Stunning: Haditha Hero Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani Charges Dismissed

Written by: Evrviglnt on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

When are we going to hear the real story of what happened in Haditha? All that we know for sure after 7 of the 8 Marines once condemned by disgraced Rep. John Murtha as “cold-blooded” killers is that the story we were fed was bullshit. Here is a snippet from an article on Family Security Matters:

In a move that prompted tears of joy from courtroom spectators, Military Judge Colonel Steven Folsom, USMC, this morning dismissed all charges against LtCol Jeffrey Chessani on the grounds of unlawful command influence. His opinion from the bench lasted an hour, and prosecutors were given 72 hours in which to notify him if they planned to appeal.

The charges were dismissed without prejudice.

Chessani was charged with dereliction of duty and orders violations for allegedly failing to investigate and report the “Haditha massacre” of November 19, 2005. He was the highest ranking officer to be charged in the well-publicized incident and would have faced dismissal from the service, loss of all retirement benefits and three years in prison had he been convicted.

LtCol Chessani’s official 2006 Combat Fitness Report declared him “a superb leader, who knows his men, knows the enemy, knows his business,” and recommended him for promotion.The reviewing Major General added, LtCol Chessani has “unlimited potential and value to the Marine Corps,” and also recommended him for promotion.

The deaths of 24 Iraqis in the house-to-house, room-by-room battle created a firestorm of criticism both at home and abroad, including comments from Rep. John Murtha who claimed at the time that the Marines “killed innocent civilians in cold blood.” Yet news that seven of eight original defendants have either been acquitted or have had the charges against them dropped has received scant attention.

We all ought to be proud of our warriors who must work in a dangerous atmosphere with uncommon restraint. Now let’s turn our attention to censoring Murtha for attacking the reputations of men he is not worthy of looking in the eyes. I salute John Murtha’s service like I salute the service of Benedict Arnold. There are few people in such positions in power that have done so much to undermine the mission in Iraq. If there is anyone who is cold-blooded, it’s the man who abused his position in cold-blooded political calculation. Shame on you John Murtha.

More at Michelle Malkin.

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