Yesterday, Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas was cleared of charges regarding the alleged abuse of Ahmed Hashim Abed, the apparent mastermind of the slaying and mutilation of 4 Blackwater security contractors in Iraq in 2004. Today saw the clearing of a second Navy SEAL so charged:
A U.S. military judge has cleared a Navy SEAL of wrongdoing in the alleged beating of a prisoner suspected of masterminding the grisly 2004 killings of four American contractors in Iraq.
The military says the judge found insufficient evidence to convict Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe on charges of dereliction of duty.
2 cleared, one more to go.
(Thanks, Mata!)
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.