Lawmakers have banded together to call for the dismissal of the charges leveled against three Navy SEALs, and they are directing their call to the man who ordered the court martial.
The letter was circulated among members of the House of Representatives by Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind). The letter was sent to its intended recipient, Army Major Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, Commander of the Special Operation Command. The Commander was said to have been the one who ordered the court martial.
This letter is the second from the House of Representatives that had something to do with the charges of assault leveled against the Navy SEALs who captured Ahmed Hashim Abed, touted as one of the most wanted terrorists because of his reported role in the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA guards in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004.
The first one was circulated by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif), which was signed by 33 members of the House and was sent to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The letter called for the Secretary to intervene on behalf of the SEALs.
The letter to Major Gen. Cleveland contained the following statement:
“In our opinion, prosecutorial discretion should have been exercised… Failing that, we respectfully and strongly urge you to exercise your leadership authority, stop the impending court martial and exonerate these men.”
Among the congressmen who affixed their signatures onto both letters were the representatives of the home districts of two of the accused Navy SEALs. One of them is Rep. Bob Latta of the 5th Congressional District of Ohio, which included Perrysburg, the home town of Matthew McCabe.
Reports indicate that both letters are signed only by Republican members.
December 15th, 2009 - 6:39 am
I pray that these charges are dropped! We as americans need to stand up together against this sort of thing!!!!!!
December 15th, 2009 - 6:40 am
Drop the charges! The men were doing their job. We have to quit being the nice guys. We don’t lop off heads, drag bodies through the streets,hang bodies from bridges,dismember bodies, etc.These men are trained to be the best in the world. Let them do their job. Since when does the terrorist have more rights than our own men. Release our Seals and drop all charges.
Terence D. Bibro
Brunswick,Ohio
RA15675798,NG15675798,US Army,
Ohio National Guard
December 15th, 2009 - 7:07 am
Unless you, yourself, have captured and detained someone who doesn’t want to be captured, don’t presume you know how it should be done or what can happen while doing it. Resistance during an arrest should be met with appropriate force to subdue the resistance. No matter your level of training, if you are met by someone who would do you harm to escape capture, your physical and emotional defenses are on high. The restraint used by our police and soldiers during such instances should be commended.
December 15th, 2009 - 10:03 am
So, I take it that most everyone that is so outraged about these guys choosing to go to a court martial don’t mind our military personnel submitting false statements? How will the military function effectively if accurate, factual information is corrupted by false or misleading reports?? If false statements are acceptable, how can any accurate assessment of progress in these wars be made?? The emotional reaction to a terrorist getting punched is outweighing the true issue, commanders absolutely MUST be able to trust the information his troops provide.
December 15th, 2009 - 5:49 pm
These Seals are lucky this BS was brought forward. In these two wars there have been many military prosecuted for Bull Sh_t. We send them to fight then we tie their hands. Only in America! Thank a Yuppy.
December 15th, 2009 - 7:17 pm
Just like the two Border Patrol Agents from Texas who were jailed, Ignacio “Nacho” Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean. These agents were sentenced to 11 and 12 years in prison, respectively, in October 2006 in the nonfatal shooting of a now-convicted Mexican drug smuggler. They have been in federal prison since January 2007. PUNISHED FOR DOING THEIR JOB!!!!!
December 17th, 2009 - 4:52 am
[...] Navy SEALs altogether, very much in the same manner as members of the House of Representatives have written a letter calling for the same. And yet there are those who believe that the SEALs should have their day in [...]
December 17th, 2009 - 10:48 am
This makes me sick, our government makes me sick. Go to war -but do not hurt anyone, their feelings -or their religious beliefs and don’t mention the bible anywhere time or place…
True – Obama doesn’t have the B@^^& to stop it – but even Bush let the BP agents go to jail.
On the other hand – it should never even get to the point where we need the President to step in and do the right thing – what is wrong is ingrained at every level all the way down. The cancer runs deep and it is all making the USA the biggest joke in enemy camp.
IF these guys submitted false reports I am sure it is because they had to for this very reason.
I am no longer in the military – but I do work on a daily basis with our criminal justice system – and I am tired of the criminals having all the rights and they are CITIZENS of this country, so I guess it is a necessary evil but WHY do we give terrorists any rights at all? They are not a uniformed army, the rules does not apply to them, in the same way they do not have to follow the rules. And under no circumstances should our court system apply to them.
Political correctness is killing this country – makes us soft and weak – I’m afraid my son will not grow up to see the same USA that I grew up in and that makes me sicker still. God forbid that my kids have kids….I fear for the life they will have to endure.
December 17th, 2009 - 4:56 pm
This is a bunch of PC crap. We are in real trouble when our service men & women cannot do their job without fear of being chastised, at the least, for doing the job they are trained to do and the job we ask them to do. As a Vietnam Vet I am sick of all this. Come on America, lets get some guts, balls, and backbone back!
December 21st, 2009 - 11:37 am
It is hard to believe that a Maj. General of Special Operations would do such a thing to our Navy Seal’s. Maybe because he’s in the army…..and dreampt of being a Seal. He should be FIRED ! and discharged. These terrorist behead our soldiers on the internet, hang them from bridges and drag them through the streets. I can honestly say that a punch in the face is the least that all these fucking rag head bastards deserve. They choose to fight unconventionaly……navy seals do exactly that! false statements ? give me a fucken break! I think its time for that Maj. General to get punched in the face !then kicked in the balls. (treason!)
Danny Mena
USN Ret. Navy Corpsman/Fleet Marine Force
January 3rd, 2010 - 1:37 am
[...] response of Army Major General Charles T. Cleveland of Special Operations Command Central to the letter sent by Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana and several of his colleagues that call for the dropping of charges against the Navy [...]
February 27th, 2010 - 6:27 am
What in the world is going on? When I returned from Vietnam I and others returning were labeled “Baby Killers”. An attempt to right that wrong was made several years later but the damage was already done. I was drafted and had no choice but to serve, unless I headed for Vancouver as so many others did in that era. The people who serve our country now are volunteers. This begs the question, why do they do it for the ungrateful people of this country? What is next? It is absolutely appalling that a guilty terrorist can turn our military leaders against their own soldiers who captured him simply because he got roughed up a little. I don’t have what it takes to be a Navy SEAL but if I were on that team, that terrorist would have a lot more physical complaints than a punch in the gut or a fat lip. Those SEALS acted with restraint that is commendable, not punishable! We lose, terrorists win. They are laughing at our own stupidity. It’s no wonder they hate us the way they do. At least there is some honor amongst the ranks of the terrorists. They back each other no matter what. I must say that I am embarrassed to have served a country who would do something like this. Shame on our military leaders!