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The unflappable public affairs officer for the Marine Corps Central Command during most of the explosive Haditha and Hamandiyah affairs is moving on. Lt. Col. Sean Gibson has been transferred to Marine Corps Installation West at Camp Pendleton after a tumultuous time facing heat for the Marine Corps. Lt. Col. Gibson, who says his age is a “state secret,” never missed a beat running the Camp Pendleton Media Center when it was the epicenter of an international media feeding frenzy. Along with a small staff of Marine public affairs specialists, Gibson quickly and honestly responded to the endless barrage of...

What's wrong with Pennsylvania?Have they no shame? How do they keep voting for this antiwar, anti-military detestable gasbag?(Here's some advice to wcbstv-- Murtha is not a "strong defense advocate." He is a selfish man who has made it a habit of slandering the US troops at war!) Democrat John Murtha does it again...Murtha admits the surge is working but only because the terrorists "are worn out" and American troops aren't just beating down doors and killing innocents!Un-freaking-believable! Here's the video: A WilleyBCoyote Video.Here is what Murtha says: Murtha: I think they have 17 or so guidelines and they've solved...

Murtha: I think they have 17 or so guidelines and they’ve solved 4 or 5 of them. . . Murtha: I think the short term it (the Bush Surge) has reduced incidents. I’m not sure if it’s because the Iraqis are just worn out but certainly the way they are doing it today it makes a big difference. It used to be we broke down doors. We went in and we killed people inadvertently. Now they’re much more careful about it. Murtha says he thinks that “they” (apparently Murtha doesn’t consider himself a member of the country that’s at...

Positive action in support of Lt Chessani We brought you the story of Lt Col Jeffrey Chessani facing serious charges based on a Time story in which Congressman John Murtha made unfounded allegations against eight Marines, one of whom was Lt Col. Chessani.Lt. Col Chessani had his honour and reputation called into question because Murtha said that in a town called Haditha in Iraq, civilians were killed by US Marines "in cold blood". This event was in November 2005, and it has been a long and sad road to June 17, 2008 when a military judge, Col. Steven Folsom...

An Open Letter To Jack “Cold-Blooded” Murtha Tuesday, July 1, 2008 Congressman Murtha, Were I you sir, I would hang my head in shame and pray to my Creator, begging His forgiveness for the pain that I’ve caused innocent people. And then I would perform some serious personal introspection to see what I could possibly do to begin the process of restitution for my crimes. But you won’t because you have no shame. As a member of the House of Representatives, you took a solemn oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. Despite what you may...

Battered by six consecutive exonerations of Marines accused in a highly publicized case, military prosecutors face new difficulties in obtaining convictions against the two remaining defendants charged with wrongdoing in the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha. The latest blow came June 17, when a judge ruled that unlawful command influence had irreparably tainted the dereliction-of-duty prosecution against the battalion commander at Haditha, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani and that the charges would be dismissed. The ruling gave the brass three choices: Let it stand, appoint a new convening authority to review the case or appeal the ruling. A day...

Evidence introduced during pre-trial motions in the court-martial of Marine Lt. Col Jeffrey Chessani for his role at Haditha revealed that commanding generals of Marine Corps Forces Central Command are often preoccupied with court fights as well as battlefields while the seemingly endless investigations drag on. The Marine Corps Forces Central Command – CENTCOM – was assigned the onerous task of investigating and adjudicating the sensationalized charges against Chessani. CENTCOM is the umbrella organization that controls Marine Corps’ war fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Marine Corps designated the CENTCOM commander to be the convening authority and final arbiter in...

Chicago magazine, July 2008: "Web sites such as DefendOurMarines.com and DefendOurTroops.com feature tributes to the marines of Haditha. Bloggers have said the troops acted 'heroically' that day. Those supporters have scorned [prosecution witness, Sgt Sanick] Dela Cruz, deriding his testimony that he watched Wuterich gun down a group of Iraqi men who were surrendering. 'Dela Cruz is one of the sleaziest characters to emerge from the Haditha prosecution,' declared one writer on FreeRepublic.com, a conservative blog site. As this article went to press, the supporters had reason to be pleased: Of all of the men accused in the killings, only...

The US Navy-Marine Corps Court of Appeals has ruled that the CBS television news magazine 60 Minutes must turn over outtakes from its interview with Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich in which he revealed what happened at the so-called “Haditha Massacre” in Iraq more than three years ago. The three-judge appellate panel Friday directed Marine Corps military judge Lt. Col. Jeffrey G. Meeks to “conduct additional fact-finding” including an “in camera review” of the outtakes to determine whether Wuterich revealed any information the government needs to bolster its prosecution against the Marine infantryman. The ruling of the military judge...

The mainstream media continues to smear the American military. It ignores the presumption of innocence and need to apologize for false accusations. Here are five examples of the mainstream media coverage that conclusively proves how these major outlets have slipped into the journalistic garbage can, with dishonest, fraudulent, and biased reporting. The first four have been well documented in previous columns, and now I add a number "five": No. 1: The mainstream media disrespects our servicemen by either ignoring altogether or severely downplaying those who win the nation's highest award for heroism, the Medal of Honor. They put any military...

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national non-profit, public-interest law based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, today released the transcript of the recent Unlawful Command Influence ruling by the military judge — Colonel Steven A. Folsom — dismissing all charges against LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, USMC. The Law Center represents LtCol Chessani. Last week, prosecutors suffered a huge setback when the military judge dismissed all charges against LtCol Chessani, the highest ranking Marine officer facing charges arising out of the Battle of Haditha. The government has indicated that it intends to pursue an appeal, which will continue the...

Now, "the focus is upon the perception of fairness in the military justice system as viewed through the eyes of a reasonable member of the public. Thus the appearance of unlawful command influence will exist where an objective, disinterested observer fully informed of all the facts and circumstances would harbor a significant doubt about the fairness of the proceedings." That's U.S. v. Lewis, 63 MJ 405, at 414, 2006, CAAF. "Where actual or apparent unlawful command influence has been held or found, CAAF has long held that a military judge has wide latitude in discretion of fashioning a remedy. CAAF...

Return to the Article June 23, 2008The Real Command InfluenceRuss Vaughn In dismissing the very dubious war crimes charges against Marine LTC Jeffrey Chessani, his trial judge, COL Steven Folsom, said this: "Unlawful command influence is the mortal enemy of military justice," COL Folsom was referring to influence within the Marine Corps command structure, specifically involving two officers of general rank. We should all applaud the colonel's decision as it would make no sense whatsoever for the Marines to try an officer for failing to investigate crimes that to this point several military courts have failed to establish ever...

Haditha: A media-made ‘atrocity’? The New York Times referred to the deaths of as many as 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha as the “defining atrocity� of the Iraq War.If so, then the Iraq War must be particularly unatrocious. After all, of the eight people charged in the Haditha case, seven have seen the charges dropped for insufficient evidence or actually been found innocent, and the one remaining case is no more likely to produce a conviction than the first seven.Yet there WAS a Haditha atrocity. And perhaps it even was defining of this war and its...

Justice: The latest Haditha Marine to be exonerated is considering suing Rep. John Murtha for calling him a cold-blooded killer. Will Barack Obama be a character witness for saying Murtha knows his stuff? If you hadn't heard, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani is the seventh of the Haditha 8 to either be acquitted or have charges dismissed regarding the deaths of civilians in the town of Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005. Mainstream media and liberal Democrats, if that's not redundant, are more preoccupied these days with protecting the rights of terrorists, even Osama bin Laden, to habeas corpus and other...

Darryl R. Sharratt, father of Haditha Marine Justin Sharratt, has given his take on the Haditha nightmare, the effects it had on Justin, his family, and the other Marines involved in what will undoubtedly be one of the most infamous miscarriages of justice in military history. Exclusively at Murtha Must Go!!This story needs to get out--the louder, the more ubiquitous, the better. Thanks for your help!! -Leo Pusateri-

Half-cocked on Haditha Critics blasted Marines without benefit of facts or fairness Friday, June 20, 2008 If you call someone a cold-blooded killer in public, you'd better have the facts on your side. That's our free, untrained legal advice for Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who said precisely that about a handful of Marines once accused of killing civilians in Haditha, Iraq. Seven of the eight Marines initially charged in connection with the alleged incident have been exonerated. There were four charged with participating in the alleged massacre, and four charged with failing to properly investigate it. Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani...

Now that foreign terrorist suspects have the right to habeas corpus, maybe U.S. Marines will be extended the courtesy of a trial before being smeared as cold-blooded murders. A surprising number of Americans are eager to believe the worst about our fighting men and women. In the case of the infamous Haditha "massacre," their motives are transparently political, ugly and deceitful. The Haditha story — reminiscent of some twisted Oliver Stone fantasy — was first reported by Time magazine. According to reports, Marines were allegedly involved in a firefight on Nov. 19, 2005, murdering 24 civilians in retribution for a...

With most of the eight Marines charged in the Haditha, Iraq, incident now exonerated, the highest-ranking officer among the accused is considering a lawsuit against Democratic Rep. John Murtha, who fueled the case by declaring the men cold-blooded killers.

Of the eight Marines charged in connection with the battle of Haditha, six have had all charges dropped and one has been exonerated in a military court. The last Marine remains to face charges related to the handling of the incident. In our experience, Marines - including retired Marines - do the right thing. So we expect John Murtha to issue a serious, responsibility-taking apology to the eight Marines he publicly defamed following the battle. We expect it to look like this:I am sorry. I accused United States Marines in a wartime situation of "cold blooded murder" that I said...

June 19, 2008, 7:00 a.m. Justice?Haditha again. By Mackubin Thomas Owens In November 2005, the Marine Corps reported that a number of civilians had been killed in Haditha by an improvised explosive device (IED) that also killed Marine Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, and that eight insurgents were killed in the ensuing firefight. But in March of 2006, Time ran a story, “Collateral Damage or Civilian Massacre in Haditha?� which claimed, based on interviews with locals, that the Marines had killed 24 civilians in cold blood in retaliation for Terrazas’s death. In May, the Marine Corps charged a number of...

With most of the eight Marines charged in the Haditha, Iraq, incident now exonerated, the highest-ranking officer among the accused is considering a lawsuit against Democratic Rep. John Murtha, who fueled the case by declaring the men cold-blooded killers. In an interview with nationally syndicated radio talk host Michael Savage, the lead attorney for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani said he and his client will look into suing Murtha and the Time magazine reporter, Tim McGuirk, who first published the accusations by Iraqi insurgents. But the attorney, Brian Rooney, said nothing will happen immediately because he wants Chessani, described as a...

Yet another U.S. Marine, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, had charges dropped Tuesday in the so-called Haditha massacre — bringing the total number of Marines who've been cleared or won case dismissals in the Iraq War incident to seven. "Undue command influence" on the prosecution led to the outcome in Chessani's case. Bottom line: That's zero for seven for military prosecutors, with one trial left to go. I repeat: Haditha prosecution goes 0-7. But you won't see that headline in the same Armageddon-sized font the New York Times used repeatedly when the story first broke. The Times, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.,...

CAMP PENDELTON ---- The Marine Corps is appealing a judge's ruling dismissing dereliction of duty charges against a battalion commander accused of failing to investigate the 2005 shooting deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians. On Tuesday, Col. Steven Folsom, presiding as the military judge over the case against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, ordered the charges dismissed after finding that a general was improperly influenced by a legal adviser who also is a witness in the case. The watershed ruling found that the legal adviser, Col. John Ewers, should not have sat in on meetings and discussions with two generals who have...

JOHN MURTHA WEBSITE Before an investigation, before a trial, here are the words of Congressman John Murtha (D-PA-12th) - the Marines killed civilians "in cold blood." Now that charges have been dropped against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, an American hero, who has devoted his life to the defense of this nation, it is time for Murtha to make a public apology. I called his DC office today and ask for his press secretary. They transferred me to the voicemail of Matt Mazonkey (he is either press sec or assistant press sec). I left him a message that I was...

Yet another US Marine, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, had charges dropped Tuesday in the so-called Haditha massacre - bringing the total number of Marines who've been cleared or won case dismissals in the Iraq war incident to seven. In Chessani's case, the military judge found that Gen. James Mattis had succumbed to impermissible outside meddling in bringing charges. Bottom line: Zero for seven for military prosecutors, with one trial left to go. But you won't see that headline in the same Armageddon-sized font The New York Times used repeatedly when the story first broke. The Times, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa)...

Murtha Lied; Marines Were Tried (And Acquitted)   By Ben JohnsonFrontPageMagazine.com | Wednesday, June 18, 2008 On May 17, 2006, John Murtha, he of the unassailable “war hero”/“patriot” mythos, assailed his fellow Marines in Haditha as murderers “in cold blood.” The super-patriot made this indictment, in front of an international audience, before an investigation had concluded. His spurious charges seem to have done those eight men charged little legal damage – but they have caused incalculable harm to the United States armed forces still in the field.  At Camp Pendleton yesterday, military judge Col. Steven Folsom dismissed all charges...

Yet another U.S. Marine, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, had charges dropped Tuesday in the so-called Haditha massacre — bringing the total number of Marines who’ve been cleared or won case dismissals in the Iraq-war incident to seven. “Undue command influence” on the prosecution led to the outcome in Chessani’s case. Bottom line: That’s zero for seven for military prosecutors, with one trial left to go. I repeat: Haditha prosecution goes 0-7. But you won’t see that headline in the same Armageddon-sized font the New York Times used repeatedly when the story first broke. The Times, Rep. John Murtha (D., Pa.),...

Yet another U.S. Marine, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, had charges dropped Tuesday in the so-called Haditha massacre -- bringing the total number of Marines who've been cleared or won case dismissals in the Iraq war incident to seven. "Undue command influence" on the prosecution led to the outcome in Chessani's case. Bottom line: That's zero for seven for military prosecutors, with one trial left to go. I repeat: Haditha prosecution goes 0-7. But you won't see that headline in the same Armageddon-sized font The New York Times used repeatedly when the story first broke. The Times, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa,...

Cooked up by Iraqi terrorists, swallowed by Time Magazine, propagated by Pork King Murtha and Hollywood perverts... It all comes crashing down.

TSN pinging bumps!!!!!!!!!

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Jack Murtha alert, big news, ladies and gentlemen: "A military judge has dismissed charges against a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis. Col. Steven Folsom dismissed charges Tuesday against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani after defense attorneys raised concerns that a four-star general overseeing the prosecution was improperly influenced by an investigator probing the November 2005 shootings by a Marine squad in Haditha. The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they can be refiled, but Folsom excluded Marine Forces Central Command from future involvement. Chessani was the highest-ranking officer implicated in the...

Today's Savage Nation Thread. Borders, language, culture.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani is the latest Marine to turn out not to be a "cold-blooded killer" that the media and Democratic politicians painted Marines charged with the Haditha "massacre" to be. This two weeks after another Marine was acquitted in a Haditha court martial. FoxNews.com has the AP story about the dismissal of charges against him here.: CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A military judge dismissed charges Tuesday against a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis. Col. Steven Folsom dismissed charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani after finding that a four-star general overseeing the...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Military Judge Colonel Steven Folsom, USMC, this morning dismissed all charges against Lt Colonel Jeffrey Chessani on the grounds of unlawful command influence. He blistered the prosecution’s case in an opinion he read from the bench that lasted an hour. The ruling was without prejudice. Colonel Folsom gave prosecutors 72 hours in which to notify him whether they would appeal. The ruling was greeted with tears of joy from Chessani’s wife and several spectators in the courtroom.

CAMP PENDLETON ---- A military judge has dismissed charges against a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis. Col. Steven Folsom dismissed charges Tuesday against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani after defense attorneys raised concerns that a four-star general overseeing the prosecution was improperly influenced by an investigator probing the November 2005 shootings by a Marine squad in Haditha. The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they can be refiled, but Folsom excluded Marine Forces Central Command from future involvement. Chessani was the highest-ranking officer implicated in the case.

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Attorneys for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the final officer facing charges for the 2005 killing of 24 Iraqis in Haditha, believe they may be on the verge of having his case dismissed. It's risky business, of course, trying to guess what's in a judge's mind, in the civilian or military system. But Chessani's lawyers think the military judge, Col. Steven Folsom, may have signaled that he plans to grant the defense motion to dismiss the case because of undue command influence. Initially, Folsom had scheduled two days in his Camp Pendleton courtroom this week to hear pretrial motions in the...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Military Judge Colonel Steven Folsom, USMC, will issue his ruling on the crucial Unlawful Command Influence motion brought by LtCol Jeffrey Chessani’s defense counsel in a Camp Pendleton, California, courtroom on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 9:00am PST.  Col Folsom had originally scheduled hearings in Chessani’s case to last for three days, June 16–18.  However, in an announcement that might prove to be significant to the Chessani case, Col Folson indicated late last week that he will announce his decision on the defense motion to dismiss on June 17 in a hearing that should last...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Military Judge Colonel Steven Folsom, USMC, will issue his ruling on the crucial Unlawful Command Influence motion brought by LtCol Jeffrey Chessani’s defense counsel in a Camp Pendleton, California, courtroom on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 9:00am PST. Col Folsom had originally scheduled hearings in Chessani’s case to last for three days, June 16–18. However, in an announcement that might prove to be significant to the Chessani case, Col Folson indicated late last week that he will announce his decision on the defense motion to dismiss on June 17 in a hearing that should last approximately...

With the court martial of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani approaching, the prosecution of [the Haditha Marines] is getting a lot of comment. -snip-Gary Solis, former Marine, law of war expert and law professor at Georgetown, after the Grayson acquittal [said, after the Lt Grayson verdict]: "Haditha has had a strange history. It was initially a very aggressive charging by the Marine Corps. Then it became a media-driven prosecution and finally it's become a media-driven case of honorable warriors done wrong by their too-eager-to-charge leadership. Perhaps we're merely seeing the military justice system reach the correct results." -snip-"If Wuterich and Chessani...

Attorneys representing Marine Lt. Col Jeffrey Chessani will find out June 16 whether the presiding judge in the “Haditha Massacre” case will grant a defense motion to dismiss his charges because of undue command influence. If Folsom denies the defense motion Chessani will stand general court-martial July 21 for alleged dereliction of duty and orders violations, said Richard Thompson, chief counsel of the civilian law firm representing him. The veteran combat Marine is the highest ranking officer to be charged with a crime in the discredited massacre investigation. Four enlisted men and three officers under his command were also charged...

Haditha: No Massacre, No Cover-UpBy Ben JohnsonFrontPageMagazine.com | 6/6/2008 THIS WEEK YET AGAIN PROVED THE PARTY OF DEFEAT'S KING WEARS NO CLOTHES. On Wednesday, a jury found Lieutenant Andrew Grayson "not guilty" of covering up the (un)massacre at Haditha. The 27-year-old had been accused of multiple counts of making false official statements and one count of attempting to deceive by making false statements. A charge of "obstruction of justice" had been thrown out the day before. More than simply another exoneration of those accused of wrongdoing in Haditha – the sixth of eight accused – this verdict will go a...

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, three "huzzahs" were given by British infantry before a charge, as a way of building morale and intimidating the enemy. The book "Redcoat" by Richard Holmes indicates that this was given as two short 'huzzahs' followed by a third sustained one as the charge was carried out.Defend Our Marines headline, June 4, 2008: “Verdict in the Lt Grayson trial---NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS!” Huzzah!I feel one of the striking impressions of the Haditha case is the lack of leadership demonstrated by the Marine General Officers. One of the principles of leadership is to...

The same network newscasts that hyped the 2005 "alleged massacre" by U.S. soldiers in Haditha are so far ignoring the acquittal on all charges of Lieutenant Andrew Grayson on Thursday. Grayson was accused of attempting to cover up details of the events surrounding a raid that lead to the death of 15 Iraqis. However, Grayson's acquittal was skipped by ABC's "Good Morning America," CBS's "Early Show" and NBC's "Today" show. (CNN's "American Morning" covered the story only as a news brief.) In contrast, the morning shows seemed much more interested in the subject back when dark allegations were made about the actions...

Jack Murtha (democrat-PA) was quick to lay blame on these Marines for the killing of these Iraqis. He should be approached at every availability and confronted about the Haditha boondoggle.

A court martial on Wednesday acquitted a US Marine for his role in the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha in Iraq in 2005, the sixth man to be exonerated in the affair, a military official said. Lieutenant Andrew Grayson, 27, was declared "not guilty on all charges" by a jury, said a spokesman for the Camp Pendleton military base in southern California where the hearing started on May 28. Grayson had been charged with making false statements and attempting to fraudulently separate from the Marine Corps. He was also charged with obstruction of justice, but the military judge dismissed...

A US marine has been acquitted of charges that he ordered a cover up of the Haditha massacre, an incident in which 24 Iraqis were killed in cold blood in 2005. Lieutenant Andrew Grayson was declared "not guilty on all charges" by a military courtmartial after his defence accused the prosecution of relying on a botched and politically motivated investigation. The military intelligence official was the sixth of eight accused to be cleared over the controversial incident. The deaths of 24 people in the central Iraqi town ranks as one of the darkest incidents since the 2003 invasion. The killings...