Friday, March 05, 2010

The SEALS

The Good,

Boned Jello

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.
The Bad
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.
The Barn Army's R.W. Forsythe forwarded this in an e-mail; I found the entire text here.  I figure most of you are aware of this case - it's not the sort of thing you forget.   Today the WaTimes editorializes, "You're for the SEALs, or you're for the terrorists."  It's black & white.  You're either disgusted by this, or you're someone who's dead to me.  

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

You left out the ugly. Pelosi comes to mind.
Tim

Anonymous said...

Meanwhile in the third level of Hell, Congressman Jim Murtha looses the grip on his boulder and is crushed again as it rolls back down the hill to the lake of fire.

SFAOV Sgsaur said...

Tim, the Ugly in this case isn't Pelosi. The Ugly in this case are the traitor POS's in Command and the JAG lawyers that are prosecuting these SEALs. I'd say more, but my ability to hold back profanity is fading fast.

BruHa said...

Officers ignored the Ft. Hood shooter because of PC, and are now trying to throw our finest on the pointy end of the spear, under the bus because Mohamed might have gotten a boo boo.

Glad these guys asked for a court martial. They called the Navy's Bluff. It all goes on the record now. It is my understanding that the the Court Martial is as much for the protection of the Sailor/Solder as it is a prosecution tool for the armed services. The Court Martial Board has the ability to clear the defendants even if they are guilty of the charges by reason of the surrounding circumstances. It also prevents a commanding officer from throwing around NJP at whim. ( I am pretty sure that once a CM is asked for the charges cant be dropped or there is a big ugly review /mess on the hands of the person that charged the individual. Any one with JAG expertise please correct if I am wrong)

(Any one a Nelson DeMille Reader? Cant remember what book he did about a Court Martial Case.)

Chuck Martel said...

There is no reason why the Convening Authority of the Special or General Court(s) Martial can't dismiss the charges against the Accuseds (yes, that really is a word). My bet is it isn't the JAGs at the trial level who are pushing this.

Most likely it's some gutless flag officer or some O-6 who wants to be a flag who is so hot and bothered by this.

Actual said...

Word of Honor by Nelson DeMille.

One of my favorites.

Anonymous said...

Who ever turned these HEROS in would not have made it through the night in VietNam. They would have been FRAGED.

Frank

BruHa said...

Actual,

Thanks for the brain refresh. It was a great book, read it many years ago. Great insight on how, as Chuck said, "Convening Authority of the Special or General Court(s) Martial".

First DeMille I ever read was Charm School almost 20 years ago and have been a fan ever since. Think I read most of his stuff. I highly recommended his work.

JMcD said...

Freak Alley

pdwalker said...

The one how made the charges is the one who should be facing a trial, and then a proper hanging.

Anonymous said...

The first person I thought of was Joe Sestak, former Navy captain, now PA rep.
He appeard on Fox News and stated the Obangi health care legislation would reduce the deficit. !?!?!???
He has lost all contact with reality. [and with telling lies to advance one's career]
And somehow he reached that rank... Sez something about our promo boards, no?
tomw

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