Posted on 12/11/2009 7:09:41 PM PST by jazusamo
The highest-ranked Marine accused of bungling the military's response to the slayings of two dozen Iraqi civilians after a lethal 2005 roadside bombing displayed substandard performance, but he should not be demoted, a three-member Board of Inquiry ruled Friday.
The military board said it will recommend to the secretary of the Navy that Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, with 22 years of service and three tours of duty in Iraq, be allowed to retain his rank and not be demoted to major.
"It's been a long four years, but it hasn't been a miserable four years," Chessani told the North County Times after the decision was announced inside a Camp Pendleton courtroom. "A lot of good has come out of it, and I praise God and am thankful for all the people that have stood by us."
During the administrative hearing, which began Dec. 2, the board heard witnesses describe what happened in the city of Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005, and how Chessani responded to the civilian deaths.
The incident drew international condemnation and prompted a harsh critique of U.S. troop conduct in the Iraq war.
The Iraqis were slain by a Camp Pendleton squad as the troops hunted for the people responsible for the bombing that killed one Marine and injured two others. Chessani and his subordinates deemed the deaths regrettable, but the result of a legitimate combat action.
Prosecutors argued that Chessani was derelict by failing to accurately report the number of deaths and not ordering an investigation after learning several women and children were among the dead.
That failure resulted in a propaganda coup for the Iraqi insurgency, Lt. Col. Sean Sullivan argued in closing statements Friday morning.
(Excerpt) Read more at nctimes.com ...
Not Sullivan, he's a govt puppet. Sullivan approached the BOI like it was a GCM by trying the case against Chessani all over again. He kept trying to get the pictures of the dead civilians displayed in the courtroom - in an effort to invoke shock- but he was shot down by the presiding Judge.
That was the scuttle-but today, that Mabus would reject the decision of the Board.
The Chessani’s have been through enough and this needs to end once and for all.
I do fear for Frank because they’ll be gunning for him.
Every Court needs a Jester. Unfortunately, they had more than one...
I am greatly relieved at the ruling.
The scuttle-but where?
Camp Pendleton
Prayers answered.
Thank you, Lord!
OK, thanks.
Murtha ping
Yes Jaz, with Mabus at the helm anything is possible.
Best that could be expected. A victory for the good guys.
Muise gave an impassioned closing, stating “You want Battalion commanders to win wars, not be paper pushers” and this is a “Political firestorm”. Muise asked the board to view the evidence in light of proper context, and reminded the board that the Marines were moving into Haditha, not Oceanside.
He ended with the “Govt couldn’t get a pound of flesh so now they want an ounce of flesh” “Close this case once and for all!”
Muise was very emotional and said everything everyone of us has wanted to say for 4 years. Col Chessani is an honorable man and the USMC just ruined one of the Good guys.
Some Scuttle but - Thoughts are that the Sec Nav will overrule the Board’s recommendations, demote Chessani and find him with misconduct.
It’s PERSECUTION, not prosecution.
Yep, the scumbag, political hack, Princes of the Pentagon wimpishly handed the terrorists a victory.
"Semper Fidelis", RIP.
Ping to 52.
These people are an embarrassment to the Marine Corps.
Ping to #52. Thanks, Saoirise. I’m so glad to hear that.
I’m sure Sec Nav feels he must do something to justify time and effort, expenses and stupidity. How many freaking times does a man need to be cleared, FGS. Of course, demoting all the dorks that propelled this horsecrap probably won’t enter the Wizard’s mind. But that will just make him Prince of Dorkness, then.
Good news!
These people are an embarrassment to the Marine Corps.
You are right, Freema!
We have way too many lawyers overseeing the military. Combine that with our wasteful spending on affirmative action and EEO quotas putting less qualified leaders in place, and increasing cost to accommodate them, we are no longer a lean, mean, fighting machine, but more meals on wheels and world police. My guess that the military wastes about 30% of its resources catering to moronic social experiments demanded by the ladies in our congress.
Chessani should be getting a promotion and a hero's welcome, IMO.
Mark Walker...I know of too many times people have directly spoken to him with exculpatory evidence, evidece of undue command influence in Hamdania and Haditha, and Walker just repeats the prosecution statements, totally ignoring what he had presented to him by people who are defending the accused
What a loser.
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