June 18, 2008
Jun 18 03:11 The Lessons Behind the Headlines Jun 18 04:02 Chessani: Leader or Coverup Specialist? Jun 18 09:14 CONGRATULATIONS CELTICS!!! Jun 18 16:56 What They're Saying About Haditha Ruling
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May
The Lessons Behind the Headlines
While we're rejoicing the charges being dropped against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, there's a bigger message that Col. Steven Folsom delivered with his ruling. Here's the message that we shouldn't overlook :
Folsom's ruling dismissed the charges without prejudice, which means prosecutors could restart the case, but the judge said the Marine Forces Central Command could not be involved if that happens.Col. Folsom's ruling means that Centcom can't be involved if this investigation is ever revived. I'm skeptical that this investigation will be revived. The military's prosecutors have been embarrassed in each of the 7 cases that've been resolved thus far. Six of the cases have had the charges dropped; the other soldier was acquitted.
Just as importantly, these cases have gotten alot of scrutiny on the blogosphere. That scrutiny will only increase if the investigation is reinstated. That isn't what the brass in NCIS and JAG want at this point. In fact, that's the last thing they want right now.
Here's what Col. Folsom said after dropping the charges:
" Unlawful command influence is the mortal enemy of military justice ," said Col. Steven Folsom, quoting previous case law. "In order to restore the public confidence, we need to take it back. We need to turn the clock back."Here's what led to Col. Folsom's ruling :
The judge's conclusion then was based on evidence two generals who controlled Chessani's case were influenced by Marine lawyer Col. John Ewers, one of the investigators assigned to the case. Ewers was allowed to attend at least 25 closed-session meetings in which Chessani's case was discussed.This is despicable behavior. This shouldn't be tolerated. This time, it wasn't because the people at TMLC didn't roll over and play dead. They pushed back hard. They fought the corruption.
At a minimum, this should result in significant reforms in the military's investigative procedures. Col. Ewers' behavior warrants public hearings, too. This shouldn't be swept under the rug. I'm betting that this isn't the only time an investigator has sat in on closed-session meetings. I wouldn't be surprised if it's fairly commonplace.
One thing that I'm wondering is what type of political pressure was put on investigators by elected politicians. When Rep. Murtha made his baseless accusations, was that a signal to NCIS and JAG? If Rep. Murtha hadn't made these accusations, would these Marines have been charged? It's doubtful since this was reported up the chain of command. Capt. Jeffrey Dinsmore put a PowerPoint presentation together.
As I said in this post , people up the chain of command determined that no further investigation was warranted:
As previously reported by NewsMax, the battalion S2 officer made a full and complete report based on his monitoring of the day's events and the intelligence he and others had amassed then and previous days. As we wrote at the time, the PowerPoint after-action report he sent up the command ladder proved to all the higher officers that the incident warranted no further investigation. None!This isn't public knowledge to many people but it's the type of thing that should've been reported months ago by the Washington Post, NBC and the NY Times. Had they done their jobs, Rep. Murtha wouldn't have been able to continue spreading his lies about these American heroes.
It told the full story, was supported by photographic evidence, logs of all the day's radio transmissions, and included an almost minute-by-minute narrative of the day's events.
There's been too much reprehensible behavior on the investigators' behalf to ignore. It's time for Congress to step forward and get rid of the corruption inside the military's investigative arm.
Anything less is unacceptable.
Posted Wednesday, June 18, 2008 3:14 AM
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Chessani: Leader or Coverup Specialist?
Depending on who you listen to, you're left with the question of whether Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani was a great leader of men or if he was the man behind the coverup of a brutal massacre of Iraqi civilians. Personally, I'm betting Col. Chessani's Combat Fitness Report is the best barometer of what type of commander he is. Here's part of Col. Chessani's CFR:
- "Leads Marines from front in every operation. Demonstrates moral courage every day."
- "Doesn't hesitate to report bad news fast or contest unrealistic plans/poor concepts. Despite the complexity and size of his AO [area of operations], he always maintains a calm, cool demeanor."
- "Gets the job done to an exceedingly high standard."
Meanwhile, Chessani's official 2006 Combat Fitness Report declared him "a superb leader, who knows his men, knows the enemy, knows his business," and recommended him for promotion. A reviewing major general added that Chessani has "unlimited potential and value to the Marine Corps," and also recommended him for promotion.I can't imagine that the Marine Corps makes a habit of promoting people if it's thought that he's been derelict in often that someone who's thought to be derelict in fulfilling his duties.
Originally posted Wednesday, June 18, 2008, revised 19-Jun 11:41 AM
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CONGRATULATIONS CELTICS!!!
Rumor has it that Mayor Banaian was dancing in front of his TV set for most of the evening. If such rumors are to be believed, it's likely that Hizzoner was dancing because his beloved Celtics were waltzing their way into the NBA history books with a 131-92 shellacking of the LA Lakers.
Shortly after the buzzer sounded, the camera was on KG because KG was hugging Bill Russell. Because the mic was set loud enough, you could hear a portion of their conversation. KG first said "Man, I hope we made you proud" to which Mr. Russell said "You bet you did."
To be perfectly honest, I was cheering for the Celtics, too, and not just because of the bet between King and Tony Garcia either. It's because, at least in the best of times, the Celtics have always carried themselves with a dignity unrivaled in professional baskeetball.
Tuesday night belonged to the Celts' Big Three of KG, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Early in the game, KG led the way with his offense, toying at times with Pau Gasol. Frankly, that's a mismatch that can't be allowed to happen all night long. KG abused Gasol to the tune of 26 points and 14 rebounds.
The Celts put the game away in the second quarter by outscoring the Lakers 34-15. That gave the Celts a 23 point halftime lead. It's a lead they never relinquished, mostly thanks to their defensive intensity. Rajon Rondo's intensity was highlighted all night, though he was just the most visible defensive star.
The Celts' defense shut down everyone on the Lakers. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom scored 11 points and 12 points respectively. Kobe led the Lakers with 22 points but 9 of those were in the first quarter on long three pointers. The guys that quietly took the Lakers out were KG, P.J. Brown and James Posey. That's verified by the fact that the Lakers got 2 offensive rebounds the entire game.
This has been an exception sports year for King, especially considering his Red Sox swept the Rockies in the World Series, his Giants ruined the Patriots' perfect season and now is culminated with his beloved Celts thumping the hated LaLa Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Posted Wednesday, June 18, 2008 9:14 AM
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What They're Saying About Haditha Ruling
I just got off the phone with the great people at the Thomas More Law Center, the organization that are defending the rights of the Haditha Marines. I don't know how I missed their official statment yesterday on Col. Steven Folsom's ruling but miss it I did. Here's the heart of their statement:
The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, represents LtCol Chessani alongside his detailed military attorneys. The two Law Center attorneys assigned to his case are former Marine officers themselves. Robert Muise served in the First Persian Gulf war as an infantry officer, and Brian Rooney was a Judge Advocate officer who served two tours of duty in Iraq. Lt Colonel John Shelburne, USMC, and Captain Jeff King, USMC, the detailed military defense counsel, make up the rest of Chessani's defense team.It's maddening that the military threw Col. Chessani's career under the proverbial bus. Nonetheless, that's precisely what they did when they charged him with dereliction of duty. I suspect that they were pushed into this decision by some politicians looking for a political victory.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commenting on the judge's decision had this to say, "We are all grateful for the judge's ruling today. He truly was the "last sentinel" to guard against unlawful command influence."
"Tragically, our own government eliminated one of its most effective combat commanders. The insurgents are laughing in their caves," said Thompson.
What's maddening is that these accusations were made against a man who was a brilliant officer. Here's some of the things that TMLC included in their statement:
- "Leads Marines from front in every operation. Demonstrates moral courage everyday. Doesn't hesitate to report bad news fast or contest unrealistic plans/poor concepts. Despite the complexity and size of his AO [area of operations], he always maintains a calm, cool demeanor."
- "Always seeks advantage over complex, diverse insurgent enemy. Truly one of the finer thinkers in this COIN [counterinsurgency] environment."
- "One of the top 3 infantry/Cav Bn commanders of 13 who have served with RCT ; 2 [the regiment] during OIF. A superb leader, who knows his men, knows the enemy, knows his business. Doesn't attract a lot of fanfare; just gets the job done to an exceedingly high standard."
- "Long ball hitter; recommend selection for promotion to Colonel and TLS [Top Level School]."
On the other hand, here's what Al-Jazeera said about yesterday's ruling:
A US military judge in California has dismissed charges against a senior US marine accused of failing to properly investigate the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha in 2005. Lieutenant-Colonel Jeffrey Chessani was the highest ranking officer to face charges over the incident.It isn't surprising that al-Jazeera omitted the fact that 8 of the people killed were known insurgents. They also omitted the fact that the people in the white car were insurgents.
The judge, Colonel Steven Folsom, dismissed the charges after finding that the general overseeing the case was improperly influenced by an investigator examining the killings, the Associated Press news agency reported. Local media in California reported that a key prosecution witness, Colonel John Ewers, had also served as a legal adviser to the marine general who approved charges against Chessani.
A total of eight marines were initially charged in 2006 over the case. However, only one defendant, Frank Wuterich, still faces multiple charges of voluntary manslaughter. Earlier this month Lieutenant Andrew Grayson, 27, was found not guilty of ordering photos of the dead civilians to be deleted from army computers. Grayson, an intelligence officer, was not present when the Iraqis were killed.
Deadly incident
The civilians, many unarmed men, women and children, were killed after a roadside bombing left a US marine dead in Haditha, 260km west of Baghdad, in November 2005.
Following the incident, the marines said in a statement that 15 Iraqis had died in the bombing that killed the soldier. However, investigators say Wuterich and a squad member shot five men in a car after the bombing. Wuterich, whose trial is set to take place later this year, then allegedly ordered his squad into several houses, where they attacked with grenades and gunfire, killing unarmed civilians.
The killings in Haditha are the most serious allegations of war crimes involving US forces since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
That's the difference between an organization committed to the truth and an organization committed to an agenda regardless of the facts.
Posted Wednesday, June 18, 2008 4:57 PM
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