Posted on 06/04/2005 3:10:26 AM PDT by Banjoguy
Second Lt. Ilario Pantano announced his resignation from the Marine Corps yesterday, a week after he was cleared of charges of murdering two Iraqi insurgents in the "triangle of death" south of Baghdad. [....]
[....]Lt. Pantano is giving up a commission that had become one of the many symbols of patriotic duty in America. The Corps does not usually accept 31-year-old officer candidates, but the Manhattan native was determined to rejoin the Corps after al Qaeda's September 11 attacks. He talked his way back in, excelled at infantry training and won command of a 35-man platoon that went to Iraq last year. Lt. Pantano had served as a Marine enlisted man in the 1991 Gulf war. The Corps had charged Lt. Pantano with two counts of murder that could have brought the death penalty if convicted at a court-martial. He told investigators he shot the two Iraqi men in self-defense after a raid on an insurgent hide-out. [....]
(Excerpt) Read more at insider.washingtontimes.com ...
There is a popular mythology about veterans that has us falling apart during (and after) combat which is in most cases, a fabrication of the fiction writers and the antimilitary among us.
In the greatest proportion, the American military personnel have endured the dangers and pain and stresses of combat with honor and strength.
When questioned about this "judgment", you turn to personal attacks against others. Your judgment and your posts rest on your own words.
It's a good thing for him that he was an officer and not an enlisted man...
This treatment of a genuine American hero and effective Warrior already is having a chilling effect on our recruitment efforts. Who wants to sign up for a politically correct war with fighting tactics that puts our soldiers at risk? IMHO the US has been holding back its full might at the expense of the men and women in our armed forces, making them behave like police instead of warriors. Lt. Pantano who knew how to deal with the enemy in language they clearly understood is gone; along with our chances for genuine success, IMHO. Ask questions, hesitate, be killed, and then what? We are doomed.
lol.
Just like any protracted war the USA engages in, it's being fought about 40% on the ground and about 60% in the media/public-relations field.
However, 'quisling' is too strong a word. The quislings are in the State Dept. and big media. But yeah, they did cave to public pressure (ie, NYT pressure) and hold a formal court marshall. I've nothing but sympathy and respect for that fine officer and his family.
The leftist media must be tamed because they know no shame!
'It's a good thing for him that he was an officer and not an enlisted man...'
The Marine who shot the guy faking his death in the mosque that was caught on camera, was an enlisted man. He was exonerated. This isn't an issue of class warfare in the Corps, plenty of the guys getting drilled on these charges are 'O's'.
Are you an example of Semper Fi? I'm sure the media would have loved getting you on television.
How about a brief run down of your combat experience because you are talking like a REMF.
Sorry,knee jerk reaction..
Your call.
He only forgot to wrap the bodies in pigskin.
This would mean that the case had some interesting similarities to the Bernhard Goetz subway shooting case in New York back in 1984, which is kind of ironic since the Marine officer in this case was from New York City and had worked on Wall Street before re-joining the Marines.
If the "facts" are as you stated,why was he exonerated?
I hadn’t heard that. After double checking it here, I agree that he at least needed adjusting. The second magazine was expended to make a public statement and was body mutilation. If we’re going break convention to begin doing that, the decision’s not going to be made by lieutenants.
The facts are easily available from a number of open sources...try the Navy Times for one.
I was a kiddie cruiser, and I concur with your analysis, recommendation and advice. Semper Fi!
You have let emotion trump the irrefutable and well published facts of this matter as to you, this man is a hero.
Read # 28 with an open mind, if you can, and see if you still think this Marine is above any kind of reproach and a credit to the Corps.
The marine corps has never celebrated, taught, or approved acts of this kind in any way, shape, or form.
The herd instinct of people to surrender to base emotion and ignore the facts of this situation is not helpful to the military. Acts of this nature have never...ever been a part of Marine Corp heritage.
Semper Fi
Whether it's 45-60 shots or 1 or 2, the end result is the same. Instability or adrenalin can cause the same effects. It's hard to know unless it specifically happens to you. I don't know what happened, but I'm guessing the Marine Corps ended up doing the right thing for everyone concerned.
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