Navy SEAL Not Guilty Of Hitting Terrorist

Color me shocked and by shocked I mean, pissed these heroes were put through this.

Virginia military jury found a Navy SEAL not guilty on charges of punching a suspected Iraqi terrorist.

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

The suspected terrorist McCabe was accused of punching is Ahmed Hashim Abed, who is the suspected masterminded the grisly killings of four American contractors in Iraq six years ago.

This follows four days of pre-trial motions, jury selection and testimony before a Judge Advocate General, Captain Moira Modelewski, at the Naval Station Norfolk.

Another one of the Navy SEALs charged, but acquitted in connection with the Abed case, Petty Officer First Class Julio Huertas, took the stand for the defense Thursday morning.

He said that he and the other two Navy SEALs, McCabe and Jonathan Keefe, did visit the detention facility where Abed was being held on the night of the alleged incident.

But, he insists, there was no assault. Huertas and Keefe were found not guilty last month in separate trials in Baghdad.

Just remember, each of these SEALS were given the opportunity to face Non Judicial Punishment which more or less would have been a slap on the wrist in terms of punishment (compared to trial). It would however have been the end of their SEAL service and even worse...accepting it would have meant accepting they did something wrong. Instead, they exercised their right to a Court Martial and the chance to clear their names. They also risked jail time in the process but they didn't accept dishonor for something they did not do.

I hope each of these men gets some well deserved leave and then get back to work removing terrorists from the land of the living.

posted by DrewM. at 07:06 PM

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