A Marine accused Liberals Sell Out Our Heroes

Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano could face the death penalty if convicted of charges made against him last week. The charges? Premeditated murder. The facts? He shot two suspected terrorists during a mission in Iraq. The case is frought with second-guessing, and could be a disaster for future combat operations if the charges aren't dropped.

April 2004 was the cruelest month in the Iraq insurgency. It was when the assault on Fallujah took place, as did significant action in Najaf and Sadr City. About one-third of the 147 U.S. servicemen killed that month were Marines. They were killed in firefights and ambushes, and risked explosive devices in the streets " the kind of attacks that require split-second decisions to survive.

Lt. Pantano was in precisely such a situation south of Baghdad on April 15. He was leading a quick-reaction platoon raiding a house full of weapons. Two suspected terrorists had emerged from the house, got into an SUV and tried to flee. The lieutenant and his comrades shot out the SUV's tires and made the suspects search the vehicle. When the suspects unexpectedly turned toward Lt. Pantano as if to rush him, Lt. Pantano ordered them in Arabic to stop. They didn't. So Lt. Pantano made a split-second decision to preserve his life and those of his men. It turned out the two suspects were unarmed. Lt. Pantano reported the incident to his superiors, who investigated it and accepted his version of the story. He then served several more months with distinction.

Lt. Pantano is straight out of some romanticized war story. The 33-year-old Hell's Kitchen native left a six-figure salary in New York to serve his country. His mother says of him, "If he has a fault, it is that he is too idealistic and puts moral responsibility and duty to his country and his men before anything else." For that, Lt. Pantano faces criminal charges that could result in death.

At a time when the military is being stretched, the Pantano case sends all the wrong signals to servicemen. Finding a few good men will only get harder and harder if overzealous lawyers are permitted to intimidate the troops. In any army, that's a losing formula.

Unless it can be shown that Lt. Pantano isn't an exemplary Marine " that is, if new facts come to light showing he and his superiors are misrepresenting what happened on April 15 " we call on the Pentagon to drop the spurious charges against Lt. Pantano. As far as any outsider can tell, he acted in good faith in a life-threatening situation. He shouldn't be punished for it.

I am a veteran and beyond concerned about this crap. I don't know what is going on in our military today so it is hard for me to tell -- but, being a vet of the Viet Nam era, it is impossible for me to conceive of a situation of "premeditated murder" IN A WAR ZONE -- unless it was one of our own.

I smell the strong odor of fish here...I don't think the charge will stick. It had better not otherwise we will have service men who may think twice before making a move on the battle field, for fear of being sued and charged when they returned home from battle --- that is if the enemy did not kill them first, as they were thinking about it ----

This is an unacceptable situation and I smell socialists behind it...

I smell socialists behind it...

Mike Savage devoted his whole show to this case today. It seems that ACLU, big media outlets and other leftest organs are flooding the Pentagon with FOIA requests and lawsuits in a fishing expedition for more Abu Ghraib type scoops. This is why this man has been charged months after returning from the war, after his superiors found the charges without merit when the incident happened. When the press 'found' the case records they would point to it as a cover up. So they charge him, put him at risk of the death penalty, smear his reputation, and put him and his family in the crosshairs of jihadi-monkeys. All to avoid heat from leftist lawyers and journalists whose goal is to aid the terrorsits by making American soldiers and Marines hesitate one second too long.

All to avoid heat from leftist lawyers and journalists whose goal is to aid the terrorsits by making American soldiers and Marines hesitate one second too long.
=======
This is what needs TO BE STOPPED, which includes the ACLU. This filthy, POLITICALLY-BASED, attacking of our people and our country VIA THE JUDICIARY has got to have shackles put on it. The left targeted this methodology even pre-Clinton. It is high time the administration put the locks on journalists, and anyone even getting near the war zones and into military records. Their intentions are anything but honorable.

I recently reread the accounts of congressional medal recipients,and by todays standards,most of them could be charged,one medal winner walked up to an unarmed prisoner,and shot him dead,after he threw a grenade at him, the same American then held a pistol to a captured officers head and told him he would kill him if he didn't do as told. As far as Lt. Pantano is concerned,well......I don't know,I wasn't there I didn't have to be because the el tee was

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.