Mudville Gazette

Hawk's Nest:

Greyhawk is home from Iraq.

Grim's Hall

Flu:

In case anything I'm posting the last little while seems incoherent, it might be. I could feel a deep cough taking hold of me yesterday, and am now down with the worst flu I can remember. Please be sympathetic readers in the meanwhile; I may need the benefit of the doubt.

Law

Law Blogging:

Southern Appeal today links to this opinion which treats the nature of "substantive due process violations." Since this is my objection to the case against our Marine, as well as the other case mentioned in the comments, I thought I would post the link for those of you who enjoy reading legal documents.

Well, it's enlightening, even if not enjoyable. In this case, the government was found to have acted properly, but the author clarifies the lines around a violation of this type.

Substantive due process
involves the exercise of governmental power without
reasonable justification. Dunn. It is most often described as
an abuse of government power which "shocks the conscience."
Rochin v. California, 342 U.S. 165 (1952).

Now the military system works differently from the civilian system, and those of you unfamiliar with the way it works will find a thorough explanation in the comments at BlackFive's site. I think that this principle, because it is Constitutional law, applies to the UCMJ as well as to the civilian code. Even if it does not, though, it explains my objection. I find the charges to be shocking and unconscionable.

I have no objection to charging someone in a case like this, so long as the charges filed are restrained to reflect an honest reading of the facts. I object to the attempt to "gun up" charges, which is not the way the system is supposed to work. It seems to me an abuse of the power entrusted by the government. It's not clear from the articles on the topic whether the abuse is the fault of the Art 32 officer, or of the Marine who made the charges originally, or both. It's also true, again, that this principle may not apply to the UCMJ for techincal reasons of which I'm not aware. As a general principle, however, it explains my anger and sense of unfairness.

On another topic, Reason magazine explores the roots of gun control laws in America. This is a particularly fascinating article, as it deals with a remarkable period of American history -- Reconstruction -- when a lot of things were happening that we've largely forgotten. By coincidence, it also deals with a number of "substantive due process violations," when government officials were using their power in shocking ways.

Hat tip for the last: the Geek with a .45.

Marine's lawyer: Corps changed story on charges - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - February 16, 2005

Update on Marine Lieutenant Ilario Pantano:

JHD sends a story from the Washington Times contending that the Corps is conflicted in this case.

My Way News

Woof:

I've heard ofMulligan's:

The dish, a specialty of Mulligan's, a suburban bar, is a hot dog wrapped by a beef patty that's deep fried, covered with chili, cheese and onions and served on a hoagie bun. Oh yeah, it's also topped with a fried egg and two fistfuls of fries.

'The owner says I'm the only girl who can eat a whole one without flinching,' Cleaveland said proudly.

The name of the article is "Southern Food Frustrates Health Officials." Yeah, I guess.

The Alliance: New Precision Guided Humor Assignment: Cheering Up A Marine

Marine Jokes:

In case you weren't following the submissions to the "Cheering Up A Marine" contest, here are some of the best ones:

1) If you tell the Navy to secure a building, they will turn out the lights and lock the door.

If you tell the Army to secure a building, they will set up a perimeter and forbid entry to those without a pass.

If you tell the Marines to secure a building, they assault with heavy fire, capture the building, fortify it and call for an air strike.

If you tell the Air Force to secure a building, they will negotiate a three year lease with an option to buy...

When WE went to boot camp we didn't HAVE jokes. Or mail!
I hear they have ropes on the rappel tower now....

Yeah, I heard that too.

BLACKFIVE

...and Frontline Fighters:

BlackFive has the story. An officer of Marines is facing capital charges, for doing a thing I can't think I wouldn't have done myself.

The main problem with this story is the effect that the legal wrangling will have on combat - this will cause Marines to either second guess their options/hesitate around suspects or to not get engaged in the area of operations at all. Why would you take a risk if you knew that you might be charged for making a legitimate mistake?

How can the Marine Corps make a case without Criminal Intent? Premeditated murder in a combat zone?

The charges are a scandal. Follow the link. Support our man.

Military.com

Vets:

I love the idea of cutting the budget. I'm from the rural South, and yet I have no problem at all with the idea of cutting farming subsidies. Fine and dandy with me: I look forward to a future free of federal subsidy, which means federal control.

But there are debts of honor which the government has no business touching. Shame on them for even considering this.

DefenseLINK News: 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit Ends Ops in Iraq

31st Heads "Home"

Via DefenseLINK, I see that the 31st MEU has formally turned over its part of Al-Anbar to RCT 7, 1MARDIV. They are on their way...

...back to Okinawa. The insurgents there are less deadly, but it is within easy range of those NoDong missiles the DPRK promises to use to produce a "sea of fire."

We've become used to seeing Marines and soldiers at the airport, on their way here or there, usually Iraq. Probably most of you have taken time to shake hands, talk to the lads, and congratulate them on work well done, or wish them well in coming days.

But there are others you won't see, because they don't get to come home. They go on to stand another watch, elsewhere, at the corners of the world.

SteynOnline

SteynOnline:

If you haven't already found out yourself, SteynOnline is back! Well, mostly. Still, it's a banner day.

The Alliance: New Precision Guided Humor Assignment: Cheering Up A Marine

The Alliance:

I admit that I've fallen down in my duties to the Alliance of Free Blogs. However, I see this week that they've got a contest going on that warms my heart. It's called "Cheering Up A Marine," although properly speaking it's "Cheering up a Recruit."

It seems that one of our Alliance members - Chris of FlashBang - has joined the Marines and is currently enjoying the delights that boot camp has to offer.

It's a tough row to hoe, but perhaps we can do something to lighten his load.

Being a monster, I once sent a postcard to a friend in Boot Camp addressed to:

General [Recruit's Name], "The Pushup King"
PLT XXXX, Echo Company
2nd Battallion
MCRD P.I., SC

But let's try to come up with something nicer for our fellow blogger. The Alliance suggests jokes. Jokes are nice.

The Nations Gun Show

Gunslingers, Unite!

I'll be heading to The Nation's Gun Show tomorrow, up at the Dulles Expo center. I'm given to understand that two of the candidates for governor of Virginia will be there, getting to know the public. Virginia is the only state with a gubernatorial election this year, and it happens to be the state in which I reside, so I'm interested in what they have to say.

If any of you are planning to drop in, and would like to have a beer with Grim, drop me an email.

BLACKFIVE

The Real Thing:

If you want to hear a real story about an American fighting man and an Iraqi child, check out BlackFive. Some of you may remember it, as this is a followup post. There is new information, however:

BTW, and this is an important message, to the twenty-two reporters who routinely visit this site and requested the contact information for Gunny Francis, but, when it took me too long to get back to you, you couldn't believe the story...refused to believe it based on the word of a Colonel...and sent your skepticism along with some nasty remarks...I put the Gunny in contact with the ONLY journalist who wasn't a total @#$% about it.

So: bad news about soldiers and children, run without checking the facts; good news about soldiers and children, don't run even after verifying the details with an O-6, and be nasty about it to boot.

Mudville Gazette

Media Ignorance:

The Mudville Gazette links to a terrible story from The Grand Junction Sentinel:

The 31-year-old soldier who liked to tinker with cars and recently moved to Grand Junction left behind his family to serve in Iraq. It wouldn't be a quick fix, but the man who loved to fix things died trying.

On Saturday, he stepped in front of a young Iraqi girl, one of many children caught in a crossfire in Baqouba, Iraq. A bullet struck his heart, killing him instantly. He was less than two months into his deployment.

Kenney, a posthumous recipient of the Purple Heart, will be buried Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.
He and his wife, Amber, recently purchased a home in the Grand Valley. The couple met at Metro Church of Denver and would have celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary on Valentine's Day.

Their last communication, according to family spokesperson and Homefront Heroes president Phyllis Derby, was a voice message Amber left for her husband: "And if this is you, Jonathan, I love you." ...

He served with the 1-44 Air Defense Artillery Battalion, the same unit his wife would have served with. She was finishing up her training at Fort Bliss, Texas, when she learned of her husband's death. As sole surviving parent of Joshua, she was honorably discharged, Derby said.

This story is a complete fraud, one that was used to collect donations from the community. There are two details in the quoted passage that should have raised questions for any journalist who knew anything about the military; but almost none of them do.

Can you spot them? Check your answers against Greyhawk's.

Well. I must say this was unexpected.

Eason Jordan has resigned. (hat tip: Instapundit).

Wow.

I was not expecting that. So soon anyway. As is typical with these things, it really isn't the original action that is so troublesome, its the attempted stonewalling and cover-up.

What is really interesting is what Ed Morrisey pointed out, which was repeated by Instapundit, and bears repeating here:

The major news organizations now have to report the resignation of the head of a major news organization for a scandal they never reported to their viewers.

I thought Rathergate was a fluke. I guess it was not. It is a whole new ball game, folks. Wow.

J'Accuse.

So. When Brill's Content went and folded, I was presented with some options for the balance of my subscription. One of them was the Atlantic Monthly. Everyone is probably generally aware of the magazine. Since it's senior editor, Michael Kelly, was killed in Iraq, the magazine has been circling in a downward spiral of hackery that is making the magazine unreadable.

The March 2005 issue is the straw that has broken the camel's back as far as I am concerned. In an article entitled "The Accuser" (subscription only for the entire article) by William Langewiesche, who I thought was better than this, I read, in a quote very boldly set off in a side bar, this:

"For twenty years Hania Mufti was the most persistent investigator of the Iraqi regime's crimes. It is because of the efforts of people like her that Saddam and his lieutenants will now be brought to trial."

What. The. Fuck. Over.

And here I thought it was because 140,000 soldiers from the United States, Britian, and Austrailia invaded the place, defeated Hussien's army and captured him and his cronies. (Those that weren't killed that is).

Whatever other virtues Mufti may have, apparently she is against the plans to try Hussien, along with such groups as Human Rights Watch, because, they assert, Justice cannot be served by the Iraqis.

Langeweische himself says in the article, "A nation court in Iraq is simply incapable of delivering the sort of justice required."

I think the Iraqis know just what sort of justice is required.

So here again, we see the goal posts being moved once more, together with absurd attempts at rewriting history. This irritates me so much I think I'm acutally going to go through the bother of cancelling my subscription rather than just let it run out.

Look for more of this from the usual suspects in the future.

David Yeagley's BadEagle.com

Ward Churchill:

I haven't had anything to say about our Mr. Churchill, whose behavior is self explanatory. However, Bad Eagle does have something to say which I hadn't heard before. Apparently, Mr. Churchill's ties to the American Indian Movement go back to to the 1973 Wounded Knee incident, about which you may have heard.

During the course of my education, I have met two of the principles of that incident. They claimed that they bore rifles for AIM during that brief period when it felt bold enough to take on the US Army. The sentiments expressed by Mr. Churchill would not have been out of place in their own mouths. They were Lakota, which falls under the Sioux side of the feud Bad Eagle cites as the one that once supported Churchill.

All this makes me think that Mr. Churchill -- whatever the facts of his genetics -- is a more authentic member of AIM than their disavowal of him would suggest.

Asia Times Online :: Southeast Asia news and business from Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam

Elections:

Unremarked, but remarkable, are the results from this week's elections in Thailand. Thailand is a "major non-NATO ally" of the United States, a diplomatic category inviting Thai purchases of some of our most advanced weapons. Thailand also faces a native, Muslim insurgency in its southernmost provinces. The Asia Times shows how poorly the government did in those provinces.

Those provinces aside, however, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's government did extraordinarily well. Thaksin is now the first Thai prime minister ever reelected. Not only that, but his party did so well as to be able to set aside any coalition government, and rule as a single party. Thaksin came under fire for his handling of the insurgency in the south, which opponents charge has been managed with unnecessary violence -- a charge, I think, which isn't entirely without merit.

Regardless, Thai voters returned him with an increased majority. In doing so, Thailand follows precisely in the footsteps of Australia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United States' electorates. There is a lesson here, and I think it is this: democratic bodies around the world are starting to look toward the challenge to democracy posed by Islamist extremism. There is forming a global, democratic reply. Only Spain, so far, has fallen outside this general trend: and, in their defense, they went first.

This is no small matter. What is being measured is the conglomeration of millions upon millions of individual wills. That is a terrible, an awe inspiring force. What comes next has all that force behind it.

Miami's Mad Max Marines - Page 1

SOF:

Soldier of Fortune has a piece out there now called "Miami's Mad Max Marines." SOF knows how to write, I'll give them that.

Marine Corps News> Hawaii Marines take fight to enemy in Afghanistan mountains

Hawaii Marines:

While Snowbird Sovay plays on the beach, Hawaii Marines are playing in the snow -- in the mountains of Afghanistan.

Leaping from CH-47 Chinook helicopters hovering just above the jagged, snow-covered mountains that ring the Korangal Valley, Marines from both India and Lima Companies inserted into different parts of the valley; they quickly cordoned and searched several houses believed to be hideouts for mid-level Taliban and HIG leaders and fighters.

“We flew in fast and low and jumped off just outside one of our main target’s house,” said 2nd Lt. Caleb Weiss, a Lima Company platoon commander. “They couldn’t have had more than a few moments to react to having entire platoons dropped on their heads.”

The Marines charged into the village and quickly established a presence, preventing the possibility of their targets escaping. The Marines then detained several men suspected of being members or supporters of anti-government forces without having to fire a single shot.

There are photos, too.