Navy SEAL PO2nd Class McCabe cleared of ALL charges.

The Navy SEALs are an elite force. They are brave and honorable men.

When accused of mistreating a prisoner, and given a reprimand by non-judicial Captain's Mast, they requested,.......no.......DEMANDED that their accusers prove the charges in a Court Martial.

The Navy, because of apparent political reasons, continued to press the charges, even though their case appeared to grow weaker by the day.

Well, the SEALs are vindicated. The last Navy SEAL has been acquitted and cleared of all charges.


Well done.

SEAL 3 Update

Military cancels detainee interview in Navy SEAL case

Originally published at The US Report

The military has canceled the deposition of an alleged terrorist mastermind who claimed that he was assaulted by the military following his capture last year. The law firm Puckett and Faraj, representing Navy SEAL Matthew McCabe, made the announcement on Sunday.

Major General Charles Cleveland, the convening authority for the upcoming special courts-martial for three of the Navy SEALs involved in the operation, has decided to cancel the trip to Iraq to depose Ahmed Hashim Abed. Since the SEALs have a Constitutional right to confront their accuser in court, the alleged terrorist's statements won't be used as evidence for the case. Abed, who is still in U.S. custody, is believed to be the al Qaeda mastermind behind the 2004 Fallujah ambush where four U.S. private security contractors were killed and their bodies mutilated. According to court documents, he claimed that he received what amounted to a punch in the stomach while in U.S. custody.

The prosecution's case against the SEALs appears weak. For instance al Qaeda's training manual states that once captured, members should claim torture and abuse. In addition Abed was initially detained at an Iraqi facility, which presents a chain of custody issue. Complicating matters further, the military has not released any corroborating evidence, such as medical records or photographs, and the sailor who claimed to witness the incident has given five conflicting statements. Also, the SEALs were initially offered an Article 15 hearing, which carries relatively light non-judicial punishment. Instead, the sailors requested trial by courts-martial, which allows all evidence to be considered, but carries much heavier punishment – including incarceration. The SEALs possibly made their decision in an effort to protect their careers. Many believe a non-judicial process would leave the impression of guilt.

The military previously decided not to bring Abed to the U.S. for interview. Commander Tierney Carlos, the military judge for the trials of SO1 Julio Huertas and SO2 Jonathan Keefe, decided in January that since the military ruled that Abed would not be flown from Iraq to the U.S., that the sailors' trials would be held in Iraq.

It is not known whether the military's decision to disallow the detainee interview will affect the cases of Huertas or Keefe. Their trials are set to start in April. McCabe's trial is set for May.

The statement from Puckett and Faraj said, “Since those two military judge’s rulings, Major General Cleveland has canceled the government trip to Iraq to depose the detainee. This leaves the SO2 McCabe defense and government teams without the Iraqi detainee’s presence or sworn statements as evidence in the case.”

[Disclosure: the author has advocated for the charges against the SEALs to be dropped.]

DCProtestWarrior in Norfolk With NCGOE

DC Protest Warrior: DCProtestWarrior in Norfolk With NCGOE

Scott Taylor for 2nd District in Virginia.

SEAL 3 Update

This should provide interesting subject matter on Andrea's blogtalk show with Crush tonight.

Navy SEALs' trials moved to Iraq

NORFOLK, Va. - Two of the three Navy SEALs accused in the mistreatment of an Iraqi detainee will have their military trials take place in Iraq, a military judge ruled Monday.

Both Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan E. Keefe appeared in military court at Naval Station Norfolk in separate hearings. In each case, the presiding judge decided to move the sailor's trial to Camp Victory in Iraq. That decision was made so that the victim could give direct testimony instead of a deposition, enabling Huertas and Keefe to face their accuser.

The charges against the three SEALs involve Ahmed Hashim Abed, who has been linked to the 2004 deaths of four Blackwater contractors who were mutilated before their bodies were hung from a bridge.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe is accused of striking the detainee in the midsection, dereliction of duty for failing to safeguard the detainee, and lying to investigators. He deferred entering a plea until his Jan. 19 trial.

Huertas of Blue Island, Ill., faces charges of dereliction of duty, lying to investigators and impeding an investigation.

Keefe, of Yorktown, faces charges of dereliction of duty and making a false official statement. Huertas and Keefe have pleaded not guilty. Their trials are planned for April.

The SEALs have received an outpouring of public support, including the backing of several members of Congress.

Crush From Blackfive on Andrea Shea King Tonight

SEAL 3 Update
For more on Chris Carter, aka Crush, go here.

As posted on Backfive.net:

I will be discussing the SEAL 3 Special Courts-Martial on the Andrea Shea King Show tonight at 9 PM. I hope to get as many fellow B5-ers as we can to tune in. We must get as many people active on this matter immediately.

For the latest on the SEAL 3, visit the Victory Institute.

More On The SEAL Trio

From Chris Carter writing in Family Security Matters:

Gen. Cleveland wrote that Abed's “alleged injuries were inflicted several hours after the operation had ended, and while in the custody and care of the U.S. at Camp Schweidler's detainee holding facility.” But how could medical personnel determine exactly when Abed so-called injury took place, and how could they know that the injury wasn't self-inflicted, or as a result of his capture?

“If the injuries were insignificant, why are the reputations of 3 expert warriors on the line?” asks Kay Day at The US Report. Indeed, Gen. Cleveland could have simply let the matter go, but opted for non-judicial punishment, which the sailors declined; accepting the punishment could have ended their career in special operations.

But did the alleged abuse even take place?

Lesson 18 of al Qaeda's training manual says to convince the judge that the member was tortured and to complain of mistreatment to the court. It could be that Abed was just doing what he was trained to do – continue the battle from the courtroom (apparently the only environment that SEALs are vulnerable), whether the allegations are true or not. Unfortunately, it appears that the Pentagon is willing to risk the careers of three of the nation's best warriors in order to find out as anyone above Gen. Cleveland could put an end to the trial as well.

Case against Navy Seals falling apart?

From Navy Times:

Maj. Gen. Charles Cleveland, commander of Special Operations Command, Central Command, wrote the justification in a Dec. 15 response to Indiana Republican Rep. Dan Burton’s call on behalf a group of 40 lawmakers who want all charges against the SEALs dropped.

“Regrettably, it appears that your perception of the incident is based on incomplete and factually inaccurate press coverage,” Cleveland wrote. “Despite what has been reported, these allegations are not founded solely on the word of the detainee, but rather, were initially raised by other U.S. service members.”

Cleveland said all these allegations were fully investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Apparently, the General is incorrect.

Navy prosecutors have asked a judge to delay the trials of two SEALs accused in connection with the alleged assault of a reported al-Qaida terrorist — apparently because of evidence issues.

Both Puckett and Lombardi say the government’s request seems to be related to the evidence in the case where little has yet been released to the defense attorney’s because of classification reviews.

Both Lombardi and Puckett say much of the government’s case so far is based on the statements of a third class master-at-arms who claims to have witnessed the alleged assault.

Both lawyers say the five separate statements given by that sailor appear to conflict with each other. Neither lawyer could discuss the exact details of the statements.

“I have read five different statements by this person, and all appear to be different,” Lombardi said.

Pete Randall at RedState has more.