bobdina
05-03-2010, 12:03 PM
Last SEAL Goes to Trial in Iraq Assault
May 03, 2010
Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK -- The last of three U.S. Navy SEALs to face court-martial in connection with the alleged abuse of a suspected terrorist in Iraq is scheduled to stand trial this week at Naval Station Norfolk.
Two of the SEALs, Jonathan Keefe and Julio Huertas, were cleared of wrongdoing during military trials in Baghdad last month. Prosecutors argued that they helped cover up the mistreatment of Ahmed Hashim Abed in Fallujah in September. Abed is thought to have masterminded the killing of four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah in 2004.
The SEAL who will stand trial beginning today, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe, is the only one who is accused of physically harming Abed. The charges against him include assault for allegedly punching Abed in the midsection; dereliction of duty for not protecting Abed; and making a false statement to an investigator who later interviewed him about the matter.
To learn more about the military legal matters, visit the Legal Matters webpage.
All three SEALs are assigned to SEAL Team 10, headquartered at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. They could have accepted administrative punishment but chose instead to fight the charges.
Protesters who oppose the military's decision to try them plan to demonstrate outside Navy base gates throughout today's proceedings, said Dawn West, a real estate agent from Norfolk who helped organize the rally.
West said she expects at least 100 people to attend, including several of McCabe's relatives and contingents of Tea Partiers and military veterans from out of state. She added that organizers already have made arrangements for a posttrial celebration in anticipation of McCabe's acquittal.
"It's just ridiculous what these three boys have had to go through, paid for with our taxpayer dollars," West said. "We're standing by them all the way."
If convicted, McCabe faces as much as a year in the brig, as well as demotion in rank and a bad conduct discharge.
May 03, 2010
Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK -- The last of three U.S. Navy SEALs to face court-martial in connection with the alleged abuse of a suspected terrorist in Iraq is scheduled to stand trial this week at Naval Station Norfolk.
Two of the SEALs, Jonathan Keefe and Julio Huertas, were cleared of wrongdoing during military trials in Baghdad last month. Prosecutors argued that they helped cover up the mistreatment of Ahmed Hashim Abed in Fallujah in September. Abed is thought to have masterminded the killing of four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah in 2004.
The SEAL who will stand trial beginning today, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe, is the only one who is accused of physically harming Abed. The charges against him include assault for allegedly punching Abed in the midsection; dereliction of duty for not protecting Abed; and making a false statement to an investigator who later interviewed him about the matter.
To learn more about the military legal matters, visit the Legal Matters webpage.
All three SEALs are assigned to SEAL Team 10, headquartered at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. They could have accepted administrative punishment but chose instead to fight the charges.
Protesters who oppose the military's decision to try them plan to demonstrate outside Navy base gates throughout today's proceedings, said Dawn West, a real estate agent from Norfolk who helped organize the rally.
West said she expects at least 100 people to attend, including several of McCabe's relatives and contingents of Tea Partiers and military veterans from out of state. She added that organizers already have made arrangements for a posttrial celebration in anticipation of McCabe's acquittal.
"It's just ridiculous what these three boys have had to go through, paid for with our taxpayer dollars," West said. "We're standing by them all the way."
If convicted, McCabe faces as much as a year in the brig, as well as demotion in rank and a bad conduct discharge.