Edmond Army Ranger Gets 25 Years, Gov Withholds Evidence

[RugersGR8]

GOVERNMENT WITHHOLDS EVIDENCE;
ARMY RANGER FROM EDMOND GOES TO PRISON FOR 25 YEARS
FOR SHOOTING AL QAEDA OPERATIVE

On March 20th, 2009, Army Ranger 1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing a known Al Qaeda operative while serving in Iraq. The “victim”, Ali Mansur, was known to be a member of an Al Qaeda cell operating in the lieutenant’s area of operation, and was suspected to have organized an attack on Lt. Behenna’s platoon in April 2008 which killed two U.S. soldiers and injured two more.


Also, Mike Turpin(OK-Dem.) and Dan Webber, Jr.(Dem.)United States Attorney in Oklahoma were on Flash Point(KFOR-TV) this morning defending Behenna. I thought that this was rather ironic since Janet Napolitano(Dem.) the Head of Homeland Security, Sen. John Murtha(Dem.), Senator John Kerry(Dem.), and a lot of other notable Democrats have been trying to portray/slur/demonize soldiers, vets, conservatives, states rights advocates, 2nd Amendment advocates, etc. as would be terrorists. Are Turpin and Webber going for political gain or some other motives?



Webpage for Behenna defense

http://defendmichael.wordpress.com/







More info:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...soldier,guilty,shot&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

 

[GolfWhiskey]

What a horrible, horrible situation. Why would any judge believe that expert testimony of that sort could not change the outcome of the trial? Hopefully we'll see a successful appeal.

Out of curiosity can you provide more info regarding your claim that the democrats you listed are portraying soldiers and veterans as would-be terrorists? Thanks in advance.

 

[BadgeBunny]

This whole thing just sickens me.

 

[angsniper]

What a disgrace for the legal system. He should've never been charged!

 

[RugersGR8]

What a horrible, horrible situation. Why would any judge believe that expert testimony of that sort could not change the outcome of the trial? Hopefully we'll see a successful appeal.

Out of curiosity can you provide more info regarding your claim that the democrats you listed are portraying soldiers and veterans as would-be terrorists? Thanks in advance.

As I said before, Janet Napolitano(Dem.) the Head of Homeland Security,Senator John Kerry(Dem.), Sen. John Murtha(Dem.), and a lot of other notable Democrats have been trying to portray/slur/demonize soldiers, vets, conservatives, states rights advocates, 2nd Amendment advocates, etc. as would be terrorists. Just Google their names and see what you come up with. Napolitano:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/16/napolitano-stands-rightwing-extremism/

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/fir...ending-veterans-dhs-eyes-rightwing-extremism/

I am not going to go into Kerry's to much since he has been in the news a number of times in the recent past(running for President).

Murtha was saying that the marines involved in the Haditha incident were guilty of war crimes for murdering Iraqis(My Lai-style massacre) before they even went to trial/courts marshal. But Murtha's allegations have been proven wrong:

http://conservativethoughts.us/2008...-new-charges-refute-murtha-media-allegations/


Attorneys Neil Puckett and Mark Zaid, in Washington, D.C., co-counsels for SSgt Wuterich, responded:

“The good news is that SSgt Wuterich (and all of the Marines, for that matter), have been forever cleared of murder charges. That means that there is (and never was) any evidence to support Congressman Murtha’s and Time magazine’s allegations of these Marines killing Iraqis ‘in cold blood.'

While some of the marines involved in this case have been cleared, some are not out of the woods yet I guess.




If you watch Flash Point very much, you know that Turpin is pretty much in lock step with the DNC in most cases(not all). I don't know too much about Webber to make the same claim. What makes me wonder about them is that if Michael Behenna had come from another state, would they be making the same defense requests on his behalf or are they just covering their tailends for their futures in Okla/Dem politics?

 

[GolfWhiskey]

I've read the report described in the article featuring Napolitano. It describes the potential dangers of certain skill sets, not of veterans as a whole. As a veteran myself I understand and agree that thousands of US troopers are trained to accomplish tasks that are inherently dangerous and could pose a potential threat to the country.

That doesn't mean I don't "trust" or "respect" military servicemen, it simply means that I can objectively assess the potential negative consequences and dangers of these skill sets. Judging the entire military by bad apples like McVeigh or Oswald is grossly unfair, but completely ignoring the dangerous skills acquired by military servicemen is grossly naive.

Regarding Murtha and Haditha, do you consider Republican Representative John Kline (MN) to be unpatriotic because he stated that he believed the Marines involved in Haditha were actively covering up and lying about the incident? Murtha is definitely not alone in his assessment of the events at Haditha.

 

[Shadowrider]

I've read the report described in the article featuring Napolitano. It describes the potential dangers of certain skill sets, not of veterans as a whole. As a veteran myself I understand and agree that thousands of US troopers are trained to accomplish tasks that are inherently dangerous and could pose a potential threat to the country.

That doesn't mean I don't "trust" or "respect" military servicemen, it simply means that I can objectively assess the potential negative consequences and dangers of these skill sets. Judging the entire military by bad apples like McVeigh or Oswald is grossly unfair, but completely ignoring the dangerous skills acquired by military servicemen is grossly naive.

Regarding Murtha and Haditha, do you consider Republican Representative John Kline (MN) to be unpatriotic because he stated that he believed the Marines involved in Haditha were actively covering up and lying about the incident? Murtha is definitely not alone in his assessment of the events at Haditha.

From the link above:
"The Marine Corps has now acknowledged that none of the Marines charged with criminal offenses for their actions at Haditha, Iraq committed murder. Lieutenant General Samuel Helland’s decision to dismiss charges of unpremeditated murder against Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich lay to rest specious allegations by Time Magazine reporter Tim McGirk and Congressman John Murtha that a My Lai-style massacre occurred in Haditha on November 19, 2005."

This is about all I need to know. Murtha is a disgrace to the Corps that he once served and this nation.

 

[GolfWhiskey]

From the link above:

This is about all I need to know. Murtha is a disgrace to the Corps that he once served and this nation.

So you are completely willing to ignore the testimony of other marines who were actually involved in the incident? Sgt Sanick De la Cruz testified under oath that he personally witnessed a marine execute 5 Iraqis who were trying to surrender, and then urinated on one of their corpses.

Is this Sgt De la Cruz also a disgrace to the Marine Corps? I'm willing to bet that John Murtha knows much more about the incident than you or I, and unless you're willing to accept that his main goal is to tarnish the honor of the US military, your simple assertion is absurd.

Perhaps you should read up on Haditha and all the extremely shady details surrounding the investigations instead of relying on the government (who you seem to outwardly distrust) to tell you what actually happened.

 

[Shadowrider]

So you are completely willing to ignore the testimony of other marines who were actually involved in the incident? Sgt Sanick De la Cruz testified under oath that he personally witnessed a marine execute 5 Iraqis who were trying to surrender, and then urinated on one of their corpses.

Is this Sgt De la Cruz also a disgrace to the Marine Corps? I'm willing to bet that John Murtha knows much more about the incident than you or I, and unless you're willing to accept that his main goal is to tarnish the honor of the US military, your simple assertion is absurd.

Perhaps you should read up on Haditha and all the extremely shady details surrounding the investigations instead of relying on the government (who you seem to outwardly distrust) to tell you what actually happened.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared the deaths "un-justified". - Reported 5/30/2006.

President Bush promised to disclose the results of the investigation. - Reported 6/01/2006.

The original investigator recommended that no charges be filed.
A general then takes it upon himself to see that charges are filed. Can you read the tea leaves here?

Lets review:
1 acquittal;
6 people have the charges dropped completely; and
1 has charges reduced and they are the only charges remaining.

And isn't it ironic that De La Cruz was one of those that had all charges dropped? A little bone to nibble on for testifying?

This is nothing more than a bunch of good Marines being used for political gain and is yet another black eye to justice and what's right from wrong. As for the Bush administration, some heads had to roll regardless of what actually happened so that we could look objective and fair in the bigger scheme of things. Freaking Disgraceful.

For the democraps it was just a way to advance their "we have to lose this war at all costs to make Bush look bad" agenda. Blathering partisan hacks that have no morals whatever.

That's about as nice as I can make it. Believe what you wish, I'll do the same.

Edit to add: To the O/P it sounds as if some of the same dynamics might be going on.

 

[GolfWhiskey]

And isn't it ironic that De La Cruz was one of those that had all charges dropped? A little bone to nibble on for testifying?

So you assume that this marine was out right lying because it differs from your desired version of what happened. Gotcha.

For the democraps it was just a way to advance their "we have to lose this war at all costs to make Bush look bad" agenda. Blathering partisan hacks that have no morals whatever.

You really think Murtha intentionally wanted completely innocent marines to face the death penalty so it could advance an imaginary agenda you think all Democrats possess? Do you realize how completely out of touch with reality that is?

I can understand the desire to see these Marines acquitted. Some of the evidence in this case does support their version of the story, and I truly, honestly hope they are innocent of the charges. I can even understand some of the feelings that would drive a soldier to do some of the things these brave young men are accussed of doing. In Iraq I saw comrades take sniper rounds and our FOB took random mortar fire on a daily basis. The frustration of this type of situation combined with an institutionalized dehumanization of the enemy can lead to scary and tragic results.

However, casting Murtha and others as disgraceful zealots who are willing to literally put these Marines in danger of losing their lives in order to score political points against a second term President is something I cannot understand at all.

EDIT: Shadowrider, do you also consider Republican Representative John Kline (MN) to be a disgrace because he feels the investigation was handled improperly and that there was an active cover up? If he is disgraceful, does that mean all Republicans also share this agenda, as Democrats apparantly do since John Murtha does?