Exclusive- SF murder charges dismissed

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Woo Hoo! While Kev and I were gearing up to talk football, the phone rang. It was the best of news, all charges dropped against MSG Anderson and CPT Staffel for the shooting of a known terrorist in Afghanistan. This was swift justice and sent a clear message about the actions they took. Our troops must know they have the support of their command when they make life and death decisions based on the rules of that same command. Enjoy your weekend BBQs gentlemen you earned them. We will follow up on just how charges of murder came up in the shooting of a terrorist.

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» Some Good News…Outrageous Murder Charges Against Army Snipers Dropped from Ace of Spades HQ
That’s the scoop from BlackFive. For the full story, see Purple Avenger's post. The short version is two Army snipers offed a terrorist in Afghanistan and an initial investigation showed they acted within the rules of engagement. But further up... [Read More]

Comments

[Deebow]

This is truly good news Jimbo. Glad we were able to hear it here first.

Our Prayers were answered and I hope that all is well now with the SF Soldiers and their families.

The next headline I am looking forward to seeing is the one announcing the demotion and retirement of LTG Kearney.

[mindy1]

Yay!!! I am glad to hear it. Why bring charges against soldiers who are jsut doing their jobs.

[JihadGene]

GREAT! (for now)

[Some Soldier's Mom]

that is wonderful news. I cannot imagine the relief and happiness of these soldiers and their families. I will be interested to hear the details of how this travesty almost occurred and how it was averted.

[redc1c4]

maybe we'll get lucky and Kearney will get PCS orders to Leavenworth.....

(and i don't mean to the school, either. %-)

[Igor]

Can we now bring charges of STUPIDITY and lack of brains for that LTG that brought 'em up on charges?

My wife also commented that this reminds her of those US Border Guards that were cashiered - they have yet to be exonerated...

Igor

[Barb]

That is excellent news! I'm so glad to hear it. Now what is the general going to do to make it up to those men and their families? He should not be anywhere near SOF, since he doesn't understand them.

[Teresa]

Thank heaven! I am so very happy for them. And I am still so very angry at LTG Kearney.

[Davod]

Igor:

The USBorder Guards were not cashiered. They were found guilty and locked away for a long time. Pray for them.

[OldSoldier54]

OUT-FREAKIN'-STANDING, UJ!!!!!

Now maybe a little closer look at this JAG officer and the MARSOC debacle.

I saw that LTG KEARNEY had two Combat Blasts-Panama and Granada. Any body know if he actually jumped?

[Hardtack]

That is good news. Thx for the update Uncle Jimbo.

[rick554]

Yep! Its some very good news. We can all step back and take a sigh of relief for about 5 seconds and continue on!! I'm still worried about the "Powers that Be". These TROOPS should know now that, in addition to the Chain of Command, they also have B5, LGF , Cpt's Quarter's,Michelle Malkin,MKH, just to name a few, that Really got their 6. And of course , computer literate ARMY Dads and Moms :-) A Hand Salute and a Cold One to all!!
What is really gonna make me call off sick from work is when john "the hero" murtha(moveon.dem), testifies in the Defamation trial for the MARINE. And Dan Rather???LMFAOOOO. Anyone feel a small turn of the tide yet???
Congrats to my beloved United States Air Force on some great flying this week and also to our Brothers in Israel! Keep em FLYING!!
Keep the pressure on!! We are gonna win!!
God bless our TROOPS!

[jordan]

Good. I guess they heard Deebow bellowing.

One of the worst things I've heard is the audio of the two young pilots who accidently fired on some Canadians because word that friendlies were there didn't come down fast enough. The boys freaked out, vomited when they realized what they had done, and even cried hysterically. The victims' families heard the tape at the hearing, and they declined to press further charges.

There's nothing stuff like this leaves unhurt. Tragic, sad, mistaken, wish it didn't happen. But we've got to steel ourselves to the fact that a certain amount of this will happen regardless of extreme measures to prevent it. It's terrible when innocents are killed, but reflexively mounting criminal charges against soldiers when all available evidence say it's not warranted, only hands the enemy ammo to use against us. It presents an image of the U.S. military as rendered impotent by weak and risk-averse leaders, rather than dead serious about prevailing in this fight.

Clear violations should be ruthlessly prosecuted, of course. But, in the Blackwater case, our peace-loving, anti-military diplomats didn't rein them in, and ensured they had immunity. Why? Because they want to stay alive and not get kidnapped.

Blackwater has a certain reputation over there. I would venture to guess that when given a choice, insurgents would rather head for the convoy NOT guarded by Blackwater.

Maybe there has to be a come-to-Jesus meeting about how to better treat these incidents so they don't play into enemy or anti-U.S. hands. Spines and other body parts need to stiffen, because with case after case like this coming to light, there's not only not going to be a victory, we'll all be drooling and giggling our way into the funny farm.

[Allan]

Uncle J,

While one may disagree with LTG Kearny's initial decision, castigating him is a worthless exercise. Courts-martial serve a specific purpose, and this one did.

Charges have been brought, for example, against many a service member for rape when the court-martial convening authority had doubts about the charge - only to be dismissed after an Article 32 hearing. The reason is to get the facts out.

Perhaps, in this case, there was something we do not know that prompted LTG Kearney to continue with the court-martial.

The Haditha charges are a good example. By going ahead with the court-martial, the Marines were able to get the facts into the open. Once they were there, the CG was able to use his power to absolve the Marines and, at the same time, tell the world "look, we investigated, we did not cover this up."

It was all likely a PR thing. The only thing I regret is that MSG Armstrong and CPT Staffel had to incur the expense of private counsel in order for the Army to have better PR. On the other hand, they could have just stuck with their military attorneys, been out little money, and gotten the same result.

[jordan]

Allan, perhaps there was something else here that we don't know about. But my larger point is, if P.R. is the motive, it's reading the OPPOSITE way with the enemy and the rest of the world. Look at Al Jazeera and some of the MEMRI site translated reports.

Do you have to have an Article 32 just to get the facts out? If it looks like a reasonable situation within ROE, what more needs to be said. I don't like the casual approach of, "Well, just hit them with a hearing and the truth will out, and everyone can forget about it." No, no, no. Not acceptable. Even if they're eventually exonerated, what makes the media ripple is "The U.S. says it's own soldiers murdered somebody. The evil, bad Americans." No one will cover it when they're exonerated.

Not to mention, this is not fair to the soldier/defendant. Why should they have to go through this BS just because their chain of command won't stand up for them? (Unless it truly is an unjust travesty, like the guy who killed the fourteen-year-old, hell be upon him.) We can't just cavalierly throw the book at them, assuming they'll get off if the evidence warrants if. If all else points to a legitimate and reasonable situation, end it there.

We in the west might see these prosecutions as good P.R. but the rest of the world concludes the opposite from our panicked flailings every time it happens.

[Allan]

Jordan,

I don't like it either. But it is politics. And make no mistake, allegations of rape and war crimes that have little or no merit are political.

Want to change it? Perhaps it would be a good idea. But I don't know how.

Imagine if the military did not have these courts-martial proceedings and the services were called on it by Congress. We might end up with something much worse for the military.

[Gryph]

Excellent news.
Thank you for your service MSG Anderson and CPT Staffel.
-and happier hunting.

[RCL]

This is great news but we shouldn't let it cool our resolve to follow up on Col. Hunt's column. Politicians can't change this. Only a groundswell of opinion in the military community and public at large might effect some change.

The Fay Observer had a report from Staffel & Anderson's Article 32 hearing in which LTG Kearney's legal advisor, LCDR Velvel, refused to answer any questions. Kearney and his legal aid personally drove these charges forward but were unwilling to make clear their reasons.

The fact that the charges have been dropped discredits Kearney and Velvel. It would be better for the nation if they were relieved.

RCL

[Ymarsakar]

The Haditha/Marine Force Recon in Afghanistan trick didn't work here, it seems. Still, that's simply damage control rather than reflecing damage a few fold.

[Ymarsakar]

But I don't know how.

So all the resources you would like to divert are going to totally ignore IO and psychological warfare considerations?