Navy Seals Face Court Martial for Alleged Terrorist Bloody Lip?

By: Ryan Smith
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP)

Photo: Iraqis chant as American contractors hang from a bridge in Fallujah, Iraq on March 31, 2004.

NEW YORK (CBS) - Three members of the elite Navy SEALs, who were hailed as heroes for capturing one of Iraq's most wanted alleged terrorists, are now being court martialed for roughing him up, according to Fox News.

The detainee claims he was punched during the operation and suffered a bloody lip, reports Fox.

(PATRICK BAZ/AFP/Getty Images)

The network said the complaint was made by Ahmed Hashim Abedm, the alleged mastermind of the gruesome 2004 murder and mutilation of four American contractors in Fallujah. The four worked in the security division of Blackwater USA. The bodies of two were hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River.

Abedm, whose military code name was "Objective Amber," had evaded capture until September.

He made the accusation when he was in the hands of Iraqi authorities. Abedm has since returned to American custody, reports Fox, and his allegations led to a military investigation.

The three enlisted men facing charges are Petty Officers Matthew McCabe, Jonathan Keefe and Julio Huertas.

They have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial, according to the network.

The three will be arraigned on December 7 in separate hearings.

SEAL commandos are members of the elite special forces unit for the US Navy who are trained for unconventional warfare on sea, air, and land.

The four murdered Blackwater agents were transporting supplies for a catering company in 2004 when they were caught in an ambush and killed by gunfire. Their bodies were then burned and dragged through the area. The attack sparked international outrage when photos of the mutilated victims hanging from a bridge were televised.

A spokeswoman for US Central Command confirmed to Fox News that "three SEALs have been charged in connection with the capture of a detainee" and that "their court martial is scheduled for January."

According to Fox, one of the commandos submitted a handwritten statement to investigators. In it, he described the mission, and the events after Abed's capture.

He says that he had showered, went to the kitchen, and later looked in on the detainee.

"I gave the detainee a glance over and then left," the SEAL wrote. "I did not notice anything wrong with the detainee and he appeared in good health."

More at Fox News.

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by Army-Guy March 12, 2010 9:53 AM EST: Sooooooooooooo?
Does anyone know what happened in the December Court-Martial?
What were the results of the Article 32 Investigation?
You DO know that anyone can always refuse an Article 31 reprimand and demand trial by Court-Martial. An example could be coming in late from a pass. The non-judicial punishment might be holding next week's pass. By demanding a court-martial, you either bluff out of everything, or gamble on a more severe penalty, which in the pass incident might escalate the charge to be disobeying a lawful order, causing the loss of a stripe.
I think this might be a Tempest in a Teapot.; Reply to this comment


by may0083 March 10, 2010 8:19 AM EST: Terrorists know and laugh at the fact that they can claim abuse (even if its not true) and that the Americans in charge of them will have to answer to these accusations. In this case its NAVY SEALS, who do what %99.9 of american MEN cant and wont do. I am sometimes embarrassed to be an American, and this is one of those times. I just read Marcus Luttrells book Lone Survivor, he is a SEAL who was the "lone survivor" on a mission in Afganistan and he speaks of these "rules of engagement" that Americans have to follow...written by some *** sitting in an office who would probably call 911 if he hears a noise in his basement, (Im a police officer so I get a lot of this). These "rules" kill Americans, because the enemy has no rules. Its similar to being a police officer and being afraid that you are going to get sued if you are just trying to protect yourself or the public. I wish there was something we could do to support these SEALS who are capturing pure evil and saving lives.; Reply to this comment


by youcancallmeroy March 5, 2010 4:20 PM EST: Who are the spineless advocates of these prosecutions who apparently do not appreciate their freedoms secured by our serving military and veterans? In simpler language for CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, and MSNBS, who are those who look at this story and yawn? Who are the individuals in our Navy, Pentagon, or Defense Department who are kicking our troops in the teeth or who stab them in the back with indignant politics? Where is our new President and our new Congress? Elected officials, where is your backbone? This is a grave threat to our American national security and to the welfare of our U.S. Armed Forces. Whoever is behind this insane, suicidal, prosecution should be removed from office immediately and prosecuted themselves for giving aid and comfort to the enemy in time of war. This goes for whoever approved it and whoever approved the approval all the way up the chain of command. This preposterous game, in which we give a terrorist a forum to recruit and even offer training to his fellow animals around the world, must be stopped immediately. PS
To Jim Jones above: Your a disgrace; Reply to this comment


by JimJones562 March 4, 2010 3:28 PM EST: This case does not seem so simple. If they were trying to extract info from him then yes, they should be authorized to bloody his lip, or even crack his skull. I mean, that's the job description of a terrorist. Kill people and don't get caught. If you get caught, then get the 3rd degree. They know that.
HOWEVER, based on some of the comments here, it seems that the SEALS beat the crap out of him just for recreation. Seems, like it was not a job-related punch, but more of some personal bias they had against Muslims. Because they hate Muslims, they bloodied his lip. You can't assault someone because of some personal issue you have with another culture. Or at least you can't say that outloud! lol. They should have kept the racial slurs to themselves and bloodied his lip while interrogating him. I'm not being sarcastic. They put themselves in this situation.; Reply to this comment

by Leaderless January 26, 2010 3:20 PM EST

This ***** should be thankful that is was only a bloody lip........
obama further eroded the moral of our troops by doing nothing as usual.

Reply to this comment


by dmbshms123456 April 10, 2010 8:31 PM EDT: i feal the same way if he cant stand up for his troops the he should not be in offes eney longer and never a gine


by jirvinjournal December 20, 2009 9:55 AM EST: http://www.SupportOurSEALs.com; Reply to this comment


by chuckiecc1 December 18, 2009 2:59 PM EST: This is outrageous. It is a typical example of the "tail wagging the dog" which goes on in the politically correct society that we live in. It is NOT the fault of the President or any one single person, alternatively it is the direct result of the sense of entitlement that the county has come to expect. Like it or not, you can't blame one person. That said, I am not a staunch supporter of anyone party etc.. But clearly, when at war with these people, there are no boundaries on their end. Either we fight em, and meaning take the gloves off and fight em for our survival, or get the heck out of them and let em kill each other off.. its either one or the other. Any rational thinker would KNOW we need the support of our allies etc etc and that there is no choice BUT to fight these people. So fight them. Be a gruesome as they are and worse. it is the only language they speak. I remember that I had heard a story in civil war times when a general had captured a 100 or so Muslims soldiers that were engaging in a battle. He then executed 98 of them, but prior to this drenched all of them in pigs blood. Then he allowed two of them to live.. no more issues..; Reply to this comment


by Honorable-Service December 9, 2009 11:12 PM EST: It`s a good thing that O`buma and his band of socialists were not in power during Nam, because there would have been thousands of soldiers being court marshalled for what we did to the VC. War is Hell!!!!!! The Court Marshall of these 3 Hero`s should cause such an outrage among Americans. There should be protests at every recruiting center across this land, calls made to every member of the Congress and Senate telling them to sqaush these outlandish charges. This administration is doing everything they can to destroy this nation. Like the Roman Empire we are being destroyed from within.; Reply to this comment


by escapade1 December 8, 2009 8:00 PM EST: The entire country should be captivated by this crazy story.Forget Tiger Woods, our security is dead. How can you give these soldiers a job and then say"not". I'd like to know who brought these guys to trial? (an idiot)!!; Reply to this comment


by barbara_renee December 4, 2009 11:49 AM EST: Outrageous! In the Corporate World, a change of command results in a finace dept. overhaul, not so in the military arena. A change in Commander in Chief in our government, results in a huge "cover your Ass" mantra among the chain of command in the military to align with the agenda of the New President. Obama needs to read the "Art of War". The terrorists are not about to begin playing by his "agenda", they throw bombs, murder and drag U.S. civilians through their cheering, crowded streets. Obama is throwing confetti at the world terrorists, and bombs at his own military. What will result? 1. The military will become ineffective as they align with Obama's self-rightous agenda and public profile. 2. There's no incentive to bring any prisoners in, much less alive. Any other SEALs or military service might question: why put my life on the line and be subjected to discredit when the Commander in Chief doesn't support their efforts. If you are fighting a dirty war, you play by the tactics of the opponents if you're going to win that dirty war. Dirty opponents calls for dirty tactics if you expect to out-strategize and win over the terrorist. It calls for a tactical terrorist defense. The terrorist prisoner is using our fool-hardy regulations against our military to their advantage. Stand by your military or the military will walk away and become ineffective. You can't win a war with terrorists by expecting to change THEIR methodology. Terrorist methods have been in force a lot longer than the U.S.A. has existed or we wouldn't be here in the first place in 2009!
I never thought I'd ever come close to reconsidering Bush's military methods, but throwing confetti at the world, disintegrating our own military hero's, disempowering our military, certainly calls for some review. How many ways can you say, the U.S. is in trouble? This spells it out in real time.; Reply to this comment