On Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Day, a Navy SEAL - one of an elite band of highly skilled and extraordinarily brave American warriors - faced arraignment. The charge: He punched a terrorist.
To be precise, he punched a terrorist suspect - Ahmed Hashim Abed, the alleged ringleader behind the killing, burning and mutilating of four American contractors in Fallujah, Iraq, in March 2004.
Abed was run down by the SEALs in September 2009. Exactly what happened after that is a bit hazy. He spent time in U.S. custody, then in Iraqi custody and eventually was returned to U.S. custody. At some point, he claimed one of the Americans punched him in the stomach, or maybe on the mouth.
Three SEALs are now in trouble. Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe stands accused of assault. Petty Officers Julio Heurtas and Jonathan Keefe are being charged with "impeding the investigation and dereliction of duty in failing to safeguard a detainee."
Surely, these SEALs, like all American citizens, deserve the presumption of innocence. It's also worth recalling that the al Qaeda manual recommends that all detainees complain of torture and abuse.
But what if it turns out that one of the SEALs did give the guy a shot? What if Abed was uncooperative, or spit at them, or bragged about how he slaughtered the Americans (one of whom was a retired SEAL) and how they begged for their lives and squealed like pigs as they died? I can imagine how a normal guy - even one as disciplined as a SEAL - might lose his temper for a moment.
By: Brant
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