My source is a retired SEAL who like myself still serves in other capacities. The feeling going around the Special Operations community at Fort Bragg is that this latest development is a kneejerk reaction to the situation a couple months ago when SEAL operators rescued Captain Phillips - Captain of the Maersk Alabama - off the coast of Somalia.
At the time of the capture, the media played up the angle that President Obama himself gave the order to the SEAL snipers to open fire. Having done extensive time in anti-terrorist units myself, I can tell you from personal experience this is ridiculous, a total fabrication. Nobody except those with "eyes on" the targeted individuals can make the judgement call to open fire.
The truth of the situation was that the SEALs were held off from infiltrating the AO (Area of Operations) for over 36 hours. There was a lot of resistance from the Whitehouse in letting them in theater in the first place; once they were in place they were given very restrictive ROE (Rules Of Engagement); so restrictive that they really couldn't engage their targets. There were two previous opportunities to rescue Captain Phillips, and they were not allowed to engage their targets.
When they finally did execute, they did it by liberally interpreting the ROE; the onsite commander finally had enough with the situation and gave them a weapons-free command and they were able to engage and rescue Captain Phillips. The fallout from the National Command Authority was immediate and extremely unpleasant; the White House did not want the rescue to be conducted in the way that it was.
Richard Phillips, right, the captain of the U.S.-flagged cargo ship Maersk Alabama, after his rescue with Cmdr. Frank Castellano, commanding officer of the destroyer USS Bainbridge.
I guess the Community-Organizer-in-Chief envisioned some kind of cross-cultural kumbaya-singing group encounter session, followed by photo ops of him hugging the poor, oppressed under-employed Somalis, maybe even practicing his bow on their leaders. Instead what he got was THIS:
So the word on the street is that this latest development is payback for the SEALs violating the ROE in rescuing the captain of the Maersk Alabama. The Chain of Command is asserting itself, letting everybody know what's going to happen to you if you don't follow orders.
As this was expressed to me, this opinion is based on very good, solid inside information. In my personal experience with Navy brass I have found they are very political and very politically correct. The Naval Command's reaction to the prisoner situation was so overblown and out of proportion that I somehow find this latest angle quite believable. Unfortunately.
I'll keep you posted with updates as information surfaces.
. . . S.L.
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ReplyDeleteYour theory here is interesting, and believable.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I ask this with the utmost respect for you and the SpecOps community: What troubles me most about this story is a line from this news report.....
"...Another three SEALs — two officers and an enlisted sailor — have been identified by investigators as witnesses but have not been charged...."
Its just my guess, but when you couple the charges here--"making a false official statement"-- with this little element of three other SEALs who are witnesses but have not been charged, and my gut tells me that the investigators here may have been told two different stories by these two sets of three.
I had a very fleeting, and now very ancient, professional relationship with the SEALs back in my day. They have earned my utmost respect. That said, it is still possible for bad guys to exist inside a good community. If these SEALs have lied to the investigators, then the fat lip becomes beside the point. Taking this thing to a Court Martial is a smart move and these guys may get off on these charges, but any soldier should know that you simply cannot lie during an official investigation.
If they are acquitted though, would you want to be in a foxhole with a guy who lied and got away with it?
Ah, jeez....missed the link to "this news report" in my second paragraph. It should have taken you here.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,576646,00.html
There are lies and then there are damn lies.
ReplyDeleteThere are lies of convience and of necessity.
There are lies to cover up wrong doing.
There are lies to lessen sorrow.
There are lies told to brass, just because they are the brass and you might want to protect your buds and maybe even yourself from rank stupidity.
But I think no lies were told here. I think it is all a big mess because of Iraqi, American and Military politics.
Like I said before, this dirtbag should have had an unexplainable disapperance or accident on the way back to base.
Papa Ray
Something I left out. From a previous read, I can't find the link now, the detainee (scumbag) was in the custody of Iraqi military at one point. Not saying that they roughed him up or that he didn't bust his lip getting transported or anything else. But just something to remember.
ReplyDeletePapa Ray
PS. Something else to remember. It is in the aQ handbook that all that are captured are to claim torture and mistreatment.
I'm with you Sean. It is a complete and deliberate destruction of the ability of our forces in the field to perform. And in more of the same, the SecState and CinC seem to be inclined to let our young men and women be subject to the International Court in The Hague, again violating the sovereignty of the Republic.
ReplyDeleteThe beaded lip yields a film of oil that is slightly thicker than that of a chamfered lip, making it advantageous for applications with rapid reciprocating motion. Standard and custom of lip seals sizes are available with a wide selection of PTFE materials.
ReplyDelete