Support The Navy SEALs who Captured Ahmed Hashim Abed
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As a Nation, we have a duty to stand behind our fellow Americans as they face false charges levied by terrorists. We must take action by contacting our elected official on all levels, demanding they clear the name of these three SEALs, and uphold the honor, and integrity of their solemn oath to defend and protect. As Americans, we must do this with an overwhelming voice, so that at the end of each day, these Navy SEALs will personally hear and feel our support; not by mere words, but through... (read more)
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Support The Navy SEALs who Captured Ahmed Hashim Abed
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Common Interest - Current Events
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As a Nation, we have a duty to stand behind our fellow Americans as they face false charges levied by terrorists. We must take action by contacting our elected official on all levels, demanding they clear the name of these three SEALs, and uphold the honor, and integrity of their solemn oath to defend and protect. As Americans, we must do this with an overwhelming voice, so that at the end of each day, these Navy SEALs will personally hear and feel our support; not by mere words, but through... (read more)
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When a small team of Navy SEALs set out to capture one of Iraq's most-wanted terrorists in September, they never dreamed it would go so smoothly.

After all, Ahmed Hashim Abed, the suspected mastermind of a 2004 atrocity against U.S. contractors in Fallujah, was holed up in a safe house in Anbar province. Intelligence reports, which identified his location, said he kept a revolver under his pillow.

A helicopter set the SEALs down miles away. They silently approached the house and burst in to surprise a sleeping Abed. He never had a chance to pull the gun that, indeed, lay under his pillow. Subdued after a brief scuffle, he was marched to a landing site, where the helicopter took the SEALs and their captive back to Camp Schweidler.

"It went flawlessly," said a source close to the case. "They expected to get a medal."

This source, and others, recounted to The Washington Times how one of the most successful captures in the war's six years has turned into a nightmare for six SEALs involved in the mission.

Three have been charged with assault in their handling of the prize captive and with making false statements when questioned about the incident. Another three, including the platoon's two officer leaders, are refusing to talk unless granted immunity from prosecution. Their attorney told The Times that they did not see the detainee assaulted or know of any cover-up.

Four months after the incident, anger among the defendants' supporters has grown.

U.S. Central Command's treatment of the six SEALs as criminal suspects has stirred an outcry across the country. At least 100,000 people have signed up on a Facebook page, Support the Navy SEALs Who Captured Ahmed Hashim Abed. Members of Congress have written to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to intervene, which he has declined to do.

The Anbar-based SEALs arrived back in camp about 5 a.m. Abed stayed under guard several hours before he was transferred to Iraqi police, as was standard procedure.

It was during those several hours when Abed is said to have been assaulted.

The accusation came from the unit's master-at-arms, the sailor responsible for guarding Abed. He later told the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) that he saw Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe punch Abed in the stomach.

Petty Officer McCabe denies that he hit the detainee, setting up a confrontation with the master-at-arms, whose version seems certain to be challenged at a scheduled May court-martial in Norfolk, Va.

Sometime that morning, the platoon commander saw Abed with a bloody shirt, perhaps from a split lip. He conducted his own inquiry, during which all of the SEALs denied hitting Abed.

He forwarded the report up the chain of command, which then ordered the NCIS probe. It resulted in criminal charges against Petty Officer McCabe and two other SEALs brought by Army Maj. Gen. C.T. Cleveland, who heads the special operations component within U.S. Central Command.

Meanwhile, U.S. commanders and Iraqi authorities began a legal tug of war that September morning. When top U.S. commanders realized that the SEALs had captured a major terrorist figure, they implored the platoon commander to get him back from Iraqi control, which he did after hours of negotiations.

A military spokesman in Iraq said Abed is being held under orders from an Iraqi judge. He declined to say whether Abed had been charged.

Two other SEALs, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe and Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas, face special court-martial proceedings on charges of lying about the incident. A military judge moved their trials to Iraq on a request from defense attorneys, who want to question Abed before a jury.

Three other SEALs are being cited as witnesses: the platoon commander, his second-in-command and a hospital corpsman, all of whom went on the mission. Their names have not been disclosed in court documents. In fact, prosecutors have not publicly disclosed their versions of events.

Now, the three witnesses are refusing to testify unless they are granted immunity.

Their attorney, Charles Gittins, told The Times that an NCIS investigator read them their rights amid suspicions of a cover-up.

Mr. Gittins said the three had no role in any effort to conceal details of the incident, but since they were read their rights, they want Gen. Cleveland to grant them immunity before testifying. They did not see anyone strike Abed, he said.

"The key point is they were cooperating and, out of the blue, [were] read their rights for obstruction and that's why they stopped cooperating," he said. "We as lawyers have to protect them."

A Navy spokesman declined to comment on the immunity issue.

Neal A. Puckett, who represents Petty Officer McCabe, said he has begun to receive the prosecution documents, including witness statements, but other classified information is still being reviewed.

Gen. Cleveland had the option of handling the case as a personnel matter, but when the three SEALs rejected nonjudicial punishment, which could have ended their careers, Gen. Cleveland granted their request for trial by jury, Mr. Puckett said.

The general has a number of thorny issues to settle besides the requests for immunity.

Mr. Puckett wants Petty Officer McCabe tried in Norfolk, rather than in Iraq, where a military judge has sent the other two courts-martial. He thinks it may be difficult to persuade some defense witnesses to travel to Iraq. If the government will not pay travel expenses, his client would have to cover the thousands of dollars in costs himself.

Military prosecutors have told defense attorneys that they will not bring Abed to the United States for the three trials.

"They claim that it's too difficult to arrange for everything," Mr. Puckett said in an interview. "You can imagine - transportation; permission of the Iraqi government; State Department problems. They just said they could not do it."

Mr. Puckett and the prosecution team are set to go to Baghdad next month to depose Abed on video. The government then would try to introduce the testimony at trial in Norfolk.

Gen. Cleveland has come under such intense criticism over the case that he felt it necessary to write an open letter last month to Rep. Dan Burton, Indiana Republican, saying the concerns expressed by at least three dozen lawmakers were "based on incomplete and factually inaccurate press coverage" of the case.

"These allegations are not founded solely on the word of the detainee, but rather, were initially raised by other U.S. service members," the major general wrote. "While the assault and resulting injury to the detainee were relatively minor, the more disconcerting allegations are those related to the sailors' attempts to cover-up the incident, particularly in what appears to be an effort to influence the testimony of a witness."

Mr. Burton rejected the general's reasoning, writing in reply earlier this month that his concerns were only "reinforced by your letter."

The congressman wrote, "The fact that fellow U.S. service personnel initially raised the accusations against Petty Officers Huertas, McCabe and Keefe strongly suggests that we have created a culture within our armed forces where our military personnel are now more concerned about protecting themselves from legal jeopardy for every action or statement than they are about fighting the enemy. Our troops and these SEALs need to be bold and decisive in combat, not hesitant and over-thinking every action for fear of prosecution."







3rd SEAL trial to stay in Virginia


Posted : Wednesday Jan 13, 2010 17:32:28 EST

NORFOLK, Va. — The trial for the Navy SEAL accused of punching an alleged al-Qaida terrorist while in U.S. custody in Iraq has been postponed until May 3, but the trial will remain in Norfolk.

Capt. Moira Modzelewski granted government prosecutors the continuance on the grounds that most of the evidence in the case is still undergoing a classification review and has yet to be seen by either the prosecution or the defense.

Modzelewski stopped short of moving the trial of Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew McCabe to Camp Victory near Baghdad.

That news comes two days after a different military judge decided to move the trials for the two other SEALs accused in connection with the alleged assault to Iraq.

Cmdr. Tierney Carlos, the trial judge for the courts-martial of SO2 (SEAL) Jonathan Elliot Keefe and SO1 (SEAL) Julio Antonio Huertas Jr., agreed Monday with defense motions to move the trials to Camp Victory so the sailors can face the alleged victim, Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the government sought to depose in lieu of a trial appearance.

Keefe’s court-martial had been scheduled to begin April 6, while Huertas’ was supposed to begin Monday and was continued until April.

“If he is available for a deposition, then he is available for trial,” Carlos said during the hearing for Keefe on Monday.

McCabe’s attorney, Neal Puckett, did not make a similar motion to change the trial venue to gain access to Abed.

Puckett has continually pushed for a speedy trial in his motions and initially objected to the continuance on the grounds it denied his client that right.

He reluctantly withdrew his opposition Wednesday because three potential witnesses in the case have now retained a lawyer themselves. They are refusing to talk to either side, apparently in an attempt to get immunity from prosecution, Modzelewski said while announcing her ruling.

The U.S. thinks Abed masterminded the 2004 ambush in Fallujah, in which four Blackwater security contractors were burned and killed. Two were hanged.

In addition to McCabe’s assault charge, he, Keefe and Huertas are accused of making false statements in an alleged attempt to cover up the assault, as well as dereliction of duty. Huertas also is accused of impeding an official investigation. All three have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Last month, Navy prosecutors asked a judge to delay the trials of McCabe and Huertas.

Keefe’s lawyer, Greg McCormack, had already asked for a continuance at Keefe’s Dec. 20 arraignment, which was granted, continuing the court-martial until April 6.

McCormack told reporters after the December hearing that he was aware of photos and video of the alleged victim from during and after the attack, but had yet to see them.



1/11/10
NORFOLK — A Navy judge ruled Monday that the court martial for two of the Navy SEALs accused of mistreating a prisoner would be held in Iraq.

Cmdr. Tierney Carlos said the change of location was justified so that Special Warfare Operater 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe and Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Julio Huertas could confront their accuser in open court.

The accuser is Ahmed Hashim Abed, who is accused of being the planner of the March 2004 slaying of four Blackwater employees in Falujah.

Keefe, Huertas and Special Warfare Operations 2nd Class Matthew McCabe are credited with capturing Abed, and accused of mistreating him afterward.

The procedural hearing, held at Naval Station Norfolk, was to consider a defense request to question Abed face to face. Prosecutors had planned to depose Abed in Iraq.

The three SEALs are accused of abusing Abed in early September.

Keefe, 25, a native of Yorktown, is charged with dereliction of duty and making a false statement to investigators.

McCabe punched Abed in the stomach, court papers state. He faces charges of assault, dereliction of duty and making a false statement.

Huetas faces charges of dereliction of duty, making a false statement and impeding an investigation.

All three have maintained their innocence.




Two elite Navy SEALs were arraigned on Monday on charges related to punching a terrorist leader once in the gut, with a third SEAL to face arraignment later. Special Operations Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe is charged with unlawfully striking a terrorist suspect "in the midsection with his fist" and for purportedly lying to a Naval Criminal Investigative Service officer about the incident. Petty Officers Julio Huertas and Jonathan Keefe are charged with impeding the investigation and dereliction of duty in failing to safeguard a detainee.

The proceedings against these heroes are an outrage to all the brave Americans serving in uniform to defend this country, especially those deployed in harm's way.

The supposed victim, Ahmed Hashim Abed, was the mastermind behind killing, burning and mutilating four American contractors in Fallujah, Iraq, in March 2004. His followers hung the desiccated corpses high on a box-girder bridge over the Euphrates River. Mr. Abed was run down by the SEALs on a covert mission in September 2009.

He later claimed to Iraqi authorities that he was slugged sometime after his apprehension.

Public support for the accused SEALs has exploded. The Facebook group Support the Navy Seals Who Captured Ahmed Hashim Abed has attracted 60,000 members in three weeks purely by word of mouth. David Lussier, the group's founder, told The Washington Times: "These men, along with their families, have been put through enough. Some people forget that these men have families who have worried about them since the day they enlisted, to the day they landed in Iraq, until the day they finally make it home alive. To make them now go through all of this is not justice, certainly not what they signed into. This is a punch in the gut not only to the SEALs but to the [families], who spend many nights awake waiting for a phone call."

Betty Kilbride, one of the group's organizers and author of "Soul of American Warriors," based in part on her experiences as an embed with the Marines in Iraq in 2006, said she believes Mr. Abed's accusation is part of a systematic effort by the terrorists to achieve asymmetric victories against a military they cannot defeat. "The main objective of the terrorists is to undermine the authority and divide the brotherhood of our military," she said. "They know how to use our laws against us." A famous al Qaeda training manual instructs detained terrorists always to accuse their captors of torture, though a single punch should hardly qualify.

As retired Green Beret Jim Hanson observes on the facing page, we are witnessing a tectonic shift in the way terrorists are being fought, moving from a military model to a law enforcement one. The war on terrorism has been replaced by the "struggle against violent extremism." Under new guidelines instituted by the Obama administration, terror incidents are referred to as "man-caused disasters." Counterinsurgencies are "contingency operations." Al Qaeda leaders have been granted the full constitutional rights of American citizens. The whole tenor of the Obama administration is to downplay the seriousness of the very serious business of war.

This shift in focus has a troubling impact on our fighting forces. The brave Americans serving overseas risk their lives daily in ambiguous circumstances in which they are called upon to make many judgment calls. Now they increasingly have to worry about being second-guessed by people who were not on the scene. A lot is riding on what happens in the SEALs' case. "I can tell you that the outcome of this case is going to affect a lot more than three people," Mr. Lussier told us. "Many thousand now have a vested interest in them.

"Many members of the Special Operations Forces community and many members of the armed forces are waiting to see just how this plays out. They want to know if our government really does support them."

The day after the arraignment, a hellfire missile fired from a Predator drone killed three suspected terrorists and wounded three people in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal district. Apparently terrorists and bystanders can be slain on sight by remote control, but a punch thrown in the heat of the moment means a court-martial.

This is no way to fight a war. "If these Navy SEALs fail in their attempt to clear their names," Ms. Kilbride said, "we all fail."

She's right on target. A nation cannot achieve victory in war when the government is targeting its own warriors.

-------------------------------------------------

Government Has Yet to Provide Evidence to Support Its Prosecution of Navy Seals for Alleged Punching of Terrorist
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer


U.S. Navy Seals insignia (public domain)
Norfolk, Va. (CNSNews.com) – Though trial dates have been set for mid-January, defense attorneys for three Navy SEALs charged with offenses arising from the alleged punching a terror suspect in the mid-section said at an arraignment on Monday in Norfolk, Va., that the government still had not provided any evidence in the case.

If defense attorneys do not get the evidence soon enough to review it, it might raise the need for a delay in the trial date, said Monica Lombardi, civilian attorney for Julio Antonio Huertas Jr., 28, who pleaded innocent in military court at the Norfolk Naval Station on Monday. His trial date is set for Jan. 11, 2010.

Lombardi told CNSNews.com that the government provided no time window as to when the evidence will be provided. She told reporters it is “highly unusual” to wait this long for evidence and predicted the trial might be delayed if the defense does not have adequate time to review the evidence.

Matthew Vernon McCabe, 24, deferred his plea at the arraignment on Monday. His civilian attorney Neal Puckett said it is routine for him not to offer a plea for his clients at the arraignment.

“The problem will be whether they provide the evidence soon enough to give us enough time to prepare for the trial,” Puckett told CNSNews.com after the hearing. Typically evidence is provided before the arraignment, he said. Nevertheless, he still expects to be able to go to trial on Jan. 19.

Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, spokeswoman for the Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT), told CNSNews.com last week that the military was still reviewing the evidence in the case to determine whether it contained classified information.

The charge sheet was only made available to the public late on Friday evening.


A Navy SEAL carries his rifle (public domain)
The terror suspect who accused the SEAL of punching him in the mid-section is Ahmed Hashim Abed, alleged architect of the murder of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004. The bodies of the four Americans were burned and hanged from a bridge.

The three SEALS are McCabe, 24; Huertas, 28 and Jonathon Elliott Keefe, 25. Keefe’s arraignment was continued.

Huertas is charged with impeding an investigation, dereliction of duty, and making a false official statement. McCabe was charged with assault, dereliction of duty, and making a false official statement. Keefe’s arraignment was continued. He is charged with dereliction of duty and making a false official statement.

The alleged incident happened on Sept. 1 at Camp Schweidler in Iraq, when Abed was already in captivity. If convicted in the special court martial, the SEALs face a maximum penalty of one year in military confinement, forfeiture of two-thirds of their pay for one year, and a discharge for bad conduct.

The three SEALs are facing misdemeanor charges. The military first sought non-judicial punishment, called a “captain’s mast.”

A “captain’s mast” would have spared them any chance of imprisonment but would have severely harmed or possibly ended their military careers, defense attorneys said. So the SEALs refused the “captain’s mast” and opted for a court martial to clear their name, even though the punishment from a court-martial conviction could be more severe.

“It’s hard to be labeled a hero--you heard the list of medals--two tours in Iraq, one tour in Afghanistan,” Lombardi told reporters after the court hearing. “He [Huertas] is confident in his defense team and confident justice will be served.”