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kate
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Joined: 14 May 2004
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Location: Upstate, New York
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 Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 2:23 am Post subject: Mr. Murtha's Rush to Judgment (by Lt Pantano) update |
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from Marine Ilario Pantano: A Marine charged with Murder, then cleared
Washington Post
| Quote: | Mr. Murtha's Rush to Judgment
Sunday, May 28, 2006; B06
A year ago I was charged with two counts of premeditated murder and with other war crimes related to my service in Iraq. My wife and mother sat in a Camp Lejeune courtroom for five days while prosecutors painted me as a monster; then autopsy evidence blew their case out of the water, and the Marine Corps dropped all charges against me ["Marine Officer Cleared in Killing of Two Iraqis," news story, May 27, 2005].
So I know something about rushing to judgment, which is why I am so disturbed by the remarks of Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) regarding the Haditha incident ["Death Toll Rises in Haditha Attack, GOP Leader Says," news story, May 20]. Mr. Murtha said, "Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."
In the United States, we have a civil and military court system that relies on an investigatory and judicial process to make determinations based on evidence. The system is not served by such grand pronouncements of horror and guilt without the accuser even having read the investigative report.
Mr. Murtha's position is particularly suspect when he is quoted by news services as saying that the strain of deployment "has caused them [the Marines] to crack in situations like this." Not only is he certain of the Marines' guilt but he claims to know the cause, which he conveniently attributes to a policy he opposes.
Members of the U.S. military serving in Iraq need more than Mr. Murtha's pseudo-sympathy. They need leaders to stand with them even in the hardest of times. Let the courts decide if these Marines are guilty. They haven't even been charged with a crime yet, so it is premature to presume their guilt -- unless that presumption is tied to a political motive.
ILARIO PANTANO
Jacksonville, N.C.
The writer served as a Marine enlisted man in the Persian Gulf War and most recently as a platoon commander in Iraq.
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thank you for speaking up Lt. Pantano!
(some may recall Lt Pantano from discussions here)
Retire Murtha> Support Diana Irey for Congress
http://www.irey.com/
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Last edited by kate on Mon Jun 12, 2006 4:20 am; edited 1 time in total |
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kate
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Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 1891
Location: Upstate, New York
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| Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 4:19 am Post subject: |
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update on Lt Pantano - he will be on the "Today" show Monday morning,and on "Hannity and Colmes" Monday night...
WashingtonTimes
| Quote: | Inside the Ring
By Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough
June 9, 2006
Pantano's own story
Readers of this column are familiar with the inspiring story of Ilario Pantano. The New Yorker rejoined the Marine Corps to defend his nation after the September 11 attacks. He eventually found himself in dangerous Anbar province, Iraq, in winter 2004, leading his platoon in do-or-die counterinsurgency missions.
One April evening, he fatally shot two insurgents. Rather than a pat on the back, Mr. Pantano found himself charged with murder by the Corps. Last year, he sat in a Camp Lejeune, N.C., courtroom fighting for his good name — and his freedom.
On Monday, Mr. Pantano will tell his own story in "Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy," a book that tells his life story and how he beat the Marine Corps case.
"I think it is an honest and unapologetic description of the warrior spirit and is really a tome to the Marine Corps values of honor, courage and commitment," he told us.
Mr. Pantano said he is not vindictive, neither against the Corps nor against the enlisted man who falsely accused him.
Noted military defense attorney Charles Gittins eviscerated the prosecution's key witness. Using extensive hearing transcripts, "Warlord" shows how he did it.
Mr. Pantano, who received Islamic deaths threats via a Pakistani Web site, kicks off the book tour with an appearance Monday on the "Today" show. That night, he'll appear on Fox News Channel's "Hannity and Colmes."
Warlord was the nickname of Mr. Pantano's battalion; "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" was the slogan of the 1st Marine Division commander as his unit marched to Baghdad.
A book excerpt: "I found it weird how Europeans always sought to criticize us. I had [British Broadcasting Corp. reporter] Paul and his cameraman out on a patrol with us and he was constantly fishing for comments from me. Finally he made a claim that was bound to [tick us] off: 'You Marines are good, but a British patrol would have done things much differently.'
"Really?" I said. "Paul, how long have the Brits been fighting in Northern Ireland?"
"Thirty years," he said.
"I pounced. 'Seems like a long time. How do you define success?' "
Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough are Pentagon reporters.
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arkadyfolkner
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Joined: 12 Sep 2004
Posts: 271
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| Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 5:06 am Post subject: |
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| Murtha pretty much wants to he nothing less than the leader of the Dem party now, apparently. |
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kate
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Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 1891
Location: Upstate, New York
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| Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 5:18 am Post subject: |
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Michelle Malkin's site
http://hotair.com/
has
Videos of Ilario Pantano
-- Interview with Michelle Malkin
-- Clip from “Today” Mon June11
what classy guy
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BuffaloJack
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
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Location: Buffalo, New York
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| Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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Rumor has it that the legal counsel for one of the marines will be calling Murtha as a witness and will ask him, on the stand and under oath, to identify the person(s) who told him the marines murdered civilians.
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dusty
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Posts: 1264
Location: East Texas
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| Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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| BuffaloJack wrote: | | Rumor has it that the legal counsel for one of the marines will be calling Murtha as a witness and will ask him, on the stand and under oath, to identify the person(s) who told him the marines murdered civilians. |
Got all my fingers and toes crossed hoping that happens.
Dusty
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kate
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Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 1891
Location: Upstate, New York
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| Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:22 am Post subject: |
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| BuffaloJack wrote: | | Rumor has it that the legal counsel for one of the marines will be calling Murtha as a witness and will ask him, on the stand and under oath, to identify the person(s) who told him the marines murdered civilians. |
He can't , 'cuz no one used that word to him. Charlie Gibson called him on that on May 30th ( you all heard about that in the LSM, right?)
Think Progress has video & transcript
link
| Quote: |
GIBSON: I heard you tell George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that you believe this is murder, followed by a cover-up and I’ve heard you also say that what happened is well-known in Marine circles. Why are you so sure it was murder?
<snips>
MURTHA: I can only tell you this, Charles. This is what the Marine Corps told me at the highest level. The Commandant of the Marine Corps was in my office just last week, so you know, I know there was a cover-up someplace. They knew about this a few days afterwards and there’s no question the chain of command tried to stifle the story. I can understand why, but that doesn’t excuse it. Something like this has to be brought out to the public, and the people have to be punished.
GIBSON: The commandant told you that this was a case of murder?
MURTHA: Charlie, don’t mince words here. The commandant said it was a very serious incident. He was not going to tell me it was murder, but everything looked to him just like it looks to me. He didn’t say that in so many words, but he told me exactly what happened |
dont mince words?? dont mince words?? quite a vast difference between a "serious incident" and " murder"
Watch it here
http://images1.americanprogress.org/il80web20037/ThinkProgress/2006/murthairaq.320.240.mov
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