40 Congressmen Call on Special Ops Commander to Dismiss Case Brought Against Navy SEALs...

CNSNews.com ^ | 12-14-09 | Fred Lucas

[444Flyer]

Forty members of Congress are calling on the military commander who ordered the court martial of three Navy SEALs over the alleged punching of a terrorist to dismiss the charges.

The letter, circulated by Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), was sent Thursday to Army Major Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, commander of Special Operation Command Central. Gen. Cleveland ordered the prosecution of the three SEALs.

“In our opinion, prosecutorial discretion should have been exercised,” the 40 congressmen said. “Failing that, we respectfully and strongly urge you to exercise your leadership authority, stop the impending court martial and exonerate these men.”

Earlier, 33 House Members had signed a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking him to intervene in the case. That letter had been circulated by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.). Military law experts told CNSNews.com, however, that the Defense secretary’s ability to intervene in a court martial could be limited.

U.S. congressmen representing two of the SEALs’ home districts signed the letters. Only Republican members signed the letters.

Rep. Bob Latta, who represents the Ohio's 5th Congressional District that includes Perrysburg, Ohio, signed both of the letters. Perryburg is the hometown of one of the three SEALs, 24-year-old Petty Officer Second Class Mathew McCabe.

[J Edgar]

IMHO CommieCrates is the only appropriate name for this collection of criminals who pursue greed, plunder and treason on a daily basis.

[I Buried My Guns]

"...Only Republican members signed the letters..."

This is because the democrats are traitors who seek to weaken us and destroy our sacred values.

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

http://www.cybercastnewsservice.org/cns/webuploads/SEAL%20Letter%20Final-1.pdf

1. Attached is a PDF of the letter to Maj. Gen. Cleveland
2. Alphabetical list of cosigners:

Burton
1. Aderholt
2. Akin
3. Barton
4. Bilbray
5. Bishop
6. Blackburn
7. Calvert
8. Capito
9. Coble
10. Cole
11. Diaz-Balart, M.
12. Fallin
13. Gingrey
14. Graves
15. Hall
16. Hunter
17. King
18. Kirk
19. Latta
20. Manzullo
21. Marchant
22. McCotter
23. Myrick
24. Neugebauer
25. Nunes
26. Olson
27. Pence
28. Pitts
29. Posey
30. Roe
31. Rohrabacher
32. Ros-Lehtinen
33. Royce
34. Schock
35. Shadegg
36. Shuster
37. Smith, C.
38. Thompson
39. Wamp
40. Young, D.

http://burton.house.gov/posts/40-congressmen-join-rep-burton-in-asking-brass-to-drop-charges-against-the-navy-seal-three

[ScottinVA]

Thank you, Rob Wittman (VA-1), for being one of the 40.

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

Here is a copy of the first letter

http://www.scribd.com/doc/23947613/Member-Ltr-to-Gen-Cleveland-Navy-SEALS-Court-Martial-2

[ScottinVA]

“Thank you, Rob Wittman (VA-1), for being one of the 40.”

Correction — among those on the 4 December letter to Gates, along with Randy Forbes (R) and Glenn Nye (D)

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

The subject of this thread made it to yahoo buzz but it seems the MSM are squelching it and not widely reporting.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

I also see Steve King's sig is not on here. He was in Afghanistan and perhaps this happened while he was there but it is more likely that only just a few did this and not everyone was asked.

I don't worry for one minute that King and Bachmann are not in full agreement with the letter. Probably if they had been asked every Republican would have signed it.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

Oops. I do see Congressman King’s name there. Sorry for the misinformation.

[rrrod]

Not sure all are Republican but if any Democrat did sign on its a scam. Cant be a good registered Democrat without hating the US military.

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/1:43708574802709a6eb2e0e0a1e

[pfflier]

No argument there. The charges look pretty CS but, from the comments of some posters they don’t understand the process.

[pfflier]

You said what I said in far fewer words, except you did point out accepting an Article 15 is an admission of guilt.

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

The story was removed from yahoo buzz in the 45 seconds I posted the last link.

[pfflier]

If the situation is binary, I'd take the option to use deadly force to stop the prisoner from escaping. I think about 3 rounds would do it.

In the real world, these guys appear to spill their guts when captured and I'd delay the escape attempt until after the interrogation.

[NELSON111]

Question: NOt as familiar with the case as I should be...but from the little tid-bits I have gathered...were they offered an Article 15 (which they denied) and are they being Courts Martialed for violating LOAC in a minor way?

[pfflier]

I just might suspect that special Ops guys live on the fringe of what the rest of us consider "normal" behavior on and off duty. Accordingly I also might suspect that Letters of Reprimand and Article 15s might not be that unusual in their personnel files.

Two MOH recipients, Maynard "Snuffy" Smith and Pappy Boyington might be used as examples that good fighting men are not necessarily saints.

Also an Article 15 can have the stipulation that it will be removed from the file at the Commander's discretion or if certain conditions are met.

[stevie_d_64]

I agree...Deferring the NJP procedure is a good thing...Cop-ping a plea to an Art. 15 would be tantamount to being guilty of something really really bad...

In this case the scumbag got a fat lip for resisting their custody during a transfer from what I recall...

But in reality someone or something is REALLY going to put the screws to the JAG to convict these guys for this minor offense...

And in the end, it will be another hit that the liberals can possibly get, and claim on the military in general...

And moral sinks even deeper...

But then again, what happens when the guys walk???

Somone will claim the trial was fixed...And that will go on for years, beating the military down even further...I’m concerned that this is a lose/lose situation...I hope I am wrong...

[NELSON111]

Any punishment on their records is a career stopper.

That's not necessarily true. An Article 15 is by no means a career stopper for a petty officer or any other lower ranking enlisted member. It's Captain's Mast....that's it.

An Article 15 is USUALLY a career killer for a SrNCO...or a field grade officer. However, even a company grade officer can receive an Article 15 without it necessarily killing their career.

There are even stiffer punishments than an Article 15 that won't kill your career in certain cases. AWOL...etc. Many people recover from that...especially early on....so this isn't a career stopper for these guys.

[stevie_d_64]

Yep...You are correct...