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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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June 30th,
2008 - Murder Accusation Shakes Marine’s World News article by Marine Corps Times |
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Murder Accusation Shakes
Marine’s World By Gidget Fuentes Marine Corps Times June 30, 2008 Oceanside, Calif. - With a
combat tour in Iraq behind him and his four-year, active-duty Marine Corps
obligation over, then-Cpl. Ryan Weemer nursed his war wounds and stepped out
to begin another chapter in his life. In his transition to being a
civilian, he signed up for college courses and scouted federal agencies for a
new career. But a comment he made during a federal polygraph examination for
the U.S. Secret Service in 2006 prompted a federal investigation into the
alleged killing of unidentified men during the 2004 Battle of Fallujah in
Iraq. The inquest has landed the
25-year-old Weemer and a former squad mate, Sgt. Jermaine Nelson, in federal
custody, and it has put them and former squad leader, Jose L. Nazario, in the
crosshairs of military and government prosecutors. “This is ridiculously hard,
ridiculously painful,” said Weemer’s wife, Amanda, who has been juggling a
full-time job as a chiropractor in Kentucky with helping with his defense and
keeping his spirits up, even as he sits in a federal detention facility in
California. “We don’t have any control
over what is going on here,” she said, speaking by phone from their home. A
short time later, she got her much-awaited telephone call from her husband,
who is remanded to the federal lockup in San Bernardino, 90 minutes from his
duty station at Camp Pendleton. “Keeping him positive is my
number-one job,” she said, her voice trailing off. “He’s everything to me.” Life’s quick turns The Weemers were still
newlyweds - Ryan and Amanda married July 2, 2006, during a ceremony scheduled
between their college courses - when their life quickly took a turn toward
uncertainty. His answers during the
polygraph that summer led a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent on a
yearlong inquiry into whether Weemer and others with his 3rd Battalion, 1st
Marines, platoon wrongfully killed detainees in the early throes of the
Fallujah operations. Details of the polygraph have not yet been disclosed. That operation began Nov. 7,
2004, and lasted more than a month. Military officials have said more than
1,000 insurgents were killed, hundreds more were detained and scores of
Marines and other service members died. The intense, close-quarters
fighting, often described as the fiercest urban warfare since Vietnam, has
been noteworthy in that the battle led to scores of combat awards bestowed on
Marines and others for heroism, including the Navy Cross, second only to the
Medal of Honor for combat bravery. Weemer himself received a Navy-Marine
Corps Commendation Medal with combat “V” for valor, and he was wounded and
received the Purple Heart medal. By summer 2007, however,
allegations of murder interrupted the lives of several combat veterans. Ryan Weemer was continuing
with his college coursework when NCIS Special Agent Mark Fox took the
investigation to a federal magistrate and brought it to the attention of the
Corps. On Aug. 16, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Riverside, Calif., charged
Nazario, who since had completed his military obligation, under U.S. federal
law with manslaughter for his alleged actions in a Fallujah house Nov. 9,
2004. A federal grand jury issued an indictment Sept. 4. Six months later, on March
5, the Corps ordered Ryan Weemer back on active duty. So Weemer, who had three
years left on his four-year Reserve commitment, left his wife in Kentucky for
a job at Camp Pendleton. Two weeks later, the Corps charged him under the
Uniform Code of Military Justice with one count of murder and six counts of
dereliction of duty for his alleged actions and handling of alleged unarmed
detainees in that Fallujah house. Weemer’s attorneys say his
recall to active duty was done solely to prosecute him. They hadn’t expected,
though, he would be confined, until federal prosecutors began pressing for
more testimony for the grand jury in Nazario’s prosecution. “We anticipated that he
would be taken into custody,” said Christopher D. Johnson, a federal defender
and former federal prosecutor from Woodland Hills, Calif. “In situations
where you have allegations of contempt of court, there are not a whole lot of
actions available.” Defense attorneys are
doubtful of immunity protections federal prosecutors would provide Nelson and
Weemer in their own military trials, and they suspect federal prosecutors
want additional testimony for a superseding murder indictment against
Nazario. Nazario pleaded not guilty
to the manslaughter charge and will be tried beginning Aug. 19 in Riverside. Johnson said Weemer
maintains his innocence and is fighting the charges. “He was put in a very
difficult position, making very difficult decisions in a combat situation,”
the attorney said. Detained, but hearing pending As far as the Corps knows,
Ryan Weemer is supposed to appear in a military courtroom July 10 for an
Article 32 investigation hearing. But on June 12, a federal
judge ruled Weemer was in contempt of court for his refusal to talk with the
federal grand jury in the Nazario case. So Judge Stephen Larson ordered the
Marine held indefinitely in a federal detention center in San Bernardino. He wasn’t alone for long. Larson on June 24 ordered Nelson
held, also for refusing to talk with the grand jury. It was Nelson’s second
go-around with a federal judge. In May, he spent eight days in the Los
Angeles detention center after U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson found him
in contempt. Back in Kentucky, Amanda
Weemer sends her husband books and writes him letters almost every day,
jotting down the seemingly mundane but comforting details of life. She has
been handling the couple’s bills, getting money into his jail commissary
account and trying to raise money to offset the growing legal bills and
expenses. She’s helping plan a fish-fry fundraising event in his Illinois
hometown and a charity motorcycle ride, and maintains a Web site,
http://www.defendingahero.org. The couple gave up their
rental house to save money, and Amanda Weemer moved in with her parents
temporarily, at least until the legal proceedings are resolved. Amanda Weemer tries to
contain her anger about the situation and their disrupted lives. “It was a big blow to us,”
she said. “Prior to that, we were able to talk whenever we wanted and after
work and text all the time, which is a big comfort for both of us, because it
was like being together.” She’s worried for her
husband and what lies ahead. “He fought. He was injured.
He could have died, very easily could have died,” she said, noting gunshot
wounds that shattered his right leg. “It’s not just him. It’s so many other
men who have gone and fought for their country and fought for their lives ...
and then they come back, and this is what happens.” External link: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/06/marine_weemer_063008w/ Group pleads for judge to
release Marine By Tony Perry Los Angeles Times June 30, 2008 A group supporting Marine
Sgt. Jermaine Nelson has written to U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson
pleading with the jurist to order Nelson released from jail in San
Bernardino. Larson ordered Nelson jailed
last week after he refused to answer questions from a federal grand jury
about the alleged killing of prisoners during a battle in Fallouja in 2004.
The jury is particularly interested in former Sgt. Jose Nazario, who faces
manslaughter charges in federal court. By law, Nelson could remain
in jail during the term of the grand jury, which is 18 months. Nelson faces
charges in the military court system and is concerned that his testimony to
the grand jury will be used by military prosecutors. He has also said he
won't testify because Nazario saved his life during combat. The letter writers note that
Nelson has served three tours in Iraq and was also part of a humanitarian
mission to the Philippines. The group suggests that keeping Nelson in jail
will demoralize active-duty personnel and discourage young people from
enlisting. "Please consider the
service of this young man, and the damage to his future, to the future of the
United States military, and most importantly, to the future of the United
States of America if he remains jailed with hard-core criminals (murderous
gang members, drug dealers and rapists) simply because he remains loyal and
faithful to his nation and the U.S. Marine Corps as he has been trained to
do." Signing the letter were
Penny Alfonso, a registered nurse; retired Marine Col. G.I. Wilson; retired
attorney Carolyn Blashek; and William McNulty, secretary of the Marine Corps
Intelligence Assn., a group of active-duty and former Marines involved in
intelligence gathering and analysis. External link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/06/a-group-support.html |