Posted on 03/29/2010 6:07:43 AM PDT by Servant of the Cross
Cracks are beginning to appear in the military's prosecution of three Navy SEALs accused of striking a most-wanted terrorism suspect they had captured in Iraq.
Maj. Gen. Charles Cleveland last week signed grants of immunity for five Navy colleagues of the accused.
Some of those five, three enlisted men and two officers, are expected at trial to flatly contradict the prosecution's key witness, according to a Navy source close to the case, which centers on the September 2009 capture of Ahmed Hashim Abed.
The witness, the master-at-arms at the base in Anbar province where the captured terrorist was brought, told investigators that he saw Abed being struck by one SEAL. One of the immunized witnesses identified by the master-at-arms for corroboration is not expected to support his testimony. The military has not released witness statements.
In addition, the defense has requested that the judge order the government to turn over the name of the Army officer who interrogated Abed once he was brought to Baghdad, where he remains in custody on order of an Iraqi judge. The disclosure would mean that defense attorneys may call him as a witness to testify about Abed's appearance after he left the SEALs' custody.
A judge has ruled that the military must produce Abed as a witness for courts-martial, scheduled to be conducted in Baghdad perhaps as early as next month. Defense attorneys, in front of a military jury, can expose Abed's history as the suspected mastermind of the 2004 Fallujah atrocity that left the bodies of U.S. contractors hanging mutilated on a bridge.
The master-at-arms told investigators that Abed was punched in the gut by Special Operations Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe. Petty Officer McCabe denies hitting Abed.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Disgusting.
Vietnam 2.0
Prayers up for our Seals!
it really is disgusting<P..
Is this master-at-arms an American GI or is he a mooselimb?
Does he have a name and not just a title?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Remember when Patton brought one of Pancho Villa’s lt’s dead body back strapped across the hood of his car?
When I was in the Nav the MAAs aboard ship were the worst careerist suck-butts on the crew. I doubt that it has changed. I have no doubt that this case was phonied up from the beginning.
From what I read, it was never strong anyway.
Yes! Third paragraph down: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/armored-car.htm
Same aboard both of the vessels I served on. The most petty, conniving, butt-kissers became MAA’s. They were the wussy boys who got picked on when they were kids. I am not kidding.
I was in the Navy for 22 years. Most MAAs where a**holes. Give them a badge and they think they are God. Always sucking up to the Commanding Officer.
Let’s just not take prisoners anymore.
I disagree. The message is "Take no prisoners" or "Dead men tell no tales".
Either outcome is fine by me....although I deplore the potential loss of intelligence.
Originally MAAs were shipboard “cops” whose function was to keep the impressed crews in line in an era where slave galleys still existed, floggings were frequent and Captains were legally tyrants who could hang a crew member. Today they are the guys who gig crew members for non-standard haircuts, dirty uniforms and such. Pretty pathetic in comparison.
We used to get rid of those who couldn’t fix planes or any other job by sending them to security. I’m sure it still works the same today.
Works for me. Problem is, prisoners, especially Islamic jihadists, sing like canaries when imprisoned and "counseled."
“. . .sing like canaries when imprisoned and ‘counseled.’”
Whew. . .first time I read that, thought it said “SIN like canaries when imprisoned and “counseled.”
Ha. . .might be true, too.
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