Perhaps you should take it easy on Jane. She raises a very good point. Was Pantano a trigger happy Marine who executed two Iraqis? The fact is you do not know Lt. Pantano because you’ve never served with Lt. Pantano. And all your “facts” you’ve gathered are coming from his side, mainly from his attorney and his mom. Do you think maybe they are biased?

Let’s talk about the real world here and answer some of the questions that have been raised.

Initially, Mr. Gittens stated that his client had the Iraqi’s in handcuffs, then uncuffed them and made them search through the vehicle for boobytraps. Now I don’t know how much you know about the Geneva Convention, but when they are in flexicuffs, they are assumed to be Prisoners of War. Article 52 prohibits making EPW’s perform dangerous labour:

Article 52

Unless he be a volunteer, no prisoner of war may be employed on labour which is of an unhealthy or dangerous nature.

No prisoner of war shall be assigned to labour which would be looked upon as humiliating for a member of the Detaining Power’s own forces.

The removal of mines or similar devices shall be considered as dangerous labour.

If you cannot use an EPW to clear a landmine, then what makes you think that you can use an EPW to clear a vehicle? That is illegal.

Of course, Gittens and the Mom go to every media outlet they can and spew out their version of the story and say that Pantano is being court-martialed because he shot two Iraqi’s that were coming at him after Pantano ordered them to stop in Arabic. That would not be illegal. So, basically you have two people who are telling Marines and Soldiers that if they shoot somebody who is coming at them after they order them to stop, then they could be court-martialed. Those two knuckleheads and every other news organization that is reporting this story this way are the ones who are causing good Marines and Soldiers to second guess themselves.

What Gittens leaves out is the fact that there is an eyewitness who stated he saw Pantano shoot these two Iraqi’s in the back when they finished searching the vehicle. Then he hung a sign on the vehicle with the dead bodies saying, “No better friend, no worse enemy” to “send a message.” Why not cut their heads off and stick them on a spear to send a message?

Now, when Gittens is asked about this statement from the eyewitness which he conveniently never mentions, Gittens states that this report came from a disgruntled sergeant who was mad about not being placed in a leadership position, but rather was placed in a position where he could do the least harm as a radio operator.

Now, you hold yourself out as a Marine, Rick. Who does the platoon leader choose as his RTO, the dud or the stud? Sounds to me like somebody could be taking the offensive by sullying the character of a good Marine. Reeks of “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” or “This is the single most evil thing I have ever experienced.”

You talk about his service in the Gulf War and the Balkans. I got it, he performed admirably and was discharged honorably. But, Jane told a story that seems to fit the character of somebody who has the attitude of, “Kill them all and let God sort them out.” Also, I’ve read reports that says he shaved his head on 9/11 and got into “warrior mode.” I’ve read his officer fitness reports. One of them describes his performance in Fallujah as “noteworthy.” If you know anything about OER’s and NCOER’s, the term “noteworthy” is one of those squishy verbs from which you can’t glean a whole lot. However, they use the term “aggressive” about three or four times and how he leads from the front. Could that be “militarese” for “Cowboy” or “Renegade?” You were a Marine, you should know the answer to that one.

Now let’s talk about him “facing the death penalty.” I guarantee you that if the Article 32 officer recommends that this go to a General Court-Martial, the Convening Authority will not refer it as a capital case. So, another sensationalism to tug at the heartstrings of the public, and further make good Soldiers and Marines hesitate on the lawful use of deadly force. Now they could be put to death if they shoot somebody coming at them? Nonesense!!!!!! Heck, I even saw a website on Google entitled “Free Lt. Pantano.” Harkens back to the riots in LA during the Rodney King policemen acquittals where the looters were running around saying, “Free Rodney King.” Rodney King was not in jail! And, neither is Pantano. Last time I checked he was not a flight risk, nor was he apt to commit further acts of misconduct. Even then, lesser forms of restraint would be adequate to ensure the aforementioned did not occur.

Finally, Lt. Pantano is a Marine officer. He should know why he is being investigated. If I were him, then I would tell my mother and my lawyer to shut their mouths and concentrate on impeaching the eyewitness at the Article 32 hearing who by their accounts is lying and attempting to ruin Pantano’s life and career because he wasn’t made a squad leader. If I were Lt. Pantano, I would be concerned that thousands of deployed Marines and Soldiers who read blogs like these or watch Fox News think that if they shoot two insurgents who are coming at them after being warned to stop in Arabic, then they will be court-martialed. His mother and attorney’s actions show that he only cares about himself.

Unfortunately, Maj. Morgan can’t say this because it would be undue command influence and would be unfair to Lt. Pantano. The Marines are conducting this investigation by the book, it seems to me. They aren’t being PC or CYA’ing. Under Rules of Court Martial 303, a crime has been reported to them, and the command is conducting an inquiry.

And on more thing, you might wonder why it has taken so long to court martial him? Well, the RTO, or “the disgruntled sergeant” according to Gittens, might have come forward after the unit returned to Garrison well after the investigation, so there would be additional evidence that the battlefield investigation IO did not consider. Now before you go pointing fingers at the RTO who you do not know, do you think that it was a popular decision he made to report what he says he saw? You should know the phrase, “Take the hard right over the easy wrong.” Do you think maybe he was concerned with his safety and decided to report the incident when he got back to Garrison where everybody wasn’t walking around locked and loaded?

I hope that Pantano is telling the truth. But, I think he is doing a disservice to other Marines and Soldiers by trying this case in the media and stating that he is being court-martialed because he shot two Iraqi’s coming at him after being warned to stop in Arabic. That is no reason to court martial somebody. He is being court-martialed because somebody stated they saw him execute in cold blood two Iraqi’s who should have been kept in handcuffs and taken to the nearest internment facility.

By the way, I invaded Iraq during Desert Storm, and I carried an M-203 in combat. While I never fired that weapon, there were a few times where I was locked and loaded and had my finger on the trigger with the weapon off safe pointed at my intended target. So, I’ve made life and death decisions before, and I know that if two people were coming at me after I yelled “Stop” in Arabic, then I would have shot them dead. But, I would never shoot two individuals in the back and hang a sign on the vehicle to make an example of them.

This will be interesting.

Trigger finger? Can’t take the pressure? Who knows…but where there’s smoke there’s fire, so all the facts need to come out before judgment is passed.

It is a screaming shame to see the (R) next to Col West. These warriors should not be leaving their careers because of this nonsens. He should not have been treated like that after he saved his men’s lives. God bless this hero and his beautiful family. He went through bureaucratic crap until the Pentagon semi-backed down. God bless you, Col

Same crap for the young Marine who double tapped the insurgent in Fallujah. Media think they will get their 15 seconds of fame by screwing our military.

msm sucks.

Now, let’s send an avalanche of support for Lt. Pantano. Let’s get email addresses posted of people who are in positions to make sure this is straightened out. Do we have his Defense Fund address?

Lieutenant, I will do my best, and I’m sure I’m not alone. God bless you, friend.

$hit will be hitting the fan, shortly.

http://ridingsun.blogspot.com/2005/02/marine-deserves-medal-gets-murder.html

I’m pretty strongly supporting his side of the story, simply because I have not read a single word anywhere — beyond the fact of the allegations and charges themselves — that indicates he acted inappropriately.

My prediction is that unless some critical bit of evidence against Pantano is still undisclosed and comes out in the court-martial (if there is one), these charges will be dismissed.