The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
With doughnuts, fliers and a sign firmly in her gloved hands, Susan Lindsey was armed to battle traffic this morning on Hampton Boulevard outside Gate 5 of Norfolk Naval Station.
Lindsey walked the medians, crossing from corner to corner when traffic allowed and holding her sign with the words "Honk for SEALs Troops," written in red, white and blue.
Drivers in cars, trucks, tractor-trailers, and other vehicles honked to acknowledge Lindsey and about 50 other people who arrived to rally for three Navy SEALs who are being court-martialed for charges of mistreatment of an Iraqi prisoner.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe's court-martial was scheduled for this morning, but last week it was postponed to May 3. McCabe is charged with punching Ahmed Hashim Abed after he was captured in Fallujah. Abed is believed to be connected to the killings of four Blackwater contractors in 2004.
Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas and Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe, accused of lying to investigators and failing to safeguard Abed, will be tried in April in Baghdad.
"I think it's pretty much a travesty," said Lindsey, of Norfolk. "Our military, our government and everyone is sending a bad message, to say the least, to the young men and women who are thinking about enlisting in the military."
Scott Taylor, who is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye, said he believes the prosecution of the three men is a "complete overreaction."
"As a former SEAL, what's killing me is seeing political correctness infused at the battlefield level," Taylor said.
"You know, these guys should be commended for what they did."
In late December, Maj. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, who ordered the three men to stand trial in the case, wrote to U.S. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Indiana, and 40 other members of Congress who questioned the order.
Cleveland said that he was more concerned with an apparent attempt to cover up the incident than by any injuries inflicted on Abed.
Rallies were planned in Ohio, California and New Mexico for Tuesday, according to the Support Our Seals Web site.
Cindy Clayton, (757) 446-2377, cindy.clayton@pilotonline.com
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there are rules
Its dangerous when our society wants to exempt certain segments from legal accoutabity. The military is governed by the UCMJ, they are briefed over and over again on what is acceptable conduct, that's what makes our military different from those that serve a totalitarian state. They are Seals not the SS and just because you where a uniform doesn't exempt you from professional standards. Now let the facts come out, but to advocate for no accountability is dangerous and irresponsible. I'm afraid we are becoming a very militarist society where the military is becoming beyond questioning.
girlyamber
girlyamber: Nice defense of Taylor yet politicians are apt to lie (i.e. claiming endorsements not actually received). Unfortunately neither him, nor the other congressmen know the facts. Let the courts decide the facts and let the people exercise their rights to protest. Yet no one should be saying that these guys are above the law and to just "let them go." War-time law is different than every-day law; considerations will be made.
"Captive executed..."
philipt43623: I believe the captive you are referring to is scheduled to be executed in May. That's why they're trying to push through this trial before the "key witness" is hung.
Support for the Navy Seals
All of the aforementioned comments towards support (or non support) is not just reflective of these three SEALS but of support for our military in general. Some folks appreciate their sacrifice and some folks take the danger they face lightly. It is quite obvious who these people are. Why let a small situation turn into such a major morale degradation ? Support these troops, they deserve our support. Sleep sound tonight.
Let Them Go
What they are doing to these men is outragious. We asked these men to keep us safe, but we expect them not to keep themselves that way. If these men were captured, they would have been killed so I think the terroist should thank their lucky stars that all they got was a punch in the stomach. What they really needed was to be put to death the way they killed our 4 soldiers. For those that feel they did wrong, maybe next time they should put you on a plane fly you over their and let them take you and see what happens to you. Then maybe you could respect what these men do. Let them go. Give these men an award for looking after America and let them do it again if they have to in order to keep this country safe. Thank you to all the military that keep my family and my self safe. Thank you for being willing to do something about these people that feel its their right to kill us and thank you for not thinking twice about it. Believe me when I say this, for those of you who think they are kind to our guys (you are sadly mistaken). They kill them, they torture them, and they rape them. The only difference is no one cares. No one goes out and makes sure the terroist are taken car
Waste of Tax dollars for Terrorists....
Let the seals go! We are sick and tired of government wasting money protecting or defending terrorists. They torture and cut off American peoples heads and get nothing. And you people want to punish our seals for punching a terrorists in the stomach. Get real!!!!!!!!
look at charles
Accusing his fellow country men and defenders of his freedom of lying. I didn't get those facts. Why don't you just come out and say you hate them because of what they stand for and you believe the terrorist. This way nobody has any confusion on where you stand!! People like you speak of law and justice, but yet your mind is already made up and they are guilty. Typical and I don't expect anything different from you. So much for innocent until proven guilty.
May the SEALS win...
even though I do not know any real truth of what happened (except the captive was the person that hung and decapicated 4 Americans) to the captive...I hope our SEALS are exonerated...and then I hope our captive is executed...if that doesn't happen then I hope that we no longer have any captives...so we can protect our SEALS...
Breaking news!
Two dozen people brought their kids to stand outside a military base with signs reading "honk if you love the military!" and people did. Amazing video tonight at 10!
The photos show signs generically stating, "We support US Navy Seals". Duh. That's like a rally outside Sentara with signs reading, "Honk if you love being healthy"
But we've got the feed the
But we've got the feed the babies!