Navy SEAL Matthew McCabe: NOT GUILTY on all charges:
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A military jury in Virginia found a Navy SEAL not
guilty Thursday on charges of punching a suspected Iraqi terrorist.
McCabe was the third SEAL to be tried in the case, Petty Officers Julio Huertas and Jonathan Keefe were acquitted last month:
Last month in courts martial in Baghdad, Petty Officers Julio Huertas
and Jonathan Keefe ...were acquitted of charges that
they failed to safeguard Abed. McCabe was the only SEAL charged with
actual assault.
The big question is, why were these men charged in the first place? Their accusers were terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed and Petty Officer Kevin DeMartino (who, according to his own superiors, was untrustworthy and often lied).
I’m curious if the Department of Defense actually investigated the
terrorist’s claims before charging these three men, or if they just
automatically believed him and charged the SEALs. It sounds to me like
they did nothing to verify that what Abed was saying was true. If they
had, there’s no way these men would have been charged because this case
is so flimsy.
A Navy prosecutor, Lt. Cmdr. Jason Grover, took a shot at the integrity of the SEALS, claiming they "circled the wagons", trying to protect one of their own. As to why charges were brought against McCabe:
"We uphold the rules and we're better than the terrorists. That's why we're here," Grover said.
Rules that call for going above and beyond the call of duty...in order to destroy the lives of three Navy SEALS. For the benefit of a damned terrorist.