Maj. Gen. Charles Cleveland, the Commander for the Special Operations Command Central, already gave his response to the letter sent by Rep. Dan Burton and several of his colleagues in Congress. The letter from Rep. Burton had been sent to call for the dropping of charges against the Navy SEALs.
Even with the explanation provided by Cleveland in his letter, which described the media coverage on the charging of the Navy SEALs as “incomplete and factually inaccurate,” Burton reiterates that he still “strongly disagree(s)” with the decision to pursue the case against the SEALs.
Burton specifically mentions Cleveland’s admission that the injuries sustained by Ahmed Hashim Abed were “relatively minor and certainly pale in comparison to the brutality of the crimes that he helped perpetrate”. To this, Burton expresses that “it seems to me that the punishment still far exceeds the crime,” adding further that “prosecutorial discretion should have been exercised”.
Burton discussed two points in his response, the first pertaining to the fact mentioned by Cleveland that it was not simply Abed’s accusations that led to the charges; accusations were reportedly raised by fellow U.S. service personnel as well. The accusations, Burton counters, “strongly suggests that we have created a culture within our Armed Forces where our military personnel are now more concerned about protecting themselves from legal jeopardy for every action or statement, than they are about fighting the enemy”. Burton also adds: “Our troops and these SEALs need to be bold and decisive in combat; not hesitant and over-thinking every action for fear of prosecution.”
He then goes on to make his second point – that “the American people are outraged by the courts-martial of individuals who should be hailed as heroes”.
The trial dates for Navy SEALs Matthew McCabe and Julio Huertas were set for this month.
January 5th, 2010 - 4:07 am
This statement hit home with me and it should with you – in the words of Col Jessep (a few good men): ” Col. Jessep: Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.”
January 6th, 2010 - 5:46 am
I agree completely with Rep. Burton. Navy Seals prosecution, NYC terror trial, undermining CIA – I think 2010 is going to be rough year for our military.
You may be interested in the following article I wrote – it relates to what you are talking about. I put it up on WeThePeople and have included a comment that I received that is telling.
American Soldiers – Tortured Duty & Tortured Mission: Families that honor military service are spread.. http://bit.ly/4UYv6r
Reply by Guardian 21 hours ago
I wept reading this article. I am married to a Marine. My family and I struggle with the issues in this article on a daily basis. My Marine tells me he’s ready to take a stand against domestic threats to the US Constitution, but there has to be someone to take the lead. The military follows a strict chain of command and there simply has not been anyone high enough on that chain for our service men and women to follow. I can only hope that someone up on that chain can muster up the same courage that is expected out of the men and women they send to war. Thank you…
January 7th, 2010 - 9:31 am
I can totally relate with the notion that the SEAL’s have to protect their own ass first and that they are fearful of making mistakes.
Well, I am a retired police officer and during my career, I, along with most, if not all of my colleagues, were on many occassions somewhat fearful of making certain decisions because of the level of CIVIL LITIGATION AS WELL AS AS YOUR OWN DEPARTMENT NOT BACKING YOU.
If local, state and federal agencies do not look out for their own, there may be future deficiencies in our military population.
This scenario with the SEALS is laughable. I cannot even believe that it has drawn the attention that it has. Sadly, our adversaries, especially those in theater, are watching this very closely.
January 9th, 2010 - 2:21 pm
i’m curious as to what type of tool will be used to pull Clevelands nose out of obamas fanny when obama loses the next election.
March 4th, 2010 - 12:05 pm
We have become so politically correct that we will not bend to do the right thing in a case such as this. We are sending the wrong message to our troops. Cases such as this will deter young people from joining the military where there is no room for making even the slightest mistake. This whole case of procesuting these heroic men is an OBAMAination. The military command structure needs to use its own common sense discretion, and not the Socialist administrations policies in a case such as this. The public is outraged at this effort to further prosecute these American military heroes. Give them a break, they deserve it.
March 5th, 2010 - 11:23 am
I am a disabled veteran marine. I believe general cleveland should retire as a total asshole. he has no credability with the men who serve. how can any soldier trust charlir the ass again. who has decided that war is politically correct. it is WAR you kill your enmey not give them an award. has cleveland not heard of rag heads lying.
April 25th, 2010 - 7:12 pm
[...] is said that one should be thankful for what you have and make it work. That, however, is not what Rep. Dan Burton, known supporter of the Navy SEALs who were slapped with assault charges against a wanted prisoner, [...]