This is clearly "selective prosecution" as the defense has claimed.
Attempting to dissect a combat action and assess culpability really is a gross violation of Trust between our country and our soldiers ONCE it is determined that they were in a firefight with the enemy.
There is no way that anyone could ever understand the split-second decisions made in the midst of trying to stay alive...especially in urban warfare. Even the participants themselves shouldn't be forced to defend themselves based on their memories. Little things, emotions, fears, suspicions, 6th and 7th sense intuitions -- how in the world can a man ever reconstruct that?
This prosecution is an awful violation of Trust, a supreme act of disloyalty toward these men, a stain on the integrity of our nation, and clear evidence that there is an elitist divide between our governmental bureaucracy and the men and women who serve. They do see them as expendable for their own political purposes.
I'm ashamed of Congress, the DoD, the Marine Corps and the nation for what they're doing to these men.
"Grudging witnesses" -- I'm not surprised. NCIS and these prosecutors have, on record by both commission and omission, abused their mandates and forever sullied the positions they hold. We expect differences of opinion and even tactics, but to willfully mis-state and consciously mislead defense witnesses, while giving full credence and value to insurgent propaganda violates the sanctity of the UCMJ and the judicial process.
These cases were brought under political mandate to salve the opprobrium of washed-up, self-aggrandizing policy makers in both the Congress and the Administration. Blaming the hammer for hitting your thumb instead of the nail makes you look foolish and totally inept.
Thanks for the follow-up, Red; maybe we're starting to see a (dim) light down this long, dank, tunnel.