Who Does He See To Get His Reputation Back?

Navy SEAL not guilty of charges in Iraq

The first of three Navy SEALs accused of mishandling a suspect in the high-profile killings of contractors in Iraq was found not guilty at a court-martial Thursday.

A military jury cleared U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas of all charges, a military spokesman said.

Huertas and two other Navy SEALs — Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe and Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe — have been facing charges in connection with the assault of Iraqi detainee Ahmed Hashim Abed.

U.S. authorities accuse Abed of being the mastermind in the slayings and mutilation of four U.S. contractors in Falluja in 2004, one of the Iraq war’s most notorious crimes against Americans.

During Huertas’ court-martial, Abed testified Wednesday that he was handcuffed, blindfolded and beaten.

Huertas and Keefe had been charged with dereliction of duty, based on the allegation that they failed to safeguard the detainee, according to the military. Huertas also was charged with impeding an investigation by attempting to influence the testimony of another sailor.

Keefe’s court-martial was supposed to have opened Monday, but it was delayed after defense attorneys were stuck in Europe because of flight delays due to ash from the Icelandic volcano. That court-martial is expected to begin Friday morning.

McCabe, who is charged with assault, will be tried May 3 in Norfolk, Virginia.

See also:
US Navy Seal cleared over attack on ‘Blackwater killer’
US Navy Seal cleared over beating of Iraqi terrorist suspect
Navy SEAL found not guilty of covering up assault
Local Navy SEAL Cleared in Court Martial
US Navy seal cleared of all prisoner abuse charges in Iraq
Court martial clears US sailor in Iraq: military
Navy SEAL cleared of beating suspect
Sailor not guilty of Iraq charges
Free All The SEALs From Travesty
Support The Navy SEALs who Captured Ahmed Hashim Abed

It’s absolutely disgusting that these three SEALs were, on the word of a scumbag terrorist, charged with these crimes in the first place. Instead of being court martialed, they should have been awarded medals for capturing, and not killing outright, the vile piece of Islamic [expletive deleted] responsible for this:

/one acquittal down, two to go, and this whole sordid episode of military command asshattery had better not ruin their careers either