gittins said. Monica Lombardi, who is defending one of the accused SEALs, said the government’s decision not to grant immunity to key defense witnesses raises questions about the “fundamental fairness” of the process. “They contradict a lot of what the government is alleging as having happened,” Lombardi said. “Where is the government going with this case, and how are they going to ensure the accused’s right to a fair trial?” The prosecutions of Matthew McCabe, Jonathan Keefe and Julio Huertas, all assigned to SEAL Team 10 in Virginia Beach, have drawn widespread criticism, political heat and demonstrations outside the Norfolk base. The cases are being handled locally, but the decision to press charges was made by Maj. Gen. C.T. Cleveland, head of Special Operations Command Central. Cleveland did so after the SEALs declined administrative punishment, which could have compromised their careers in special warfare. McCabe, a petty officer second class, is charged with assault, making a false statement and dereliction of duty. Lombardi’s client, Petty Officer 1st Class Huertas, is charged with impeding an investigation, making a false statement and dereliction of duty, while Petty Officer 2nd Class Keefe faces charges of dereliction of duty and making a false statement. Lombardi said she will consider asking the military judge overseeing Huertas’ case to “abate” the proceeding, a ruling that could force the government to either grant immunity or drop the charges. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 8 in Norfolk. Eugene Fidell, a lawyer and president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said abatements are rare. “Although it can be done, it’s a tall order,” Fidell said.
http://www.gatheringofeagles.org/vie...481732201.html
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  #2  
Old 02-21-2010, 07:58 PM
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I wasn't there when it happened, but it is mighty difficult to feel much sympathy for Ahmed Abed...
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Old 02-28-2010, 05:11 PM
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Have we abused Political Correctness?





Symptoms of Corrupting Sickness





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It would be interesting to create a poll with these two photos and have people guess what's happening.


I suspect that most would never assume anything close to the real story. It appears to be a joyous homecoming, a reuniting of mother and son. The truth is not so heart warming.



The lady in the picture is the mother of an American that was ambushed in Fallujah, Iraq . Her son was murdered. His body was dragged around in the streets of the city, then burned and hung from the upper trusses of a bridge. The murderers gathered to celebrate and have their photos taken with the trophy.



The young sailor in the picture is one of the Navy SEALs that later captured the leader of the band of terrorist butchers and brought him to justice.



If the story ended there, it would still be an acceptable feel-good, good-guys-win story. Unfortunately, that's not the case - this Navy SEAL is facing criminal charges.



Because, somewhere along the timeline of his capture, the terrorist murderer suffered a school-yard fat lip, his captors are now being charged with nothing short of war crimes and facing discharge and imprisonment.



So, instead of celebration of justice served and heroes honored, these photos record betrayal, compounded mourning and the effects of a corrupting sickness.





; : SEALs assault case goes to court NORFOLK, Va. - "It's been very stressful," said Navy SEAL Mathew McCabe, 24, moments after his arraignment in military court at Naval Station Norfolk Monday on charges that he allegedly mistreated an Iraqi detainee.


The mother of slain Blackwater guard Jerry Zovko drove from Ohio to give each of the accused SEALs a blessed rosary and lend them her support. "These young SEALs are in this situation because they caught the mastermind behind the death of my son, and not only my son and his co-workers but also the marines who went into Fallujah after their death," said Donna Zovko. "I am very proud of these young SEALs and thankful to them. They did not do anything wrong."



May I ramble a bit? Think out loud, so to speak? I'm trying to make some sense of this. What title can I give to the mentality of a people that send their best to defend the whole and then betray them? To what shall I attribute the attitude of a people that habitually prosecute their heroes while defending their enemies? What creates a culture that allows people to vilify and isolate their most noble and deify their most corrupt?



I perceive more symptoms of a sickness, a corruption of the nation's heart and soul. I am tempted to label it 'liberalism' or 'progressivism', but those too are just symptoms of the infection. But this is nothing new, I recognized these symptoms four decades ago in the shameful treatment of our warriors returning from Vietnam, in the acceptance of Marines bombed in Beirut, in the ho-hum yawn of media coverage of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down), in the return to mental numbness after 9/11, prosecution of the Marines of Haditha, assault of recruiters across the country, anti-war protesters at the gates of Walter Reed Army Hospital...



This sickness, this infection has gone untreated for far too long. Americans are a tolerant bunch. We've patiently waited for the ingrates among us to grow up and develop a sense of pride and awe in the greatness of America. It's not happening.



I'm tired of waiting. I'm fresh out of tolerance. There comes a time when the treatment for an infection cannot be postponed any longer, lest the patient die. Through history how many nations have habitually betrayed their defenders and survived?



Donna and I left our home at 4:00am, Monday morning and drove to Norfolk . We were in the company of four other patriots from the Raleigh area:>>





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Don Gray of Military Appreciation Day and NC Gathering of Eagles.

Patrick Holbrook, NC Gathering of Eagles.
Russell Pope, NCFreedom.us

Randy Dye, Randy's Right Blog and NCFreedom.us



We joined a hundred or more others at Gate 5 of the Norfolk Naval Base to demonstrate support for Navy SEAL Mathew McCabe.



Here are my photos.>>




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Above: I met the SEAL's father, Marty McCabe.


After the arraignment hearings, McCabe came out to meet his supporters.>>




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Above: McCabe and Jim Deihl, Gathering of Eagles>>


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Thanks to Pat, Don, Randy and Russ for riding with us.
Thanks to Russ and Randy for photos.

And Thank You Mathew McCabe for your service to our country.


KEEP THIS GOING PEOPLE DO NOT LET IT STOP ANY WHERE UNTIL IT HAS BEEN AROUND THE WORLD TO EVERY TRUE AMERICAN. "Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking"

http://www.supportourseals.com/index.php?page=5

Sorry, I didn't get the pictures.

Joy
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Old 03-29-2010, 12:17 PM
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Case against 3 SEALs weakens

Rowan Scarborough

Cracks are beginning to appear in the military's prosecution of three Navy SEALs accused of striking a most-wanted terrorism suspect they had captured in Iraq.

Maj. Gen. Charles Cleveland last week signed grants of immunity for five Navy colleagues of the accused.

Some of those five, three enlisted men and two officers, are expected at trial to flatly contradict the prosecution's key witness, according to a Navy source close to the case, which centers on the September 2009 capture of Ahmed Hashim Abed.

The witness, the master-at-arms at the base in Anbar province where the captured terrorist was brought, told investigators that he saw Abed being struck by one SEAL. One of the immunized witnesses identified by the master-at-arms for corroboration is not expected to support his testimony. The military has not released witness statements.

In addition, the defense has requested that the judge order the government to turn over the name of the Army officer who interrogated Abed once he was brought to Baghdad, where he remains in custody on order of an Iraqi judge. The disclosure would mean that defense attorneys may call him as a witness to testify about Abed's appearance after he left the SEALs' custody.

A judge has ruled that the military must produce Abed as a witness for courts-martial, scheduled to be conducted in Baghdad perhaps as early as next month. Defense attorneys, in front of a military jury, can expose Abed's history as the suspected mastermind of the 2004 Fallujah atrocity that left the bodies of U.S. contractors hanging mutilated on a bridge.

The master-at-arms told investigators that Abed was punched in the gut by Special Operations Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe. Petty Officer McCabe denies hitting Abed.

"We're pleased about the immunity grants," said Neal Puckett, Petty Officer McCabe's attorney. "They allow witnesses who have favorable testimony to testify."

At some point during Abed's captivity that first day, blood appeared inside his lip. The Navy source said, "All these al Qaeda guys are trained to injure themselves and claim they were tortured."

Two other SEALs on the mission, Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe, are charged with providing false statements, as is Petty Officer McCabe.

In another win for the defense, a military judge ruled last week that the prosecution may not use Petty Officer Keefe's statement that he did not see Abed struck. The judge said investigators did not advise Petty Officer Keefe that he could remain silent.

U.S. Central Command, where Gen. Cleveland oversees special operations forces, filed official charges in October. The assault charge against Petty Officer McCabe stated that the SEAL did "unlawfully strike Ahmad Hashim Abed in the midsection with his fist."

The false statement charge states that Petty Officer McCabe told a Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigator, "I did not assault nor did I see anyone assault or abuse" Abed.

Petty Officer McCabe says that statement is true. At a rally Saturday in Scottsdale, Ariz., to raise legal funds, he announced that he had passed an independent lie-detector test on the question, "Did you strike Abed?"

A statement on Mr. Puckett's Web site says, "These terrorists are trained to claim abuse despite no physical evidence of such. More importantly, they know the powerful influence of our mainstream media and legal system and are using these facets as tools against us. This tactic with resulting media attention is effective in causing our heroes to question their training and decisions, placing their missions, lives and our security in jeopardy."

The military's decisions to charge the SEALs who took a suspected terrorist off the streets has stirred protests from some members of Congress and ordinary Americans.

A Facebook page, "Support the Navy SEALs who Captured Ahmed Hashim Abed," has attracted nearly 120,000 members. Another Facebook page, "Americans United Against the Prosecution of 3 Navy SEALs," has nearly 265,000 members.

When the SEALs brought the captured Abed back to Camp Schwedler in September, they had executed a perfect mission. Based on an intelligence report on Abed's whereabouts, they surprised him while he slept in his bed, marched him back to their helicopter and evacuated the area without firing a shot.

The U.S. command in Iraq has refused to provide details on Abed except to say that he is being held.

Gen. Cleveland wrote to members of Congress saying his decision to charge the SEALs was influenced by evidence that they tried to cover up a suspected assault.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...weakens/print/
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