Trial Date Set for Navy SEALs

AP.March 31, 2004: Iraqis chant anti-American slogans as the
charred and mutilated bodies of U.S. contractors hang from a
bridge over the Euphrates River in Fallujah, Iraq.


The Navy SEALs facing court martial for allegedly punching a terror suspect captured for killing four Americans face up to a year in military confinement and forfeiture of pay.

The three SEAls facing charges are, Matthew McCabe, Jonathon Keefe, and Julio Huertas. Matthew McCabe is charged with assault for allegedly punching the terrorist in the stomach.

The judge, Capt. Moira Modzelewski, set McCabe’s trial for Jan. 19, 2010. Huertas is charged with impeding an investigation, dereliction of duty and making a false official statement. The same judge set Huertas’ trial date for Jan. 11, 2010. Keefe is charged with dereliction of duty and making a false official statement, no trial date announced.

The three SEALs would face the same maximum penalty even though the charges against each one deviate slightly. The military first sought non-judicial punishment, called a “captain’s mast.”

McCabe’s attorney Neal Puckett said, “That would have meant that some commander had predetermined their guilt and would have punished them in a way that would have ended their careers. They weren't willing to accept that and felt that it would not be a fair hearing.”

In NYC if you belly punched your neighbor in the manner in which the Navy SEAL allegedly did to the terrorist you would not face these charges. The NYPD would not arrest you if they did not witness the incident. It would be considered a mere violation for the lack of injury and a report would have been filed.

The charges against the SEALs are clearly an over reaction and a glaring example of how political correctness is undermining our national security.

We are appeasing the terrorist, the Muslim nations and the American Left. The powers that be addressed the recent Fort Hood terrorist with the same cowardice and PC gloves that allowed terror and jihad to thrive. Have we not learned anything?

We are a nation hell bent on not rankling the sensitivities of the American left and Muslim nations to the point where we are throwing the baby out with the bath water. When is enough enough?

Let us not forget the real victims and their families in this case. The SEALs captured Ahmed Hashim Abed, he is responsible for the murders of four Blackwater USA security guards, one of whom was a former Navy SEAL, in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004.

The four victims were killed with hand grenades and rifles. Their bodies were set on fire and dragged through the streets. The bodies of two of them were hung from a bridge in Fallujah, an image that was broadcast around the world.

In 2000, police in Manchester, England, discovered an al-Qaeda manual while searching computer files found in the home of a known al-Qaeda member. The manual is known as the "Manchester document." The contents were introduced as evidence in the 2001 trial of terrorists who bombed the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998.

The closing chapter of the manual teaches al-Qaeda operatives how to operate in a prison or detention center. It directs detainees to "insist on proving that torture was inflicted" and to "complain of mistreatment while in prison."

Ahmed Hashim Abed took a page from this handbook by complaining of mistreatment while in prison. We responded with weakness and appeasement.

Our response reinforces the terrorists' training and emboldens them. It also hijacks justice by charging our defenders of Freedom and hampers our defense by discouraging future and existing American heroes. Would you want the thankless job of protecting us?

Donna Zovka, the mother of one of the Blackwater victims said she felt some closure at the capture of the man responsible for the murder of her 32-year-old son Jerry Zovka. She rallied to show support for the SEALs.

“I am very grateful to these three Navy SEALs,” Donna Zovka told CNSNews.com. “I am hopeful for them. In my heart of hearts, I know they will overcome this and win.”

Human Events has an electronic petition to Free the SEALs. You can click here to sign it. If the server times out or you're not comfortable doing this online, you can always print-out the one page petition and snail mail it in.

Sources:

Defense.gov News Article: Al Qaeda Manual Drives Detainee Behavior at Guantanamo Bay

Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist - Iraq | War | Map - FOXNews.com

CNSNews.com - Father of Navy SEAL Decries Son’s Prosecution for Allegedly Punching Terror Suspect