Flight Pundit

This is excellent news.

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, today announced that it will defend Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, against military criminal charges of “Dereliction of Duty” and “Orders” violations. The charges stem from the much politicized and often misreported (especially from Time magazine) tragic events surrounding a fierce battle between U.S. Marines and Iraqi and foreign terrorists on November 19, 2005 in the town of Haditha, Al Anbar, Iraq—a place described as “an insurgent citadel.”

At the time of the battle, Chessani was commander of Third Battalion, First Marines and responsible for approximately 2000 American and Iraqi forces. At about 7:15 in the morning of November 19, 2005, a squad of Chessani’s Marines was leading a convoy when it was ambushed by a road-side bomb and small arms fire from nearby houses. The bomb detonated under a Humvee, killing one Marine and injuring two others. An ensuing house-to-house battle between insurgents and an out-numbered 4-man Marine “fire team” resulted in the deaths of 24 Iraqis, including 15 civilians.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, explained the decision to take the case. “The outcome of this case is vital to the security of our nation and to the military personnel we place in harms way. As tragic as these civilian deaths are, it’s essential that we not shackle our combat commanders’ ability to make decisions by placing them in fear of criminal prosecution every time there are civilian casualties as a result of combat action.”

Our Marines have had their hands tied since day one in this war with Iraq. Too many politically correct rules of (non) engagement have caused far too many deaths to the troops; the media offers far too much sympathy for the enemy who uses our rules against the troops…the Marines of this Haditha “incident” have all maintained their innocence and I fully believe them ANYDAY over the Command that charges them with war crimes, basically. The more legal resources these Marines have, the better the outcome should be. We cannot stand back and allow our leaders in politics and the military to make scapegoats of our soldiers and Marines. No one will enlist if this continues to happen, and therefore it is a matter of national security.

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Tom Tancredo spoke at the CPAC meeting over the weekend.

“I’m so tired of voting because the person is the lesser of two evils, I want to be able to vote for somebody I believe is leading a crusade, somebody who I actually want to participate in that crusade because they inspire me to do so.

I may not be that person, I understand, But look for that in whoever it is you’re going to support.”

Read more here.

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