Call to Drop Murder Case Against Marine

[Rose Siding]

WILMINGTON, N.C., May 13 - The Marine Corps should drop a murder case against a platoon commander who killed two suspected Iraqi insurgents last year, an officer who presided over a preliminary hearing has concluded.

The commander, Second Lt. Ilario Pantano, was faulted by the hearing officer for firing as many as 60 rounds of ammunition during the incident, which he has maintained was a case of self-defense.

The hearing officer, Lt. Col. Mark Winn, wrote in a report that Lieutenant Pantano used poor judgment in the incident, but that his behavior did not constitute a crime.
...
After Lieutenant Pantano was informed that ammunition and other items including mortar stakes had been found in the house, he ordered the handcuffs taken off the men and then told them with hand signals to search their own auto.

As Sergeant Coburn and a Navy corpsman stood watch, facing away from Lieutenant Pantano, he fired his M-16 rifle, felling the two men. He later asserted that they had made a threatening move toward him.

http://nytimes.com/2005/05/14/national/14pantano.html?hp&ex=1116043200&en=455651e6626651a1&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[blogbear]

1. Were these threatening moves made from the rear? Maybie I'm

thinking of another case (there were sooo many)..but somehow I thought these Iraqis were shot in their backside..?

[countmyvote4real]

2. That defense happens quite often in combat video games.

Why should reality be any different? It's not like he asked for a "do over." Who needs to stoop that low when you have a white wash military court?

(I'm choking on my sarcasm and my head is going to explode.)

We all know who should be tried for these crimes. It's the head of this entire rotting fish country.

[IndianaGreen]

3. Anyone that claims self-defense when they are the only one armed

is nothing but a thug and a criminal. Our troops occupying Iraq are as criminal as Saddam's troops were when they occupied Kuwait. No difference!

[0007]

10. .......and when liars investigative thieves the results are always

predictable.

[gratuitous]

4. Those terrorists hate us for our freedom!

And NOT because our Marines shoot unarmed suspects in the back. Sixty times. And then whine about "threatening moves" the unarmed men made.

Holy smokes. "Poor judgment." No shit poor judgment. And Pantano isn't the only one with it. Seems to be standard government issue in this situation.

[Voltaire99]

5. Give this hero the Congressional Medal of Honor!

I'll send you a love letter! Straight from my heart, fucker!
--Frank Booth in Blue Velvet


Trying this great patriot for murder is a bit extreme. As the article clearly states, he only used 60 rounds.

If you can kill two 100% suspected insurgents with less than one hundred rounds, you're erring on the side of caution--and conserving ammo, too, which the great US taxpayers truly appreciate.

Personally, I can't see the crime. Those two Iraqis should have known better than to be breathing in a combat zone. What did they expect? They want to be free, don't they? OK, then, they also have to be shot. Freedom isn't free, and we're expecting Iraqis personally to carry more of the weight of being free, or dead. Whichever comes first.

And speaking of good news: did you know that morale in Iraq is improving every 30 seconds? That's a fact--it's been measured by volunteers from the Young Republicans Morale Committee (see our recent report, "They Kill THERE So We May Shop HERE").

But nobody wins except terrorists when petty, vindictive lawsuits are brought against our brave soldiers for killing 100% suspected insurgents. Our boys need America behind them--every murdering, dismembering step of the way! So let's give the accused a second chance. And what the heck--let's give him the Congressional Medal of Honor, too, and get him right back in the mix pronto for another taste of victory!

/Right-wing blogger impersonation off

[Judi Lynn]

6. Marine who shot Iraqis should not face murder charges, investigator recomm

Marine who shot Iraqis should not face murder charges, investigator recommends
By Estes Thompson, Associated Press, 5/14/2005 03:23

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Murder charges against a Marine Corps lieutenant who fatally shot two Iraqis during a search for a terrorist hideout should be dropped because key witnesses and evidence failed to back up the accusation, an investigating officer has recommended.

Lt. Col. Mark Winn made his recommendation in the case of 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano, 33, in an opinion made public Friday.

Pantano, however, did make ''serious errors in tactical judgment,'' Winn wrote, and still should face nonjudicial punishment for one charge that he desecrated the bodies by reloading his weapon and repeatedly shooting them.

The report, dated Thursday, was posted on a Web site maintained by Pantano's mother. A Camp Lejeune spokesman confirmed that Winn had completed his work but declined to comment further.
(snip/...)

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/134/nation/Marine_who_shot_Iraqis_should_:.shtml

[FloridaPat]

7. Let's face it. If you had a choice between being in a US prison or

being a soldier in Iraq, how many soldiers would pick the former. Be really embarassing if they all ended up in jail. And even more embarassing if you couldn't find anyone to take their place.

[NYC Liberal]

8. Hey, what's a dead Eye-Racky or two?

I am sure this was just some frat prank gone wrong..no problem

[atreides1]

9. USMC=Waffen SS

Is this what it's come to, so far the Marine who murdered a wounded, unarmed Iraqi was cleared, and now this hearing officer thinks that this case should be dropped.


So has the once proud United States Marine Corps become the US version of the Waffen SS?

Or has the USMC become the Einzatz Commandos of the 21st Century?