Saturday, November 17, 2018

US Navy Seal faces charges

Friday evening, Ryan Browne (CNN) reported:

Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher is being charged by the Navy with stabbing and murdering a wounded person, shooting at noncombatants, posing for a photo and performing his re-enlistment ceremony next to a dead body.
Gallagher is being charged with various violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice while deployed to Mosul, Iraq, in 2017, related to the various incidents.
Gallagher "did ... with premeditation, murder a wounded male person" under his care by "stabbing him in the neck and body with a knife" while battling ISIS in Mosul in May 2017, according to the charge sheet dated Friday.
Cmdr. Tamara Lawrence, public affairs officer with the Naval Special Warfare Command, said the Navy is taking the allegations seriously.

These charges are charges.  No one has been tried yet.  He has had an Article 32 hearing.  That's not a trial, it's like a hearing in civilian courts where a plea is entered before someone goes onto a trial.  It's purpose is to determine whether there is a need to go forward with a trial (they are determining probabilities -- going forward says there are probabilities -- it does not determine the person is guilty).  Gidget Fuentes (NAVY TIMES) notes:

  But during two days of testimony in his Article 32 hearing here, Gallagher’s criminal defense attorneys painted a different picture of the highly-decorated SEAL, describing him as a battle-hardened hospital corpsman who properly treated a gravely-wounded ISIS fighter, only to have his reputation smeared by a handful of spiteful SEAL malcontents in the 19-man platoon who griped about his gruff leadership style.
Gallagher, a veteran of eight overseas and combat deployments, is facing 14 criminal counts, including premeditated murder for allegedly stabbing to death an alleged ISIS fighter Iraqi forces brought for medical care by his SEAL Team platoon in Mosul, Iraq, in early May 2017.


Vaishnavee Sharma (WASHINGTON EXAMINER) reports: "Gallagher was arrested Sept. 11 and held at San Diego’s Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar. He considered filing a civil rights lawsuit against Navy investigators after alleging that they 'laid siege' to his home and marched his children out of the house during a probe." 

On the charges, Dave Phillips (NEW YORK TIMES) notes the charges, "They said he fired into civilian crowds, gunned down a girl walking along a riverbank and an old man carrying a water jug, and threatened to kill fellow SEALs if they reported his actions."

If he is found guilty, he should be sentenced to the maximum.  He's not been found guilty and he remains innocent until/unless determined otherwise.

In other news . . .


Iraq to establish free trade zone along border with Iran





XINHUA offers:

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday urged strengthening relations between the Islamic republic and Iraq, Tehran Times daily reported.
"The Islamic republic's officials are very serious and determined on expanding ties with Iraq. I deeply believe in that too," Khamenei said in a meeting with the visiting Iraqi President Barham Salih.

"A dear, powerful, independent and developed Iraq would be very beneficial to Iran and we will stand by our Iraqi brothers," the top leader added.


AFP adds, "The main targets of the US sanctions are Iran's oil exports and its financial sector. However, Iraq is plagued by chronic power shortages and is heavily dependent on Iranian gas for its electricity supply, so Washington granted Baghdad a 45-day waiver from the measures, allowing Iraq to import Iranian gas and energy supplies, as well as food items."  Reminder, the presidential post is pure symbolism.  It's the equivalent of the vice president in the United States.  So what's up with Iraq's new prime minister?


  1. Never mind 1/2 a cabinet and unforeseeable future 4 his government starts conducting popularity exercises in a Baghdad fish market.Will Iraqis buy it?




The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley:






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  • Some Tweets from Sarah Abdallah


  •   Retweeted
    Funny how the media has been outraged over Washington Post’s Jamal Khashoggi for the past several weeks, and CNN’s Jim Acosta as of late, but can’t seem to be bothered about Julian Assange - who only published truthful information. So much for “freedom of the press”.
  • Did John Kerry mention that he and Obama played the preeminent role in triggering this refugee crisis that is currently destabilizing Europe because of the war, terrorism and ruin they brought to Libya, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen — causing millions to flee their homes?
  •   Retweeted
    Arming Libyans too!!
  • Rand Paul about Saudi Arabia: “We should not be arming the enemy. It’s not just the Republicans admitting this. Hillary Clinton said, in a cable that was leaked, that Saudi Arabia was the most significant source of funding to terrorists worldwide.”
  •   Retweeted
    Jim Acosta was deprived access to the exclusive White House journo-club for a few days, Julian Assange is locked in a tiny embassy for 6+ years and now faces criminal prosecution by the most powerful government in world history. Guess who the media treats as a bigger martyr
  • What seven years of war and terrorism couldn’t destroy: In Syria’s Valley of the Christians, Syrians have begun decorating their town and Church for Christmas. A beautiful sight that the corporate press doesn’t consider newsworthy as it doesn’t serve their political interests.
     
  •   Retweeted
    Clinton didn't get her chance to "break the glass ceiling" - but with her arming of terrorists, she did break a lot of lives, families, dreams, and hearts here in . And they're still breaking. But go on - tell me again how belongs in jail, while she walks free...
  •   Retweeted
    WRONG. In 2012, Clinton proposed to the White House - along with CIA Director David Petraeus - a covert program to arm terrorist groups in Syria - this later evolved into Operation Timber Sycamore. Assange has more honesty in his little finger than you have in your entire body.
  •   Retweeted
    By me from Feb.
  • Rand Paul: “If you ask me who’s the worst at spreading hatred and trying to engender terrorism around the world, it’s Saudi Arabia hands down.”
  • Julian Assange exposed Hillary Clinton’s role in arming jihadists in Syria. She should be the one facing criminal charges, not him.
  •   Retweeted
    A brilliant riposte to the odious immoral warmonger Clinton
  • Rand Paul today: “We shouldn’t sell arms to the Saudis who teach hatred of Christianity. You can’t carry a Bible in Saudi Arabia. You try to visit Saudi Arabia and bring a Bible in, you’ll be rejected at the border.”
  • As of today, hundreds of thousands of children are permanently separated from their families because of the criminal, warmongering policies you supported in Iraq, Honduras, Libya, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere. Save us the false empathy.
  • Never thought that starting wars on lies and killing millions of people could make one “beautiful, funny, kind and sweet” but what do I know?
  • Europe admits that “large numbers” of its weapons and ammunitions have mysteriously “fallen” into the hands of ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. Color me shocked.
  •   Retweeted
    But not one of these “free news organizations” will defend journalist Julian Assange, whose disclosures about government abuses have changed our world.