Devastating: Michael Behenna's Conviction Upheld

Diana West ^ | July 06, 2012 | Diana West

[FrdmLvr]

We should not have to follow UN rules of engagement.

[Theodore R.]

Another reason not to trust American institutiona and “we the people” for that matter. More injustice: there is no end in sight!

[cherry]

sad, upsetting news....

we have very few real men of character and righteousness in the military officer corp....and its diminishing as we write...

this is what happens when you throw a Clinton in there, and then an bamey .....

[marmar]

I agree...they have skin in the game...unlike the fat cats that are just taking up space.

[olezip]

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.

I would think that our military justice system would give the benefit of the doubt to our soldiers. Perhaps the judges are afraid that they will somehow offend the current administration, so they give the benefit of the doubt to the enemy.

So they lock up an American hero once in awhile, but they please their superiors and preserve their opportunities for advancement. I find fault with the current administration for creating such an atmosphere. It is another example of trickle down tyranny.

[fortheDeclaration]

A disgrace!

Clearly, in the military you aren't allowed 'to stand your ground' but must allow someone to shoot you first.

[TalBlack]

How odd. In NYC when a sword wielding naked guy THREW AWAY his weapon and rushed a girl cop she sprayed around enough lead to hit other cop or cops. She was held up the next day in public as a paragon of courage and police virtue by none other than the idiot Bloomberg. I believe she got a medal. This poor soldier was patroling the wrong damn place, it seems, or he his the wrong gender...or something.

[citizen]

Give ‘em an honorable battlefield death...even if these jihadists don’t deserve one - and be done with them.

[fr_freak]

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.

My first thought here was that I wished we had the same standard for law enforcement in this country with regards to their behavior toward our own people that we have for our troops' behavior toward an enemy populace. Imagine any cop getting convicted for shooting a suspect who "lunged for his gun". It wouldn't even make the news. But let a guy in a combat zone shoot an enemy combatant, who had previously blown up a few of this guy's fellow troops, who was lunging for his gun and suddenly we have to determine whether the right to self defense was re-acquired.

Sometimes I get the feeling that we sent our troops off to the middle east, but WE are the ones who ended up living in occupied territory.

[AnonymousConservative]

The prosecution’s own forensic expert concluded Behenna’s version of events was not just plausible, but was “the only explanation” for his assessment of the evidence. He conveyed this to the prosecutor, who proceeded to bury it until after the trial. I’d trust him before the interpreter.

Behenna likely wanted to do an unauthorized field interrogation. But that doesn’t mean he then had no right to fight off an attack, to save himself. Bang him for the interrogation, but don’t imply he was then had a legal obligation to let himself be killed.

The bottom line is Behenna should have at least had a new trial.

[KeyLargo]

Friday, July 06, 2012

Shame on the nation: American Hero Michael Behenna Loses Final Appeal

There is something horribly wrong in America when a soldier is jailed for killing the enemy. The criminalization of our heroes is the liberal wet dream and the goal of the enemy, Islamic supremacists. Indeed, they make common cause of their hatred of the good.

Lt. Behenna shot a known al qaeda killer on the battlefield, a terrorist the Army had actually issued a kill/capture order for before they realized he was already dead.

His mother wrote here:

... we will not give up the fight. It is our hope that Congress will hold hearings on the Army’s Catch and Release policy and the current ROE’s that limit our soldiers and Marines ability to defend themselves sometime this fall...... I have come to believe that the only way the Army will release Michael from prison is for the American public to demand it. In that regard I am once again asking for your help. The Savage Nation has been so supportive of Michael, helping us with his legal expenses, and writing letters of encouragement to him. Now I need their voice. I need the voice of the American public to demand his release.

Michael is an exceptional young man and would never have been involved in the criminal justice system but for his attempt to interrogate Mansur. Michael’s character and professionalism has shown through even through this difficult time. When he was pending charges of premeditated murder he was never placed in pre-trial confinement. He continued to work in Iraq and when he redeployed with the 101st Airborne Division in November 2008, he lived off post in Clarksville, reporting to work every day at Ft. Campbell. One of his assignments during that time was to work on President Bush’s security detail when President Bush visited the 101st Airborne Division just before Thanksgiving of 2008.

Read the rest.

Michael Behenna Loses Final Appeal Bob McCartey

Short of a presidential pardon, which isn’t likely in this day and age, it appears Army Ranger 1LT Michael C. Behenna will remain behind bars at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., until he turns 40 years old. The Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C., has upheld the 29-year-old Edmond, Okla., native’s conviction stemming from a May 16, 2008, shooting in Iraq of Ali Mansur, a known Al-Qaeda operative.

Clockwise from upper left: Michael’s family; Michael; Michael as a youngster; and Michael and his girlfriend, Shannon.

The sad news arrived shortly after 6 p.m. Central Thursday, almost 11 weeks after the five-member CAAF panel heard Lieutenant Behenna’s final appeal of the verdict that found him guilty of unpremeditated murder in the shooting death of Ali Mansur, a known Al-Qaeda operative in Iraq.

It is beyond comprehension how multiple levels of the military justice system were able to reconcile the lieutenant’s conviction with the fact that the government’s own expert witness reached the conclusion that the lieutenant acted in self defense — see this post and this post for more details — but they did. And by a 3-2 margin.

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2012/07/shame-on-the-nation-american-hero-.html

[RipSawyer]

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

I could not in good conscience recommend the military to any young person now. Fifty years ago today I was about half way through Navy basic training and there was plenty of injustice in the military even then but it was perfection compared to now.

[seekthetruth]

WE WILL NOT ABANDON MICHAEL BEHENNA!

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2012/07/pardon-behenna-write-romney.html

[bevperl]

Please send the link where you got this information. List your source!

[bevperl]

Please send the link where you got this information. List your source!

[bevperl]

Please send the link where you got this information. List your source!

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hxttv8obWP1hPI7P-xY_fUMRMvag

parts 1 and 2 of the story:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-killing13-2009sep13,0,6346810.story

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-killing14-2009sep14,0,7133244.story

[bevperl]

Well I suggest YOU read the first link and the next two again!

None of the nonsense reported in the first link is reported in the following links. None of first link was ever introduced at trial! AND if you read Part 1 and 2 of the those links the story certainly doesn't jive with the first link you posted.

Let me guess, you don't like the military.

Beverly Perlson
The Band of Mothers

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

No, let me guess. You have never sat on a military court martial board, yet you assume they are not only corrupt morons, but will unflinchingly obey orders to convict or acquit.

The truth is that lawyer razzle-dazzle, hired gun expert witnesses, and lots of other corruptions of the legal system are found in civilians courts. But military trials are the best bet for acquittal if you are innocent or have mitigating circumstances; and they are the very worst if you are guilty and attempt to deceive them.

You assume I hate the military because, now that he is convicted and his appeal denied, I do not take the side of a war criminal murderer. Because with conviction, that is now what he is, though you refuse to accept that idea.

He is no longer an officer and a gentleman. He is a private and a prisoner.

[seekthetruth]

Are you STILL saying your version about what actually happened in your post #8 is from the trial record? If so, PLEASE show your trial record source.

I have friends who attended the trial and hearings and shared your post #8 with them. They said what you posted was not in the trial record.