Devastating: Michael Behenna's Conviction Upheld

Diana West ^ | July 06, 2012 | Diana West

[Ooh-Ah]

By a 3-2 majority, the highest military appeals court has upheld Army Ranger 1st  Lt. Michael Behenna's conviction for the unpremediated murder of a detainee and al-Qaeda-operative in Iraq named Ali Mansur. While Michael still could receive clemency, his legal appeals are now officially exhausted. Barring clemency, Michael will remain at Leavenworth military prison until 2024.

What a blow. What a disgrace.

I just finished reading the majority opinion. It is a chilling document. It contains analysis of whether Michael had "the right to act in self-defense" when the detainee he was questioning about IED attacks that had recently killed two men in his platoon, suddenly lunged for Michael's gun, and Michael shot and killed him.

This was one of several issues before the court. As the "initial aggressor" for engaging in an unauthorized interrogation of a naked detainee, Michael, the court upheld, had lost his right to self-defense. Under consideration was whether at any point in the split seconds during which the detainee hurled a piece of concrete at Michael and rushed for his gun, and Michael fired in return at the detainee, Michael ever regained it. Three judges in the calm of their chambers in Washington, D.C., determined that he did not.

Or, as they wrote: "Even assuming for a moment that Mansur could have escalated the level of force, we conclude that a naked and unarmed individual in the desert does not escalate the level of force when he throws a piece of concrete at the initial aggressor in full battle attire, armed with a loaded pistol, and lunges for his pistol."

Oh yeah? Maybe it's simplistic of me, but I'd like to see them step into Michael's combat boots and see how it felt out there in the night, after a hard day's "catch-and-release," after military intelligence shockingly set Mansur free and ordered Michael to drive him home -- the very man Michael suspected of knowing all about the attacks that had recently killed two of his men. Michael thought he could get the necessary evidence in one more interrogation, just him and Mansur. But it didn't work out as Michael hoped.

The majority:

Ultimately, even if we assume that Mansur lunged for Appellant's pistol and Appellant feared that Mansur would use the pistol if he was able to seize it, because Appellant was the initial aggressor, and because there was no evidence to support a finding of escalation or withdrawal, a rational member [juror] could have come to no other conclusion than that Appellant lost the right to act in self-defense and did not regain it.

I'm afraid that this court's idea of a "rational member" also could have come to no other conclusion than that Michael, "initial aggressor," bereft of the "right" to self-defense, should have permitted Mansur to snatch his gun from him and then shoot him dead.

Maybe then the three judges would have sighed with a satisfied kind of regret over the poor lieutenant who had given his all for their, frankly, demonic reading of the law. Instead, for having defended himself, for not having sacrificed himself to a charging terrorist, Michael and his family pay the price of Michael's freedom.

America: Is that justice?

[seekthetruth]

Thanks friend! I have another request of Freepers everywhere, and will be pinging ALL my Freeper lists to post # 49 and this post. Hope Freepers do NOT get upset with me but I want everyone to know what our troops face and about our heroes who remain in Leavenworth!

My Request:
Please Help Support Our Heroes! Send the following note to EVERY talk radio host and music radio host you know of in your particular state. Thank you so very much!
**********************

Dear Radio Host,

Please listen to the song at the link. It is “The Ballad Of Michael Behenna”. If you wish to learn more about Michael's story, AND the stories of other heroes unjustly charged, please contact Beverly Perlson and Bob McCarty, who are leaders in support of our Military. Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMbytddDjWI

Beverly Perlson of The Band Of Mothers
http://www.thebandofmothers.com
bevperl@sbcglobal.net

Bob McCarty
http://www.bobmccarty.com/
bobmccartywrites@gmail.com

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[seekthetruth]

Your welcome, Alamo-Girl!

Freepers I ping here, Please read the following posts on this thread. Please help any way you can to spread the information far and wide in support of our heroes! Thanks!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2903954/posts?page=49#49

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2903954/posts?page=51#51

[RobbyS]

To expect the present day brass to accept that rough measures are a part of war is futile. These guys are polishing their own resumes, hoping to make ran by proving themselves politically correct. This became perfectly clear when Casey came down to Hood and showed his yellow stripe.

[bgill]

But, but Islamists are just misunderstood!!! If Benhenna had given him a hug, this could have all been prevented.

[left that other site]

I would like to hear Romney’s take on this. That was a good letter.

[SUSSA]

The military has been politicized beyond anything even imagined just 50 years ago. This is really FUBAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[seekthetruth]

Mitt Romney on National Defense and US Military:

http://www.mittromney.com/issues/national-defense

Freeper ping here to post #49
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2903954/posts?page=49#49

[TheOldLady]

What seven kinds of insanity is this? Did I read that correctly? Three mortal, fallible men stripped this Marine of his right to life, that comes from God, and is specifically noted in the Constitution?

The self-defense laws are based on our right to life, and what these horribly combat-ignorant judges did was unconstitutional.

And can we please get back to waging war properly? We’re supposed to kill people and break things until the enemy can fight no more and must sue for peace.

Why are we “fighting” under rules of engagement? They should be called “rules for the enemy to kill our guys or have them thrown in prison.”

I haven’t been this disgusted in a long time, and I’ve been listening to Obama blather on for weeks.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

All I can say, is Wow...what a letter...our men over there need our support...what kind of a war are we fighting? Catch the enemy, release them, and send our own men to Leavenworth...FOR DOING THEIR JOB. Why the ‘Catch and Release’ policy? it is because they are of the same cloth as the usurper.

Why cannot this obscene excuse for a President usurping the office and the residence at 1600 PA Ave do his job? Oh, I keep forgetting, he has to play golf, he has to vacation, he has to have fund raisers for his reelection campaign...

...it is time to get him the hell out of the office that he holds unConstitutionally.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

Thanks for the ping...I have posted my comments...more to come...directed at those who represent me in Congress...

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

“Why are we “fighting” under rules of engagement?”

It is time to tell the UN and all those who make ‘PC’ rules to go straight to hell...do not pass ‘GO’...do not collect $200...

...and it is time to replace the ‘Usurper’...

[M Kehoe]

Good evening.

You are correct in all that you stated.

Just to top things off, one of those catch and release terrorist from Gitmo killed 6 Israelis in Bulgaria.

If 0bama and his regime get four more years, the USA might be toast. Or, we might be facing CWII. T'is better to die on your feet than live on your knees.

5.56mm

[TheOldLady]

No one with two brain cells to rub together would disagree with you.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

I want a Commander In Chief who honors and supports our Military!

Or at least one that could gain a security clearance. This one obviously couldn't but neither could have Clinton. The best way to be a top Communist spy is to be elected President of the USA. I offer every Democrat President since Woodrow Wilson as examples.

[chainsaw]

this is Obama’s military, so get use to it or get rid of Obama.

[Kitty Mittens]

Thank you for the Ping, Seekthetruth!

[seekthetruth]

I hope folks will also keep Kelly Stewart in their prayers. The decision on his case is yet to come. Read more here:

http://www.savethissoldier.com/writehim.htm

[seekthetruth]

A Message From Beverly Perlson of The Band Of Mothers:

Folks, I sent this out to everyone on my email list on Saturday and this is just a very friendly reminder to please drop a letter in the mail to the Romneys regarding the atrocious war policies of this administration that are killing, maiming and incarcerating our Troops!

Your letter could be quite simple, you could simply let Governor Romney know that Obama is releasing terrorists while our Soldiers continue to be incarcerated at Leavenworth! Ask him to speak up for our Troops while on the campaign trail and let him know you hope he will consider, when he becomes President, giving our Soldiers in Leavenworth the same Pledge to sign that Obama is giving to the terrorists, and release them! Oh, and the world sure would be a safer place if Romney asked Obama to stop releasing terrorists!
You can mail your letter to:

Romney for President,
PO Box 149756,
Boston, MA 02114-9756

Or, right now, you can click on this link below and send a message to the Romneys on their website, under issues:
http://www.mittromney.com/forms/site-issues

Please do this for our Soldiers. It only takes a minute of your time and if every single one of you on this email list will do this, I believe it will definitely get the attention of Governor & Mrs. Romney. Also, please forward this to all your lists. Our Soldiers are willing to lay their lives down for you, please take a stand for them. Feel free to use my letter below and if you get near the Romneys, please pass my letter or your own letter to them!

Thank You
Beverly Perlson
The Band of Mothers
http://www.thebandofmothers.com
http://www.defendmichael.com
http:/www.savethissoldier.com

[seekthetruth]

Doing another ping here for folks to read post 49, 51, 69.

Thanks for helping by spreading the word and helping bring attention to these cases in support of our heroes.

[thesearethetimes...]

BTTT for action ASAP

May God guide our course.
Tatt

[seekthetruth]

I would like to hear Romney’s take on this. That was a good letter.

It is up to all of us to help our heroes! Writing our own letters to Mitt and Ann Romney will help bring these cases to their attention. Please notice information in post #49 and #69. Thanks!! More information at links below.

Two unjust decisions:

lst Lt Micheal Behenna...Conviction Upheld

Green Beret Kelly Stewart...Conviction Upheld

But those of us who know the truth have not given up working for their freedom.

lst Lt Micheal Behenna:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMbytddDjWI
http://www.defendmichael.com
http://bobmccarty.com/2012/07/19/fight-continues-for-army-officer/

Green Beret Kelly Stewart:
http://www.savethissoldier.com
http://threedaysinaugust.com/
http://bobmccarty.com/2012/07/26/court-affirms-conviction-of-highly-decorated-green-beret/

Beverly Perlson
http://www.thebandofmothers.com
http://www.defendmichael.com
http://www.savethissoldier.com

[seekthetruth]

PLEASE READ AT THESE LINKS! Please keep these heroes in your prayers! If you want to help, please read post # 49 and 69. Thanks!

http://threedaysinaugust.com/?p=2854

http://theclappermemo.com/?p=663

[Dixie Yooper]

Keep treating our military like this... and the Dem’s will solve the problem by unionizing every enlistee without a commission.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!

[Albion Wilde]

I am so sorry. More prayers needed.

[gitmo]

I wonder if Romney is going to promise a pardon for Behanna.

[seekthetruth]

Here is a message from Beverly Perlson of The Band Of Mothers:

lst Lt Michael Behenna’s conviction was upheld and now we learn Green Beret Kelly Stewart's conviction was upheld. I have never been so disgusted in my life. Frankly, I don't know how those involved in these convictions sleep at night.
I won't give up and hope you won't either. Romney is the answer!
I want to thank Bob McCarty for all the reports he has filed on both of these Brave Warriors. Again I ask you folks to order a copy of Bob's book, “Three Days In August”. You will be outraged and I hope you would want to know the outrageous injustice Green Beret Kelly Stewart suffered! Please see Bob's email below and please forward this to your lists!
Thank You
Beverly Perlson
The Band of Mothers http://www.thebandofmothers.com/

From Bob:
Two new posts worth reading and sharing:

Army Appeals Court Affirms Green Beret’s Conviction and Sentence — http://threedaysinaugust.com/?p=2854
More than three months after Sgt. 1st Class Kelly A. Stewart and members of his defense team appeared for a hearing before the ACCA at Fort Belvoir, Va., the court’s three judges issued a unanimous nine-page opinion that appears to be little more than an indictment of the highly-decorated combat veteran‘s defense team; and

Defense Intelligence Agency Employs Army Tactics in Response to Freedom of Information Act Request — http://theclappermemo.com/?p=663
A letter received yesterday seems to indicate that officials at the Defense Intelligence Agency are stealing a page from the U.S. Army’s playbook when it comes to dealing with pesky Freedom of Information Act requests — mine!

Sincerely,

Bob McCarty
Founder: BobMcCarty.com :http://bobmccarty.com/
Contributor: Breitbart.com :http://www.breitbart.com/Columnists/Bob-McCarty/

[seekthetruth]

Kelly Stuart does have one more hearing, but do not know when it will take place as yet.

You are right. Prayers for truth and justice to win out in the end is our prayer. Right now, bringing these cases to Mitt Romney’s attention would be of great help. We know Obama cares NOTHING about our US Military! My tagline continues to be my greatest wish for November 2012!

[R. Scott]

Lost his right to self defense – in a war?

[seekthetruth]

lst Lt Michael Behenna is from Edmond, Oklahoma. He sits in Leavenworth for killing a terrorist and the Mosque in his hometown is affiliated with organizations with terrorist ties! What an injustice!!!

Constitutional Emergency

Check out the discussion ‘OKLAHOMA: Massive expansion of Edmond mosque causing controversy’

Discussion posted by Twana Blevins:

Bare Naked Islam The small mosque, in Edmond, OK, sits across from the University of Central Oklahoma. Mosque officials have requested p...

Discussion link:
OKLAHOMA: Massive expansion of Edmond mosque causing controversy
http://patriotsforamerica.ning.com/group/patriotsforamericaoklahoma/forum/topic/show?id=2734278%3ATopic%3A389052&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_topic

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[Jeff Head]

This is insane. With PC ideas like this about the rules of warfare...we would all be Sieg Heiling or Banzai’ing right now, or, under the watchful PC eye of the KGB.

This soldier was doing what he had to do with someone he knew was the enemy, but whom our PC rules were releasing, to protect his men and defeat that enemy.

Half of the US Marines fighting in the Pacific in WW II would have been taken off the battlefield and sentenced had these idiots been in place during World War II...but then again, the people of that day would not have stood for it, these “Judges” would have been drummed out of the service, and likely tarred and feathered.

AMERICA AT THE CROSSROADS OF HISTORY
http://www.jeffhead.com/crossroads.htm

[F.J. Mitchell]

These three officers live to appease their Commander in Chief. The CIC lives to appease his brotherhood.

Our honorable and brave troops have become these bastards sacrificial lambs.

[OldEagle]

Mitt had an opportunity for military service as did each of his sons. Guess what? None has served a day in the military.
Don’t waste your effort on Mitt.

[epow]

Sadly, this is what I’m advising my kids. At least for now, steer clear of the US military.

Absolutely! It seems pretty clear, to me at least, that the high ranking brass in our military are falling all over themselves trying to cater to their hopefully temporary CinC and his cronies. Personally, I wouldn't join any branch of our service at this time even if I were in that age bracket again. Of course that's not an issue for me since I'm only 6 days away from the 3/4 century landmark. But I do have a grandson and a gran-daughter approaching that age, and I will try to talk them out of "jinin up" if they become inclined in that direction while, God forbid, Ocommy is still disgracing the American people's White House when they reach that age.

I never thought I would advise a young man, or lady for that matter, to avoid serving in our military/naval services, but then I never thought that we the American people would tolerate a blatant traitor to our nation, our security, our honorable heritage, and our traditional Christian values in that high office. But we are, and we are dangerously close to allowing that outrage to continue, in which case it may well become a permanent situation given his lust for unlimited power and our military brass cowtowing to his treacherous demands as they have in regards to the Ft. Hood massacre outrage, no doubt along with many other outrages as well that the press won't make public.

Sorry to be so negative, that's not my natural inclination, but in today's America it's very difficult for old timers like myself to be optimistic given the aparrent political leaning of our coming-of-age generation who have been subjected to decades of collectivist indoctrination in public schools and universities. I can't blame that on the present middle age and younger generations, my generation and the one before allowed and enabled tax supported Marxist indoctrination of our youth to exist and flourish beginning in the early 20th century and continuing until today with scarcely a protest from my generation and even earlier.

[epow]

He sits in Leavenworth for killing a terrorist and the Mosque in his hometown is affiliated with organizations with terrorist ties! What an injustice!!!

Not just injustice for one officer who was more concerned with the safety of his men than in catering to the political correctness of his superiors, it's a blatant slap in the face to every American who is aware of the deadly threat that 100,000,000+ muslim fanatics pose to our nation's very existence. As someone posted earlier, if our WWII marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen had been forced to fight the fanatical Japanese and Nazi armed forces with one hand tied with a PC rope we might very well be barely existing today under the tyrannical rule of our enemies of that era. May God help us and our rapidly deteriorating nation, it appears very clear to me and many in my soon to disappear generation that our elected "leaders' won't.

[seekthetruth]

Sharing this from a friend:
**************

http://www.americanthinker.com/video/2012/08/obama_releases_guilty_terrorist_leader.html

Col West chooses his words so well:

Merriam Webster dictionary defines unconscionable as: not guided or controlled by conscience : unscrupulous

Obama and his administration continue to release terrorists and members of the Democrat Party advocate reading Miranda Rights to brutal terrorists who delight in the killing of Americans. They are unconscionable, they are unscrupulous, and they need to go!!! Remember in November!!!

http://www.mittromney.com/issues/national-defense

Beverly Perlson The Band of Mothers http://www.thebandofmothers.com
http://wwwdefendmichael.com
http://www.savethissoldier.com

[seekthetruth]

Another message from Beverly Perlson:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/08/02/20120802-hashtag-war

In honor of our Fallen, I had every intention to go silent today, and then I received a tweet to the link above. My heart is uplifted and my fighting spirit rejuvenated!
As you all know, Andrew wrote the BEST Post Card to our Troops I ever collected. In honor of the Warrior Andrew Breitbart and all our Fallen Heroes I again share with you his words of wisdom that came from his beautiful Warrior heart:
“Dear Soldier,

I apologize from the bottom of my heart for the putrid behavior of the American media. You have exhibited heroism and they took the lowest road. I have committed all of my resources to undo that wrong. And the mainstream media and Hollywood will have been exposed as the traitors they are.”

Andrew Breitbart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVgY0wSk42M

Thank you Andrew Marcus, Jon Kahn, Jim Hoft, Dana Loesh, Evan Maloney, Katie O’Malley, and all of you Bretibart Warriors! You honor back!

With A Mother's Heart,

Beverly Perlson

The Band of Mothers
http://www.thebandofmothers.com

http://www.defendmichael.com

http://www.savethissoldier.com

[dersepp]

Pitiful. Needs taking care of on 21 Jan 13.

[dersepp]

Pitiful. Needs taking care of on 21 Jan 13.