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| Home Front: Politix |
| A Victory for Marine LtCol Chessani |
| 2009-03-18 |
| H/T Major Pain at Blackfive March 17th -- Late this morning, the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals sitting in Washington DC, released their unanimous decision upholding the dismissal of charges against Marine Lt. Col Jeffrey Chessani on the grounds of apparent Unlawful Command Influence. But the case may not be over yet. For the last four years, LtCol Chessani has been investigated and prosecuted for his involvement in the so called "Haditha Massacre" -- a massacre that never happened. A 22-year veteran, Chessani has served three tours of duty in Iraq. He served in the First Persian Gulf War and in Panama. At the time of the November 19, 2005 Haditha incident, he was the Battalion Commander of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines ("The Thundering Third") -- one of the most decorated units in the history of the Marine Corps. Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, observed, "LtCol Chessani, one of the most effective combat commanders we had in Iraq, was a made political scapegoat by the civilians in the Pentagon to appease the antiwar politicians and a liberal media. In fact, we now know that the story of the 'massacre' that prompted the Haditha prosecutions was a headline in a Time news article instigated by insurgent propaganda operatives." Continued Thompson, "This nation has come to the point where we can't call terrorists captured on the battlefield 'enemy combatants.' We release the terrorists out of Guantanamo and prosecute the military our country placed in harms' way to defend us." Robert Muise, an attorney with the Law Center, a national public interest law firm, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, argued the case on behalf of LtCol Chessani. The Law Center has been defending LtCol Chessani throughout his prosecution alongside his detailed Marine lawyers, LtCol John Shelburne and Captain Jeff King. Captain Kyle Kilian, a Marine appellate defense lawyer, also assisted in the appeal. LtCol Chessani is the highest ranking officer facing criminal charges as a result of the much-publicized and ill-described "Haditha massacre." The criminal charges against him stem from a legitimate combat action taken by four enlisted Marines in his command after they were ambushed by insurgents in Haditha, Iraq, on November 19, 2005. Their actions resulted in the deaths of several ambushing insurgents. Unfortunately and tragically, several civilians were also killed in the house-clearing operation. Even though LtCol Chessani wasn't present during the incident, he was criminally charged with failing to launch a full investigation into the incident. If convicted, he faces 2 Å“ years imprisonment, dismissal from the Corps, and loss of all of his retirement pay. The essential holding of the military appellate court was as follows: "We are convinced the Government failed to meet its burden of demonstrating, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the proceedings were untainted by the appearance of UCI (Unlawful Command Influence). We are similarly convinced that an objective, disinterested observer, fully informed of all the facts and circumstances, would harbor significant doubt about the fairness of this proceeding." This decision could be appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) and then even to the U.S. Supreme Court. The government has yet to announce whether it will pursue another appeal. |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #7 Does this make a clean sweep of the Haditha "case" - perhaps except for one Marine who pleaded out to some lesser charges to cooperate with the prosecution? If not a 100% collapse, this marks a 95% collapse of the Haditha case. And one must admit that, amidst the hourly - and seemingly increasing - absurdities and outrages that have been occurring for years, the juxtaposition of this case sputtering to a conclusion, even while released detainees lead insurgent groups in southern A'stan, and the USG beclowns itself with its craven yet empty abandonment of perfectly acceptable terminology WRT terrorists who fall outside the Conventions and other relevant bodies of law, sort of takes the cake. |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2009-03-18 21:25 |
| #6 Let's hope the lawsuits against Murtha are proceeding well. When won, the funds are used to sue the guts out of Time and other collaborators. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-03-18 18:59 |
| #5 Muck Furtha |
| Posted by: Hyper 2009-03-18 18:55 |
| #4 Continued Thompson, "This nation has come to the point where we can't call terrorists captured on the battlefield 'enemy combatants.' We release the terrorists out of Guantanamo and prosecute the military our country placed in harms' way to defend us."
A very sad state of affairs. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-03-18 16:32 |
| #3 Not too mention did they send him back into the combat zone while he was being prosecuted on these charges? Since he did serve 3 tours in Iraq |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-03-18 15:37 |
| #2 ok the fact that he was charged and he wasn't even there is pure crap. Second what about the moron who turned rat on his fellow soldiers and made a deal with the prosecutors in this case and what about those soldiers he ratted out? I hope the LT colonel gets off before Obama sees the story and throws him in jail his self on presidential orders |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-03-18 15:36 |
| #1 The fact that any of this outrageous claims were brought into court and pursued is a huge failure of the courts and shows how much political influence can be brought against lawfully acting soldiers. This case alone is a huge argument against putting our military at the mercy of the international kangaroo court. We don't forget those that deliberately slander and falsely prosecute our brave soldiers for political and personal gain. It would be wise of our politicians to remember this. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-03-18 15:26 |