I have always believed lst Lt Michael Behenna took the fall for a failure in leadership decision resulting in the "catch and release" of Ali Mansur. After all, Ali was the head of a huge Sunni tribe in Iraq and and with his brother sitting in court for Lt Behenna's hearing, at the expense of we the taxpayers, we couldn't have Ali's brother going back to Iraq with news that this Brave American Soldier was exonerated!!! No, we couldn't have that because the Mansur tribe wouldn't be happy so we threw Lt Behenna under the bus TO APPEASE THE ENEMY! The leadership that gave orders to return Ali to his tribe are out living their life right now and Lt Behenna is sitting in Leavenworth serving a 15 year sentence.
Now we have another Brave Hero Sgt lst Class Walter Taylor. The link above gives the details on his hearing this past week. I believe Sgt lst Class Walter Taylor is another victim of a failure in leadership:
"The lieutenant who should have been coordinating never left his vehicle. Soldiers were talking over one another on their radios. One person declared the black car was not hostile, while someone else claimed to have seen muzzle fire coming from it. No one but the Afghan translator appeared to have seen Hikmat raise her arms, and no one had heard her say anything.
“There was a leadership failure in this incident,” the initial investigation concluded, finding that the lack of organization “set the patrol up for failure.”
So now he waits for the military justice system to decide his fate. I don't have much faith in this military justice system. For those of you out there who have faith in the military justice system (yes, this past week I had a Senator's military liaison tell me that he has faith in this system) I suggest to you this military justice system seems to work differently depending on your rank. Bob McCarty makes this point quite well:
Some Guys Have All the Luck
Some Guys Really Do Have All the Luck
SFC Soldier Kelly Stewart was sentenced to 8 years in prison based on allegations from a woman with a history of mental health issues. The German court would not allow that evidence to be introduced and so it wasn't . A two Star General was able to get Kelly out of Leavenworth but he still sits with a "violent sex offender" on his record and he currently awaits an appeals court decision. Contrast his case of trumped up charges by an accuser who had "lifelong benefits" to achieve with Kelly's conviction, against the facts of the charges against this Army Colonel of the stellar 173rd Airborne Brigade. As Bob reports this colonel engaged in "a pattern of fraudulent activities that could have cost the U.S. government more than $580,000. And, oh yeah, he committed adultery, wrongful cohabitation and bigamy with an Iraqi woman who was not his wife (duh!).
What did the West Point graduate get for his bad behavior? A reprimand, a $300,000 fine and the prospect of spending five years behind bars if he fails to pay the fine."
This Colonel was traipsing all over his base in full view of his Soldiers with his Iraqi mistress (now wife if it counts because he was already married)! Kelly's life was destroyed by this so called military justice system based on lies by a German woman with a mental health history! Yet, as Bob McCarty reports, Kelly's sentence went like this:
"He was also stripped of his Special Forces tab, reduced in rank to private, ordered discharged from the Army upon completion of his sentence and — last, but not least — branded with the “sex offender” label for the rest of the life if military justice continues to elude him via the appeals process.
I am copying the Senator's military liaison who I spoke with last week regarding Walter Taylor because I would like him to explain to me how he can have faith in this kind of military justice??!!!
Please call your Congressmen and Senators. All I'm asking for here is that YOU talk about these cases and make some phone calls on behalf of noble men and women who are willing to lay their lives down for you.
I leave you with a comment posted on the story about Sgt lst Class Walter Taylor's hearing this past week:
"Walter Taylor knew exactly what he was doing. He did exactly what he trained me to do in basic training. I have never known a more honorable man than him, he shaped and molded me into the man I am today.
I am an American Soldier.I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.I will always place the mission first.I will never accept defeat.I will never quit.I will never leave a fallen comrade.I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.I am an expert and I am a professional.I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.I am an American Soldier.How can we still believe in this, when we follow this creed we are subject to prosecution and dishonorably discharged. Im ashamed of my government."
I am an American Soldier.I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.I will always place the mission first.I will never accept defeat.I will never quit.I will never leave a fallen comrade.I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.I am an expert and I am a professional.I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.I am an American Soldier.How can we still believe in this, when we follow this creed we are subject to prosecution and dishonorably discharged. Im ashamed of my government."
I worry about the hearts and minds of our Warriors and I hope you do too! Please keep them all in your prayers!
You can donate to a fund set up for Sgt lst Class Taylor at this website. There is ONLY $300 in that fund since it was set up! Please make a donation, if everyone gave just $10, it would help tremendoulsy and I'm certain your donation will help foritify this Warrior's heart and spirit to know the American people really do support the Troops: http://www.facebook.com/notes/in-support-of-sfc-walter-taylor/sfc-walter-taylors-legal-defense-fund/407222905983714
With A Mother's Heart,
Beverly Perlson
The Band of Mothers
Replies
Obama's administration is "failed" what ever you want to call it, - but, it is not leadership.
Pull out of that hell hole and let them a$$holes do their own fighting. Then see where they stand. If you ask your friend to come over to help work on your car or truck and he breaks somethings do you make him pay? Why HELL NO. Look at all the civilians who was killed in WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, etc. Was anyone ever put on trial for any of them????? HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!! War is not fair to everyone in or around it. What about the men and women who come back all screwed up with PTSD and missing parts. Not counting those who came back in a casket. I say if a country calls on our men and women to fight for them to stop crying if someone is killed and to shut the hell up.
Pissed
Vietnam Veteran!
There is a lot wrong with the leadership in the military . The worst in my opinion is the "rules" of engagement . We were not allowed to shoot unless fired upon and many soldiers were killed because of it . We did have free fire zones but for me and my men we had to wait . Absolutely absurd and I changed that a few months after I deployed . Had a good C.O. , he said just be careful and we were .
United States Flag Officers, in general, do not have the backs of our warriors. It is unconscionable that military and civilian leadership will slink into the shadows when they are really needed to stand guard of our warriors. I'm ashamed and saddened.
HAD ENOUGH YET PEOPLE.
yes, bring them home,NOW....
I do not remember paying a fee, ever, when using PayPal (altho I'm still ticked for their denying Sheriff Mack funds!!!....grrrrr).... but for this donation, I had to pay a fee... does anyone know if this is normal for a "gift"?
I donated $100 and did not have to pay a fee, however, we had money in our paypal account.
Beverly Perlson
The Band of Mothers