Tag Archive for Haditha

Haditha, Iraq, jihadi propaganda, John Murtha

Murtha and jihadi TV still holier than thou over Haditha Marine’s acquittal

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On its ‘about page,’ Al Sumaria TV states:

We are … An independent Iraqi Satellite TV Network that transmits on Nilesat and Arabsat from its temporary offices in Lebanon [all emphasis added mine]. Alsumaria was established by a group of professional businessmen in 2004. It includes a solid staff of 300 employees in Iraq and 150 in Lebanon. In a span of two years, Alsumaria has managed to become one of the most dynamic and watched TV stations in Iraq.

We strongly believe in a unified Iraq and continuously strive to be neutral and at the same distance with all Iraqis regardless of their political or religious backgrounds. Alsumaria TV wants to show the world that Iraq isn’t a country where everyday people suffer and die, but rather a place where people live, work, get married and struggle to lead long and normal existence.
…
We aim towards quality, novelty and professionalism.

United States Marine LT Andrew Grayson was completely acquitted yesterday of all charges in connection with the November 19, 2005, deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. While he was not at the scene that day and had nothing to do with those deaths, he was charged with obstruction of justice for ordering photographs of the scene deleted three months later, false swearing with the intent to obstruct justice, and later fraudulently separating from service (out-processing from the Marine Corps while knowingly under legal restraint from doing so).

LT Grayson was acquitted for good reason. The judge dropped the primary charge of obstruction, mid-trial. Two senior NCO’s had also ordered the photos deleted, in addition to LT Grayson, because they had no intelligence value and it was policy to delete such extraneous to their duty pictures (they delete what Michael Yon calls “war porn” of the dead). Grayson correctly told the original investigating officer, Army Colonel Watt, the photos did not exist as they had been deleted. What riled COL Watt up and made him suspicious was the LT refused to sign a Privacy Act form. Yet the intelligence battalion’s troops were under orders to not sign such forms without higher HQ’s okay as a security measure; al-Qaeda has a bounty on all our intelligence exploitation troops. In other words, COL Watt ran into a rabbit hole and Naval Criminal Investigators followed him down. LT Grayson’s intelligence battalion commander testified that he signed Grayson’s discharge papers because “there was no legal hold” on him. In addition, a Major admitted to giving LT Grayson bad advice, telling him that he was under no obligation to stay put, he could out-process, take his honorable discharge, and go home.

So, Al Sumaria TV must have been aiming for novelty within their report today:

Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV network
Iraq News
Jordan Court sentences Al Qaeda militant
Thursday, June 05, 2008 10:58 GMT

Jordan’s security court has sentenced an al Qaeda militant, Auni Al Minasi, of Jordanian nationality, to life in prison for his involvement in recruiting gunmen in Jordan to fight in Iraq. According to the accusation list, Al Minasi has been appointed in 2006 by Al Qaeda in Syria to work on recruiting gunmen in Jordan in order to send them to Syria and then to Lebanon for training before crossing into Iraq.

On the other hand, a military source reported that Californian Court panel committee has cleared charges of US marine Andrew Garison [sic] who was tried for Haditha massacre in 2005, one of the worst war crimes by US military in Iraq.

al Sumaria TV screen shot

Click on image to enlarge and view

Crime in connection with Haditha has yet to be proven in a court of law. Yet killings there, “in cold blood,” have been alleged by U.S. Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania’s 12th District. If he ever decides to resign over those slanderous remarks, he could easily find employment with a novel, Middle-Eastern TV station that also continues to falsely accuse United States Marines of war crimes.

Update, June 9, 2008: I was forced to apologize for my above commentary (and it was a pleasure).

Update II, June 16, 2008: Michelle Malkin brings word of the L.A. Times reporting today that tomorrow charges against LtCol Jeffrey Chessani may be dropped.

Haditha, Support our troops

Haditha Marine trial judge finds unlawful command influence

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Major Setback for Prosecutors in Chessani Court Martial; Military Judge Finds Evidence of Unlawful Command Influence

Press release from the Thomas More Law Center, May 21, 2008 (in part):

ANN ARBOR, MI – Prosecutors yesterday hit a major speed bump in their rush to convict Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani when the Military Judge ruled that he found evidence of unlawful command influence. Courts consider unlawful command influence the “mortal enemy of military justice.”

Although the case is far from over, yesterday’s ruling now forces prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that: (1) the facts upon which the unlawful command influence is based are untrue; (2) those facts do not constitute unlawful command influence; or (3) the unlawful command influence will not affect the proceedings.

The Unlawful Command Influence motion (click here for Motion) was brought before Military Judge, Colonel Steven Folsom, by the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Law Center attorneys Robert Muise and Brian Rooney, both former Marines, wrote and argued the Unlawful Command Influence motion on which yesterday’s decision is based.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “Considering the politically charged nature of this case — and particularly this motion — Colonel Folsom made a courageous decision.”

Thompson went on to say, “The taint of unlawful command influence started from the inception of the investigation, when high-ranking Pentagon officials decided to make LtCol Chessani a political scapegoat to appease a liberal anti-war press and politicians. This ill-conceived prosecution has resulted in the removal of one of America’s most effective combat commanders in Iraq by the Marine Corps’ own standards. Although nothing can undo the harm caused to our Nation and to LtCol Chessani and his family, this ruling gives us hope that the military justice system will rise above the politics that fomented this prosecution and allow LtCol Chessani, who devoted more than 20 years to the Marine Corps and to the defense of our Nation, to get on with his life.”

Read the rest at the War Chronicle.