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The War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings,
Torture and Big Money |
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October 10th, 2006 - Vietnam Vets
Start Legal Defense Fund |
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Vietnam Vets Start Legal Defense
Fund Ken Maguire Associated Press October 10, 2006 Brockton, Mass. -
Gray-haired Patrick Barnes still wears a crew cut and sits ramrod straight in
his chair. Before clamping his cell phone shut, he says "Semper Fi"
to a buddy instead of "bye." Barnes, a 58-year-old Marine
veteran of Vietnam who earned a Purple Heart for wounds suffered during the
1968 Tet Offensive, is still military through and through. And he knows that
in war, things happen "Boom!" - just like that - and triggers are
pulled in split-second decisions. That's why Barnes and fellow
Vietnam veterans are starting a legal defense fund for Americans charged with
war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We're not concerned with
guilt or innocence," he said. "We just want to make sure they have
the best defense possible. Sitting here in Brockton or Quincy or New York or
California, we don't know what happened." Other similar defense funds
have been sprung up. The mother of a Marine from New York who was cleared of
murder charges created a fund, as did a group led by a retired Marine officer
in Greensboro, N.C., who was twice wounded in Vietnam. The funds have been set up
in reaction to a series of cases in which U.S. servicemen have been charged
with murder. The Pentagon has contended
that many of these cases do not involve split-second decisions made in the
fog of war, but were deliberate, vengeful killings. Among the major cases:
Marines are under investigation on suspicion they deliberately killed 24
Iraqis civilians in a revenge attack after one of their own died in a
roadside bombing Nov. 19 in Haditha, an insurgent stronghold in Iraq. Separately, seven Marines
are awaiting trial at Camp Pendleton, Calif., on charges of murdering an
Iraqi last spring in Hamdania. Prosecutors said that Marines frustrated in
the search for an insurgent dragged a civilian from his home, stuck him in a
hole and shot him to death. They are accused of leaving a rifle and shovel
nearby to make it look as if he had been caught digging a hole for a roadside
bomb. The Brockton veterans say
they respect the Judge Advocate General Corps, the legal arm of the military,
but fear the corps' young officers won't provide the best defense, especially
against higher-ranking, experienced prosecutors. The defense fund would
enable the servicemen to hire civilian defense attorneys if they want. "I try more cases in a
month than some guys try in their careers," Charles W. Gittins, a
civilian lawyer who specializes in defending servicemen, said of JAG Corps
lawyers. The public affairs office at
JAG headquarters did not immediately return calls. The Marine Corps Forces
Central Command declined to comment. Gittins defended Marine 2nd
Lt. Ilario Pantano, who was cleared last year of murdering two Iraqi
civilians in 2004. Pantano said he acted in self-defense. The case spurred
Pantano's mother, Merry Pantano of New York, to create Defend the Defenders,
which raises money to pay the legal costs of servicemen. Larry Hutchins of Plymouth,
whose son, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, was charged in the Hamdania murder
investigation, said he expects legal fees in his son's case could be $75,000.
The bus repairman has hired a civilian defense attorney. "He's my son. If it
comes to remortgaging, or getting loans, we'll do whatever we have to
do," he said. "Obviously, there was
an incident, and obviously there was a man killed," the father said.
"But this is war. My son is a sergeant. He was a squad leader. He wasn't
trained to make friends. He was trained to fight. I believe they were doing
their job." There are eight Purple
Hearts among the eight Brockton-area men - seven of whom are former Marines
who served in Vietnam - who created the Military Combat Defense Fund. They
have raised $6,000 so far. Any U.S. military personnel charged in a violent
crime in Iraq and Afghanistan is eligible. Retired Marine Maj. Herbert
W. Donahue Jr. started the Warrior Fund in June because he felt the
"Pendleton 8" were being treated "worse than the detainees in
Gitmo." About $20,000 has been raised, and three Pendleton families have
petitioned for donations, said Donahue, who lives in Greensboro, N.C. At least 14 U.S. servicemen
have been convicted since 2003 on charges resulting from the deaths of
Iraqis, according to information compiled by The Associated Press. In Brockton, Barnes said he
has extra incentive to watch out for troops. His son, a Marine, recently
started his third tour in Iraq. "What happens in war
you just don't know," said the retired radio reporter, who suffered
burns and shrapnel wounds in Hue City in 1968. "There may be more
incidents of people acting out with less judgment than ought to be." © 2006 AP Wire and wire
service sources. All Rights Reserved. External link:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/15724559.htm |