THE PRESIDENT A DESERTER HIMSELF, THE SPINELSS GUTLESS LITTLE WANKER

Bush Chortles While Navy SEAL Is Hung Out to Dry
by susanhu
Fri May 27th, 2005 at 11:46:41 AM PDT

Update [2005-5-27 18:18:33 by susanhu]: Navy Lt. Andrew Ledford, a SEAL commander, was found innocent today. He's been through hell. I hope his life goes smoothly for a while.
The "smirking chimp" dares to say this to Navy cadets while he allows a U.S. Navy Seal lieutenant -- himself a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and one of the U.S. Navy's best and brightest -- to be hung out to dry, and allow the C.I.A. to cover up its murder?

My fury knew no bounds as I listened to Bush's live speech before the Naval Academy this morning, and heard him say (via White House transcript):

In keeping with long-standing tradition, I hereby absolve all midshipmen who are on restriction for minor conduct offenses. (Laughter and applause.) I leave it to Admiral Rempt to define exactly what "minor" means. (Laughter.)

And all I could see, while Bush smirked and chortled, were these images of the dead Manadel al-Jamadi:

As Bush warned the Navy cadets about "the dangers ahead," I wondered if the cadets thought of the fate of their Navy SEAL brothers -- including Andrew K. Ledford, a "32-year-old U.S. Naval Academy graduate," reports the Bakersfield Californian newspaper.

The C.I.A. and civilian contractors are getting off while a Navy Seal, who was not adequately trained for the Iraq mission -- and who did not kill Manadel al-Jamadi -- is in the dock.
Navy personnel who've been interviewed are pissed off and bitter : : :

The Los Angeles Times reported on May 25 that "[n]o charges were brought over Jamadi's death, but 10 SEALs were accused of brutalizing him and other prisoners":

No CIA operatives or employees have been charged, which has embittered some Navy personnel.
Asked about his attitude on the case against [Lt. Andrew K.] Ledford, [former Petty Officer Dan Cerrillo] Cerrillo said: "I'm not very happy about it, because I don't think the whole thing is right."

Lt. Ledford was Cerrillo's superior in the SEAL unit. "Cerrillo testified under immunity," reported the LAT, "that he was the SEAL beating the prisoner and pushing his face into the sand."

But Cerrillo, who served under Ledford in Foxtrot Platoon, said he was acting on the orders of "those people we're not supposed to talk about" — one of the euphemisms witnesses and attorneys use to avoid mentioning the CIA. (Other phrases include "the agency," "another governmental agency" and "security personnel.")

Yesterday, Lt. Ledford retracted his confession to the death of Iraqi prisoner, Manadel al-Jamadi, and says his confession was coerced after eight hours of interrogation. (Imagine a highly trained Navy SEAL who cracks under interrogation, and one can only wonder what methods were used to get him to sign a confession he's now recanted.) The NYT story about the retraction is below.

First, it's important to view how the C.I.A. is treating this case, and how it is blatantly abandoning any responsibility for the murder its people committed.

"Testifying behind a curtain to protect his identity," reported the LAT, "a CIA operative told a court-martial Tuesday that he saw a Navy SEAL "pummeling" a defenseless prisoner in Iraq."
Here's more about the setting in which this CIA operative testified, and what judicial rights were bent to accommodate his status:

The public was banned from the courtroom while the CIA operative testified about secret or classified material. During the rest of his testimony, the public was kept on the other side of the curtain shielding the operative.

In the unclassified part of the CIA operative's testimony, none of the six officers acting as jurors asked any questions — as is their right — that would reconcile his version of events with Cerrillo's. A CIA attorney was present for the entire testimony.

TIME FOR A RANT: I need a break. I work on this story, then I have to stop because my heart is beating so fast, and I'm so ANGRY with our government.

Besides murdering Mr. al-Jamadi -- and permitting the torment and abuse of god knows how many other prisoners -- Bush-on-down are now screwing with the morale of our soldiers. Bush et al. are destroying the lives and careers of some of the most talented, smart, physically gifted members of our military -- precisely the kind of military personnel we need for missions for which they are qualified, not for the tasks they had not been trained to do.

And today that asshole Bush has the nerve to speak to the graduating class of the naval academy, many of whom will someday be officers, just like Ledford, who will be drug through the mud and destroyed as part of the immense cover-up by our government from the top on down.

/ RANT SUSPENDED /

The LAT reports: >>>>continued

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2005/5/27/114641/898