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Title: Haditha 'scapegoat' cleared of misconduct claims But panel says U.S. Marine still must retire from service
Source:
WND
URL Source: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=119003
Published: Dec 14, 2009
Author: staff
Post Date: 2009-12-14 21:40:10 by Joe Snuffy
Keywords: US Govt. war on US Military, Betrayal, Obma
Views: 180
Haditha 'scapegoat' cleared of misconduct claims But panel says U.S. Marine still must retire from service Posted: December 14, 2009 2:18 pm Eastern © 2009 WorldNetDaily An officer whose military trial on allegations he mishandled an investigation after insurgents attacked U.S. Marines in Haditha, Iraq, was dismissed now has been cleared of misconduct by a Board of Inquiry. Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani However, attorneys for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani confirm that the board expressed the opinion Chessani should retire because of his alleged "substandard performance" following the attack that left a number of civilians dead, even though the officer's chain of command up through a major general supported Chessani's handling of the crisis at the time. The Thomas More Law Center has been defending Chessani over charges from the Nov. 19, 2005, attack on Marines in Haditha. The firefight that killed nine insurgents and another 15 civilians who largely had been used as shields by the insurgents. Law Center spokeswoman Kathleen Lynch told WND the firm is awaiting word from Washington whether it will uphold the board of inquiry's decision or modify it before making a determination on a possible appeal. The Chessani case appeared to be heading toward a possible conclusion just as another case alleging wrongdoing on the part of American soldiers was reaching a boiling point. Several Navy SEALs are being prosecuted by their own government and accused of mishandling a terror suspect who is thought to have orchestrated the 2004 murders of four Blackwater security guards. According to Jed Babbin, former deputy undersecretary of defense, Navy SEALs Julio Huertas, Jonathan Keefe and Matthew McCade were part of a team that captured Ahmed Hasim Abed, thought to be behind the murders of the security guards. Now, however, three months after the capture, the SEALs are being arraigned on claims they abused the terror suspect. Babbin reported while the facts of the case are a "bit muddy," Abed was captured and handed over to Iraqi custody by the SEALS. However, the SEALs later reclaimed Abed from the Iraqis, apparently for additional questioning, and he then complained of mistreatment arose. McCabe is accused of illegally hitting Abed and then denying he did it. Huertas faces charges of making false statements that he didn't' see any hit on Abed and Keefe is accused of lying. "Putting these SEALs through a court martial for an offense that deserves – at worst – a good chewing out and a sentence to do a few hundred pushups will send a devastating message throughout all the special forces," Babbin wrote. The Haditha firefight came and went like so many others in Iraq and the court case and other allegations erupted only after U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., publicly accused U.S. Marines of being cold-blooded killers. As WND reported, Chessani was the highest-ranking officer charged in the Haditha incident, in which a series of original investigations found nothing wrong. But then Murtha publicly accused the Marines of murdering Iraqis and government prosecutors charged Chessani with criminal wrongdoing. They lost at every stage of the criminal case, which eventually was thrown out of military court. That action was upheld on appeal. The military, however, restarted the case with a Board of Inquiry, at which the burden of proof is lower. The ruling that Chessani was innocent of misconduct and should not be demoted but still should retire was a "mixed result," according to defense counselors. "It's indicative of the weakness of the government's case that it could not prove misconduct at the board hearing where the normal rules of evidence didn't apply and the burden of proof was lessened," said Richard Thompson, chief counsel for the Law Center. "We are all greatly relieved that the board said Lt. Col. Chessani was not guilty of misconduct and should not be demoted," he continued. "However, I believe the overwhelming evidence supported a total and complete exoneration of Lt. Col. Chessani." The decision was reached after Law Center attorney Robert Muise delivered a closing argument that said Chessani simply was a "scapegoat" to appease "the anti-war media and anti-war politician John Murtha." "Here's your scapegoat," Muise told the board. "Here's your fall guy." After the firefight, Chessani was commended for a job well done. His commanding general, Maj. Gen. Huck, said, "I support our account and do not see the necessity for further investigation." It was a year later when the military changed its collective treatment of the situation, launching attacks on Chessani and seven others. Of the eight Marines eventually charged, cases against Lance Cpls. Stephen Tatum and Justin Sharratt, Capts. Randy Stone and Lucas McConnell and Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz were dropped. First Lt. Andrew Grayson was acquitted, leaving only the Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich case pending as well as Lt. Col. Chessani's. 
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