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General (Mattis, USMC)frees another Marine convicted of war crimes
North County Times ^ | 11 AUG 2007 | Teri Figueroa

Posted on 08/11/2007 5:23:31 AM PDT by radar101

Pvt. Robert Pennington

CAMP PENDLETON ---- The seventh of eight Marines jailed for the execution of an Iraqi man left the brig Friday afternoon, freed by a Camp Pendleton general.

Pvt. Robert Pennington walked free after Lt. Gen. James Mattis granted him clemency, slashing the remaining seven years off Pennington's eight-year sentence.

Pennington struck a lengthy plea deal earlier this year, admitting his role in a plot that left an Iraqi man dead on the side of a road in the rural village of Hamdania on April 26, 2006.

His family said Friday they were overjoyed with the decision to set Pennington free.

"We are in this place of almost suspended animation," Pennington's mother, Deanna Pennington, said in a phone call Friday evening. "We are so happy he is out. Now we can get on with the process of healing."

The general's decision in Pennington's case did not come as a surprise. This week, Mattis issued early releases for three men jailed in the case; four others have served their terms or were set free by juries earlier this summer.

A sense of fairness led him to release most of the men who were jailed for the Iraqi's death, Mattis said in a statement.

The decision Friday left only one defendant in the Hamdania case behind bars: Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins, who crafted the plan and led his squad through its execution.

Last week, a jury convicted Hutchins of murder and handed him a 15-year prison sentence. Marine officials have said Mattis is considering whether to cut Hutchins' sentence as well.

Mattis signaled leniency in a number of war-crime cases this week. He announced Thursday that he would drop charges against two of seven Marines accused in a separate case in which 24 Iraqis were killed in the town of Haditha. The general based that decision on an investigative officer's recommendation.

As an authority over the military case, Mattis has the power to lighten sentences or drop charges against the troops even after juries have convicted or jailed them.

"My sense is that he is deeply engaged in these cases," Pennington's attorney, retired Gen. David Brahms, said of Mattis.

"Very few senior officers would have taken the action that he took," Brahms later added. "He is a Marine warrior, a leader, looking at these cases through that special perspective."

According to testimony from court proceedings, the frustrated eight-man squad went after a suspected insurgent believed to be behind roadside bombings and attacks on U.S. troops. When they couldn't get to him, they grabbed and killed his neighbor.

Charged with murder and other crimes, Pennington pleaded guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and kidnapping.

In announcing the clemency decision for Pennington, military officials said Mattis took into account that, at the time of the incident, the 21-year-old Pennington was a lance corporal who was neither a squad leader nor a fire team leader.

Pennington did not fire his weapon, although he did help gag the man, according to testimony.

The Washington state native was on his third tour in Iraq.

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 2007; haditha; hamdania; jamesmattis; maddog; maddogmattis; marines; pendleton8
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1 posted on 08/11/2007 5:23:36 AM PDT by radar101
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To: radar101
"Very few senior officers would have taken the action that he took," Brahms later added. "He is a Marine warrior, a leader, looking at these cases through that special perspective."

If that isn't the TRUTH--unfortunately. Most spend their time in the CYA Mode. This man needs to be President or C-JCS.

2 posted on 08/11/2007 5:25:48 AM PDT by radar101 (Duncan Hunter-The only possibility)
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To: Red Badger

ping


3 posted on 08/11/2007 5:28:12 AM PDT by RDTF (Republicans believe every day is July 4th, but Democrats believe every day is April 15th. - Reagan)
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To: radar101
How long will it take before our enemies in Iraq, including the anti-USA left, start using the accusation of our troops of “war crimes” as another weapon against us?
4 posted on 08/11/2007 5:32:12 AM PDT by pnh102
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To: pnh102

“How long will it take before our enemies in Iraq, including the anti-USA left, start using the accusation of our troops of “war crimes” as another weapon against us?”

That’s already a common occurrence. The general term for US military persons in the leftist blogs and forms is killbot. Mindless murder machines.

Mooslime news rags that cant get our own msm to feed them evil acts by our soldiers, real or imagined, just make up their own to report.


5 posted on 08/11/2007 5:36:43 AM PDT by Grimmy (equivocation is but the first step along the road to capitulation)
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To: radar101
Lieutenant General James Mattis is the real deal! He literally is a modern day Patton! He even looks like Patton! He was the one who first took it to the Taliban in November and December 2001 by leading Joint Task Force 58 (TF 58), during Operation Enduring Freedom in southern Afghanistan, which was the most ambitious Marine airborne assault in U.S. military history. He then commanded the 1st Marine Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and played a key role in the Battle of Fallujah in November 2004.

He made the loony libs furious on February 1, 2005 when he said, "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right upfront with you, I like brawling."

Nothing ever come of it, and he was subsequently promoted to where he is now.

******************************************************

From his official biography:

Lieutenant General James N. Mattis is currently serving as the Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command and Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

As a Lieutenant, he served as a rifle and weapons platoon Commander in the 3d Marine Division. As a Captain, he commanded a rifle company and a weapons company in the 1st Marine Brigade. As a Major, he commanded Recruiting Station Portland. As a Lieutenant Colonel, he commanded 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, one of Task Force Ripper's assault battalions in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. As a Colonel, he commanded 7th Marines (Reinforced). As a Brigadier General, he commanded 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade and then Task Force 58, during Operation Enduring Freedom in southern Afghanistan. As a Major General, he commanded 1st Marine Division during the initial attack and subsequent stability operations in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. As a Lieutenant General, he commanded the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and served as the Deputy Commandant for Combat Development.

He is a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the National War College.

6 posted on 08/11/2007 5:38:55 AM PDT by Virginia Ridgerunner ("Si vis pacem para bellum")
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To: radar101

God bless the Gen.


7 posted on 08/11/2007 5:40:44 AM PDT by Dubya (Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,but by me)
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To: radar101

It’s great to see a real warrior survive the PC military of the last 15 years.


8 posted on 08/11/2007 5:44:23 AM PDT by pierstroll
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To: radar101

I got shivers of admiration for the man just reading this post.


9 posted on 08/11/2007 5:48:48 AM PDT by yldstrk (My heros have always been cowboys--Reagan and Bush)
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To: radar101

Finally, a voice of reason and common sense!


10 posted on 08/11/2007 5:50:10 AM PDT by Bulldawg Fan (Victory is the last thing Murtha and his fellow Defeatists want.)
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To: radar101
Marine sues Marine for libel Rep. John Murtha Hit with Defamation Lawsuit! According to today's Washington Post, Marine Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich "will file a lawsuit today in federal court in Washington, D.C. claiming that Congressman (and former Marine). John P. Murtha defamed him when the congressman made public comments about the incident earlier this year." Wuterich led the Marines squad in the Haditha incident, which is still under investigation.

The Post's article reports the defamation lawsuit is based on public comments Murtha made outside his scope as a congressman:

Attorneys for Frank D. Wuterich, 26, argue in court papers that Murtha tarnished the Marine's reputation by telling news organizations in May that the Marine unit cracked after a roadside bomb killed one of its members and that the troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood." Murtha also said repeatedly that the incident was covered up....

... statements made by members of Congress generally are protected under the "speech or debate" clause in Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution. But legal experts said the clause grants immunity only for what lawmakers say in legislative proceedings and does not apply to news releases, speeches and other


11 posted on 08/11/2007 6:01:53 AM PDT by ARE SOLE (Agents Ramos and Campean are in prison at this very moment..)
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To: radar101
Mattis signaled leniency in a number of war-crime cases this week.

The above line was the reason for this story. It gives liberals and Murtha cover for the Haditha non-massacre. You see, the soldiers at Haditha actually did all those things, but the Marine general is lenient...

Bleh!

12 posted on 08/11/2007 6:25:55 AM PDT by Charles H. (The_r0nin) (Hwæt! Lãr biþ mæst hord, soþlïce!)
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To: ARE SOLE

HA!!


13 posted on 08/11/2007 6:27:47 AM PDT by bboop (Stealth Tutor)
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To: pnh102

I am sure that is already the case. There is a soldier right now from here in Georgia that is under investigation for killing an insurgent, any yes he was definately an insurgent. Between the a-holes in the media who would absolutely LOVE to have our guys involved in an atrocity and the Dems they have to watch their backs threefold.


14 posted on 08/11/2007 6:33:21 AM PDT by panthermom (DUNCAN HUNTER 2008)
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To: panthermom
There is a soldier right now from here in Georgia that is under investigation for killing an insurgent ...

What kind of BS is that? Didn't we use to give out medals to troops who killed the enemy? Geez.

15 posted on 08/11/2007 6:41:12 AM PDT by pnh102
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To: pnh102
How long will it take before our enemies in Iraq, including the anti-USA left, start using the accusation of our troops of “war crimes” as another weapon against us?

About negative three years, maybe a bit "less".

16 posted on 08/11/2007 8:18:47 AM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: radar101; Defend Our Marine; RedRover; jazusamo; Girlene

ping


17 posted on 08/11/2007 8:34:57 AM PDT by Eagles6
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To: eagles; Defend Our Marine; RedRover; jazusamo

So let’s see! We send our “kids” over to fight a horrible enemy. When the enemy is killed, our government pays the enemy and it seems well, then we charge our “kids” with murder; put them and their families through HE** fighting to clear their names. Do I have this right? Thank God for this voice of reason, Lt General Mattis. I pray that Wuterich is successful in his lawsuit against Rep. Murtha; perhaps holding Rep Murtha’s feet or rather mouth to the fire will send a clear message to others. Again I couldn’t be happier that the charges have been dropped; I pray they will be dropped against Sgt Hutchins as well and soon!!!


18 posted on 08/11/2007 9:25:45 AM PDT by cwcsunflower (Phil 4:13 A Marine mom)
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To: radar101

I served under him when he was a Major; I knew he’d do the right thing when the time was right. I knew.


19 posted on 08/11/2007 9:29:04 AM PDT by AngrySpud (Behold, I am The Anti-Chrust ... (I am Anti-Hillary))
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To: Eagles6; cwcsunflower

Thank God that Lt. Gen. Mattis has done the right thing, he is a fine man and Marine.


20 posted on 08/11/2007 9:36:59 AM PDT by jazusamo (DefendOurMarines.com)
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