Via Ralph
WASHINGTON — President Bush should pardon six Army reservists from Ohio who were court-martialed for taking equipment to carry out their mission in Iraq, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Tuesday.
In a letter to the president, Durbin said the members of the 656th Transportation Company may have committed a technical violation and an error in judgment but the military should not have treated this mistake as a felony.
“The punishment is completely out of step with the violation,” Durbin said. “Soldiers have been scavenging for equipment on battlefields from the time of the Romans to the present day. … Yes, they made a mistake, but it was not so someone could get rich; these soldiers were trying to protect their unit and accomplish their mission.”
Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) earlier asked the Army to grant clemency to the reservists from the unit, which is headquartered in Springfield, Ohio.
Six reservists, including two veteran officers who had received Bronze Stars, were court-martialed for commandeering two tractors and two trailers left in Kuwait by other U.S. units that had already moved into Iraq and for stripping a third vehicle for parts they needed to repair their trucks.
Durbin said the 656th had played a crucial role in maintaining the gasoline supply between Balad Airfield and Tikrit.
Ummm…they didn’t make a mistake. They improvised, overcame and adapted. Wrong service, but that isn’t something to be prosecuted.
This is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in the quagmire of miscarriages of justice that is the war in Iraq. I agree that Durbin’s choice of words was unfortunate, but it’s great to see him speak up–if no senators step forward, they are going to hang these guys/gals.
When my brother was in Baghdad, he said they routinely had to cannibalize vehicles to stay on the move and they even needed a shipment of tools from Sears to keep their HUMMV’s going.
Yeah, I’m not really trying to criticize Durbin, he’s at least calling for the right outcome–this is just wrong.
Thanks for posting this.
If I say “Seasons greetings” or “Happy holidays” to Arch, does this make me anti-Christian? Or am I anti-semitic because I didn’t say “Happy Hanukah”? Or anti-Muslim because I didn’t mention Eid? Or anti-Black because I didn’t mention Kwanzaa? Oh, fuck, I’m confused.
Patton–big time cheater on this. Used to steal gasoline for other armies and army groups. Also during exercises, certain roads outside the boundaries of the game were off limits. He still sent his forces up those roads. No doubt about it, as long as we are engaged in Iraq, our troops have to fight to win and live. This means expedients.
you are missing a key piece of info in this case….yes, of course they shouldn’t have been convicted of what you’re reporting BUT….it is more than that. They tried to cover up their doings and I believe I read they lied in sworn statements to investigating senior officers…this is a VERY big issue in the armed forces……especially if it’s one officer not being truthful to another….that in itself is huge…bigger than most “civilians” understand. One of the most important of the 7 Army Values is Integrity….and that is the major crime….but don’t get me wrong this was taken to a major extreme. While I was in Iraq (march 28, 2003-jan.2004) I saw both my IstSGT and my CO (Cpt.) lose their positions of leadership for “aquiring” a refrigerated semi that just happened to be the Jordainan ambassadors nephews…. they were trying to look out for us but they lied when asked about it in sworn statements…this is a side to the story that needs to be examined along side the true injustices.
Durbin Should be Democratic Leader
Of course, Durbin is exactly right and this is just the kind of issue we should take up as a party. These soldiers were doing their duty,…
There is no way Bush is going to want to pardon these soldiers because he would view such a pardon as an a…