Poobah has already tried and convicted this guy. It seems like some folks here think we are dealing with petty street thugs here that may have a knife in their possession. They forget that these guys are in a WAR ZONE and the nature if a lot of this WAR is terrrorism and gurilla(sp) warfare. We have lost several fine military people due to oversights and potentially using a PC approach in dealing with these terrorists. The two terrorists were fleeing a house that contained morters and IED's. You don't suppose they were plumbers fixing a leak for the property owner do you?
I also surmise that none of the posters that have already convicted this guy have served a day in a combat zone either. It's easy to try, convict and execute somebody for a WARTIME "Crime" when you haven't even a remote clue of combat operations.
It would be a stretch to even find this guy guilty of derelection of duty.
On the other hand, Poobah is right that Pantano should never have uncuffed the terrorists and sent them back into their car. It's just so basic that once you've secured your prisoners you keep them cuffed and under control until you've evac'd them and turned them over to the unit collecting them in the rear. Who knows how many orders and SOP's he violated. And what if the car had been rigged for suicide bombing and when the perps went back to the car they blew away Lt. Pantano and most of his unit???
On the other hand showing bad judgment and violating standing orders isn't a felony that I know of. I agree with you that in a combat situation allowance has to be made for the "fog of war" and the stress Lt. Pantano was under.
One of my pet peeves is prosecutorial overcharging. IMHO it is an abuse of the prosecutor's powers. But it's so commonplace that it won't end soon. They do this to try to force plea bargains. Sometimes it backfires, resulting in resentment against the prosecution and leading to acquittal.
Actually, Pantano tried and convicted himself with his own statements. That's why we have the right to remain silent.
It seems like some folks here think we are dealing with petty street thugs here that may have a knife in their possession.
Not me, bubba. That's why I would not have the prisoners unsecured and in a position to obtain their 72 virgins by popping off a vehicle bomb--which is exactly the position Pantano managed to put himself in.
They forget that these guys are in a WAR ZONE and the nature if a lot of this WAR is terrrorism and gurilla(sp) warfare.
Again, I keep that firmly in mind, which is why my first priority would be to secure the prisoners and not give them the opportunity to grab weapons or set off a vehicular IED.
We have lost several fine military people due to oversights and potentially using a PC approach in dealing with these terrorists.
Hyperbole alert.
Name names, and explain, in detail, how "oversights and potentially using a PC approach in dealing with these terrorists" led to each death.
The two terrorists were fleeing a house that contained morters and IED's.
That doesn't change the orders for handling prisoners.
You don't suppose they were plumbers fixing a leak for the property owner do you?
Not at all, which is why I'd secure the prisoners and not give them the opportunity to either grab weapons and shoot at me, or possibly detonate a suspected vehicular IED.
I also surmise that none of the posters that have already convicted this guy have served a day in a combat zone either.
Wrong. I was killing Islamists while the rest of America was afraid that the evil, nasty Republicans were going to start a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.
It's easy to try, convict and execute somebody for a WARTIME "Crime" when you haven't even a remote clue of combat operations.
Been there, done that, wore the t-shirt. Pantano f***ed up bigtime. He's lucky he was mistaken about the vehicle having weapons or explosives in it (it didn't), because the bad guys would've had access to weapons or to a detonator.
It would be a stretch to even find this guy guilty of derelection of duty.
Would you say the same thing if the vehicle had been an IED that detonated solely because Pantano had allowed the prisoners to access it and set it off?