I just got off the phone with the great people at the Thomas More Law Center, the organization that are defending the rights of the Haditha Marines. I don’t know how I missed their official statment yesterday on Col. Steven Folsom’s ruling but miss it I did. Here’s the heart of their statement:

The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, represents LtCol Chessani alongside his detailed military attorneys. The two Law Center attorneys assigned to his case are former Marine officers themselves. Robert Muise served in the First Persian Gulf war as an infantry officer, and Brian Rooney was a Judge Advocate officer who served two tours of duty in Iraq. Lt Colonel John Shelburne, USMC, and Captain Jeff King, USMC, the detailed military defense counsel, make up the rest of Chessani’s defense team.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commenting on the judge’s decision had this to say, “We are all grateful for the judge’s ruling today. He truly was the “last sentinel” to guard against unlawful command influence.”

“Tragically, our own government eliminated one of its most effective combat commanders. The insurgents are laughing in their caves,” said Thompson.

It’s maddening that the military threw Col. Chessani’s career under the proverbial bus. Nonetheless, that’s precisely what they did when they charged him with dereliction of duty. I suspect that they were pushed into this decision by some politicians looking for a political victory.

What’s maddening is that these accusations were made against a man who was a brilliant officer. Here’s some of the things that TMLC included in their statement:

• “Leads Marines from front in every operation. Demonstrates moral courage everyday. Doesn’t hesitate to report bad news fast or contest unrealistic plans/poor concepts. Despite the complexity and size of his AO [area of operations], he always maintains a calm, cool demeanor.”
• “Always seeks advantage over complex, diverse insurgent enemy. Truly one of the finer thinkers in this COIN [counterinsurgency] environment.”
• “One of the top 3 infantry/Cav Bn commanders of 13 who have served with RCT –2 [the regiment] during OIF. A superb leader, who knows his men, knows the enemy, knows his business. Doesn’t attract a lot of fanfare; just gets the job done to an exceedingly high standard.”
• “Long ball hitter; recommend selection for promotion to Colonel and TLS [Top Level School].”

It’s absurd to think that someone could accuse such a detail-oriented person with that sterling of a record of ignoring his duties. That’s what happened in this case, though.

On the other hand, here’s what Al-Jazeera said about yesterday’s ruling:

A US military judge in California has dismissed charges against a senior US marine accused of failing to properly investigate the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha in 2005. Lieutenant-Colonel Jeffrey Chessani was the highest ranking officer to face charges over the incident.

The judge, Colonel Steven Folsom, dismissed the charges after finding that the general overseeing the case was improperly influenced by an investigator examining the killings, the Associated Press news agency reported. Local media in California reported that a key prosecution witness, Colonel John Ewers, had also served as a legal adviser to the marine general who approved charges against Chessani.

A total of eight marines were initially charged in 2006 over the case. However, only one defendant, Frank Wuterich, still faces multiple charges of voluntary manslaughter. Earlier this month Lieutenant Andrew Grayson, 27, was found not guilty of ordering photos of the dead civilians to be deleted from army computers. Grayson, an intelligence officer, was not present when the Iraqis were killed.

Deadly incident

The civilians, many unarmed men, women and children, were killed after a roadside bombing left a US marine dead in Haditha, 260km west of Baghdad, in November 2005.

Following the incident, the marines said in a statement that 15 Iraqis had died in the bombing that killed the soldier. However, investigators say Wuterich and a squad member shot five men in a car after the bombing. Wuterich, whose trial is set to take place later this year, then allegedly ordered his squad into several houses, where they attacked with grenades and gunfire, killing unarmed civilians.

The killings in Haditha are the most serious allegations of war crimes involving US forces since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

It isn’t surprising that al-Jazeera omitted the fact that 8 of the people killed were known insurgents. They also omitted the fact that the people in the white car were insurgents.

That’s the difference between an organization committed to the truth and an organization committed to an agenda regardless of the facts.

Technorati Tags: Haditha, Jeffrey Chessani, Thomas More Law Center, al-Jazeera

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

1. It is about time that something RIGHT was concluded on behalf of Lt Colonel Jeffrey Chessani and his family. The events in this case make me fear for what the future of America holds for our 4 children. Hats off to the TMLC and all fellow Americans who contributed funds to support Lt Colonel Jeffrey Chessani.

   Comment by Patrick W Stanley Jr — June 18, 2008 @ 8:19 pm

2. It is indeed “maddening that the military threw Col. Chessani’s career under the proverbial bus” but you have to consider the overall picture. Faced with some troubling allegations, of course commanders who report to the president are going to avoid responsibility for anything so heinous, and as a result, the responsibility fell to the soldiers charged with their duty to follow orders. You don’t expect anyone like, say, the Secretary of Defense, to actually take their job seriously, now do you?

   However, misrepresenting who is defending these soldiers adds little credence to their case. The Thomas Moore Law Center is hardly “a national public interest law firm” and the only verifiable fact in your quote is that they are based in Ann Arbor.

   These are the whack-jobs that have consistently lost cases, casting themselves as the “Christian ACLU” (an odd juxtaposition to say the least). They list embarrassments like Rick “man-on-dog” Santorum, and perennial presidential candidate and all-around farce Alan Keyes as senior advisers. And, these are the scumbag attorneys who represented the creators of the Nuremburg Files website that listed the names and addresses of medical doctors who perform abortions throughout the country, resulting in assaults and even contributing to the death of one doctor.

   Not exactly what one would hope from the resumé of the law firm chosen to represent these soldiers.

   I thought conservatives held contempt for trial lawyers and their ilk. And you’re supposed to be opposed to so-called “judicial activism” yet confer such respect for counsel which seeks to alter the political landscape through the courts.

   Comment by Rocky — June 18, 2008 @ 9:55 pm

3. Let me get this straight. Rocky is pleased that Chessani got his case thrown out, but he’s terribly upset that the Thomas More Law Center was involved in it.

   So tell me Rocky would the political landscape be altered through the courts in the proper direction had the ACLU did it instead of those scumbag Catholics?

   Comment by T.A Gray — June 20, 2008 @ 6:58 am