Navy Seals Court Martialed for Capturing Terrorists

integrity640 · Kickflip Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 2866 City: Ocala

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy's elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.

Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.

Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.

The three SEALs will be arraigned separately on Dec. 7. Another three SEALs — two officers and an enlisted sailor — have been identified by investigators as witnesses but have not been charged.

FoxNews.com obtained the official handwritten statement from one of the three witnesses given on Sept. 3, hours after Abed was captured and still being held at the SEAL base at Camp Baharia. He was later taken to a cell in the U.S.-operated Green Zone in Baghdad.

The SEAL told investigators he had showered after the mission, gone to the kitchen and then decided to look in on the detainee.

"I gave the detainee a glance over and then left," the SEAL wrote. "I did not notice anything wrong with the detainee and he appeared in good health."

Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, spokeswoman for the special operations component of U.S. Central Command, confirmed Tuesday to FoxNews.com that three SEALs have been charged in connection with the capture of a detainee. She said their court martial is scheduled for January.

United States Central Command declined to discuss the detainee, but a legal source told FoxNews.com that the detainee was turned over to Iraqi authorities, to whom he made the abuse complaints. He was then returned to American custody. The SEAL leader reported the charge up the chain of command, and an investigation ensued.

The source said intelligence briefings provided to the SEALs stated that "Objective Amber" planned the 2004 Fallujah ambush, and "they had been tracking this guy for some time."

The Fallujah atrocity came to symbolize the brutality of the enemy in Iraq and the degree to which a homegrown insurgency was extending its grip over Iraq.

The four Blackwater agents were transporting supplies for a catering company when they were ambushed and killed by gunfire and grenades. Insurgents burned the bodies and dragged them through the city. They hanged two of the bodies on a bridge over the Euphrates River for the world press to photograph.

Intelligence sources identified Abed as the ringleader, but he had evaded capture until September.

The military is sensitive to charges of detainee abuse highlighted in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. The Navy charged four SEALs with abuse in 2004 in connection with detainee treatment.

TWG · Kickflip Joined: 25 Sep 2006 Posts: 3258

integrity640, hey is integrity21 your little brother? Laughing

price.dan · Backside 180 Joined: 10 May 2006 Posts: 1404 City: Regina

fox news isn't a reliable source.

yookyle · Backside 180 Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 1002 City: Reno

thats retarded....

integrity640 · Kickflip Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 2866 City: Ocala

TWG na but i do have a twin Laughing

price.dan neither is your mom

integrity640 · Kickflip Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 2866 City: Ocala

TWG and im pissed we never went fishin Evil or Very Mad

mojo · Posted: Nov 24, 2009 11:53 pm Post subject:

i live with twins, this story is dumb, and fox news is a horrible place to get news. all the networks are, but cnn is the least biased overall. this country has become so politically correct and whimp i can't stand it. i can't stand bleeding heart liberals who care more about some pos iraqi than the people fighting for this country. it would probably be good for all americans to be forced to serve a year in a branch of the armed forces. israel does it. good luck to the seals.

burn · Posted: Nov 25, 2009 12:23 am Post subject:

i dont see how SEALS can be court-martialed for hitting someone, they kill people. Neutral

i think the judicial system right now is totally fizzle up.

integrity640 · Kickflip Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 2866 City: Ocala

as i told my brother, the terrorist is damn lucky thats all they did to him. whatever happened to resisting arrest Smash

edrex · Backside 180 Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 1020 City: NorCal

It sucks that they are in the political situation that they are, but in the end its not like they are going to rot in prison over punching the guy. They are being made examples of how the US is not going to idly tolerate prisoner abuse (which is MUCH different than killing someone you are in a battle with) anymore to try and repair its reputation on the world scene.
And lets be realistic here... these guys are going to make way more money off book deals, interviews, and lecture circuits then they ever could have in the Navy.

integrity640 · Kickflip Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 2866 City: Ocala

edrex its possibly very true aboutthe outcome, but its beside the fact that theyre still facing criminal charges for a bloody lip? What happened to resisting arrest by the number 3 most wanted terrorist ever, they did their job, capture this terrorist, put their lives directly in the path of danger n death, yet because they prob had to punch this guy for whatever reason, prob trying to escape, its absolute bs. Smash

I can only hope the best comes their way

edrex · Backside 180 Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 1020 City: NorCal

integrity640, can you verify that the punch happened while they were apprehending him, and not when he was already in custody? I understood it to be that he was hit while already in jail.
And, just so we're straight, I would love to see this guy tortured and slowly killed for his actions... but I can understand why this is blowing up like it is because of the political ramifications.

yookyle · Backside 180 Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 1002 City: Reno

this is AMMUURRICA we aint no damn pussys we kill bad guys! Wink

burn · Posted: Nov 26, 2009 7:23 pm Post subject:

TWG · Kickflip Joined: 25 Sep 2006 Posts: 3258

integrity640, well come back sometime and well do it