Despicable Court-Martial Case of First of Three Navy SEALs Begins In Iraq

I've spent some time in the past getting somewhat involved in the hearings and appeals in the 1st Lt. Michael Behenna case so it absolutely turns my stomach to see today arrive. Because today marked the first day of the court-martial trial of Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas, the first of three Navy SEALs accused in the case of the arrest of al Qaeda terrorist, Ahmed Hashim Abed.

A little background on the charges against Huertas and the others from the article at Breitbart:

Abed was arrested last September on charges of masterminding the grisly killings of four Blackwater security guards whose burned corpses were dragged through the Iraqi city of Fallujah west of Baghdad. Two of the guards' bodies were hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River in the insurgent attack.

Huertas and Keefe are both accused of failing to safeguard the prisoner. Huertas is also accused of attempting to influence the testimony of another SEAL.
The third SEAL in the case, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe of Perrysburg, Ohio, is charged with punching Abed in the face at Camp Schwedler, a U.S. base near Fallujah. McCabe is scheduled to be court-martialed May 3 in Norfolk, Virginia, where the three sailors are based.

You see where the third SEAL is being tried in Virginia but the disconcerting aspect of Huertas' trial is that it is going on IN IRAQ.

Okay, I really can't express to you all how this enrages me. And I think the fact that these Navy SEALs have waived a chance at a reprimand to take their chances with court martials shows not only the integrity of these American heroes but the fact that a man will put his life on the line for honor.

And just in case you have never heard or seen just what happened in Fallujah in 2004 to the four Blackwater personnel at the hands of the terrorist who will face Petty Officer Huertas this week, watch this brief video:






It is not too late to contact your Congressman and express your outrage of these trials. At last count, 20 Congressmen have written to Defense Secretary Gates to stop this insanity. There is NO evidence of this al Qaeda's claims and at the same time, we have four of our men on trial for a fat lip versus what you just saw was done to four Americans.

All three of these Navy SEALs better be totally exonerated or I am going to lose it. Completely.

Court-martial of Navy SEAL opens in Iraq



BAGHDAD (AP) - Opening arguments began Wednesday in the court-martial of a Navy SEAL accused in the abuse of an Iraqi prisoner suspected of masterminding the killings in 2004 of four U.S. private security contractors.
Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas, wearing his blue Navy uniform, appeared in a military courtroom at the Victory Base Camp outside Baghdad to answer charges of dereliction of duty and impeding an official investigation. He has pleaded not guilty.

Huertas, 28, of Blue Island, Illinois, is the first of three Navy SEALs to go on trial in connection with the alleged assault of the Iraqi prisoner, Ahmed Hashim Abed.

Abed was arrested last September on charges of masterminding the grisly killings of four Blackwater security guards whose burned corpses were dragged through the Iraqi city of Fallujah west of Baghdad. Two of the guards' bodies were hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River in the insurgent attack.

The SEALs' case has gained widespread sympathy in the United States as well as support from at least 20 lawmakers in Congress who have urged U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to drop the charges.

The sailors could have received a disciplinary reprimand, but insisted on a military trial to clear their names and save their careers.

If convicted by the six-person military jury, their punishment could include jail time.

In a rare ruling in January, a military judge ordered that trials for Huertas and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe of Yorktown, Virginia, to be held in Iraq so that they could face Abed in court. Abed is still being held in Iraq, and the U.S. government refused to bring him to the United States to testify.

Huertas and Keefe are both accused of failing to safeguard the prisoner. Huertas is also accused of attempting to influence the testimony of another SEAL.

The third SEAL in the case, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe of Perrysburg, Ohio, is charged with punching Abed in the face at Camp Schwedler, a U.S. base near Fallujah. McCabe is scheduled to be court-martialed May 3 in Norfolk, Virginia, where the three sailors are based.

Huertas has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Neither he nor the other two SEALS have been held in custody.

Keefe's trial also was to begin last week at the court-martial room at the Victory Base Camp, but his legal team was delayed by the volcano eruption in Iceland that grounded tens of thousands of flights across the world.