SEAL Prosecution Unbelievable!

by Ken Delfino
(Colfax, CA)

In my opinion, the actions taken by these "leaders" against these three SEALs will lead to special ops personnel of all branches being hesitant in the field.

The ACLU and it's allies in the military will be responsible for the deaths or wounding of military personnel because of this ridiculous and asinine persecution and potential prosecution of not only these three SEALs, but also for ALL spec ops personnel.

I am of the belief that second-guessing may have led to the deaths of LT Michael Murphy, PO Danny Dietz and PO Matty Axelson in addition to the 16 Rangers and 3 SEALs who came out to rescue them. Did LT Murphy think of possible repercussions had he gone along with executing the Afghans who ended up reporting them to the Taliban? We'll never know, but at least one of the SEALs wanted to take them out for the safety of the team.

I have no qualms about our Special Ops personnel doing what it takes to protect lives -- especially on the battlefield! This is what war is, and we need more citizens to step up and write their elected officials to put the heat on this commander-in-chief to order the military brass to back off with the prosecutions and let the men do their jobs!

If you want to help out, please visit Free the Seals and make a donation to the SEALs defense team.

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Ken,

Thank you for your participation in our discussion.

Ken is referring to Operation Redwing. Ken explained to us that it originally was called Operation Red Wings, in honor of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team, but somehow along the line it became Operation Redwing. Three SEALs were killed in a 2005 firefight with the Taliban in the mountains of Afghanistan, along with 16 other troops on their way to provide backup. For his actions in that firefight, Navy SEAL LT Michael Murphy became the first American to receive the Medal of Honor for action in Afghanistan, and the first SEAL to be awarded the MOH since Vietnam. To read more about Operation Redwing, click on the links above.

The 4-man SEAL team, on a covert mission to find a key Taliban leader, had a chance encounter with several Afghan herders in the mountainous terrain. Despite being urged to kill the men to prevent them from reporting the location of the SEALs to local Taliban fighters, which would have provided a greater measure of safety for the men and their mission, LT Murphy allowed the men to return to their village.

I believe it was this humanitarian decision by LT Murphy that led to the largest single loss of life for Naval Special Warfare since WWII. He did the Christian thing, and what American service members have been trained to do for generations -- he tried to minimize non-combatant civilian casualties. He saw no reason to execute the men in advance of them having done any wrong.

I also believe that if he were here today, LT Murphy would still defend his decision as the right thing to

do with the information he had at the time, despite the fact that it ultimately led to his death as well as the deaths of 18 of his colleagues. He was demonstrating a fundamental belief in the inherent goodness of men. I believe LT Murphy's parents, despite their grief over the loss of their son, would also tell us of their pride in his courage to make the "right" decision despite the risk to himself and his men.

For more information about this mission, click on the link above, and the additional links you will find there. You may also want to read the book written by Marcus Luttrell, the only SEAL to survive the firefight. His book is appropriately titled, "Lone Survivor."

While I don't believe these deaths were caused by the type of second-guessing Ken describes, because this incident took place in 2005, prior to the growing trend of prosecutions, I do agree with Ken that the net effect of such prosecutions could well be hesitation at critical moments on the battlefield, leading to the deaths of more Americans.

The trend towards prosecuting American troops for relatively minor infractions during this war on terrorism, where the enemy is not easy to define or spot, is creating a climate in which the troops will eventually get the message that the safest thing for them to do (in all respects) is to kill them all, and let God sort them out. They may end up facing a court-martial, but at least they and their troops will be alive to come home.

We also agree that it is an untenable position in which to place our troops. They need to know that the nation for which they are risking life and limb will stand behind them if they make a simple mistake, not turn on them for not being perfect.

And unfortunately, it is the acting commander-in-chief and his administration that are fostering the climate in which "political correctness" trumps all. I do not believe any amount of pressure on this administration will change that.

But I do believe that the majority of Americans are beginning to realize that political correctness is strangling this once-great country, and could very well lead to its destruction if allowed to continue. I believe this is only one of the reasons that this administration's days are numbered, and that voters will correct their mistake as soon as they are given the chance.

Recent elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are a clear indication that American voters are fed up with the out-of-control liberal Democrat agenda that is threatening to destroy the America we know.

What are your thoughts?

Do you agree that prosecutions such as that of the SEAL Trio will cause our warriors to hesitate at critical moments on the battlefield?

Or do you agree that we should continue to hold them to the standard of perfection and prosecute them for even the most minor infractions committed in wartime?

Sound off! Let us hear what you have to say by clicking on the link below to add your comments.