|
Friday, January 3, 2020
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL ASSOCIATION: The APA Eastern Division meeting is next week!
Sunday, December 29, 2019
IN THIS CASE, THE U.S. NAVY AND DONALD TRUMP APPARENTLY TREAT HONOR AND TRUTH THE SAME WAY: PROTECT THE GUILTY, COVER UP, AND IGNORE TRUE HEROS. PART 2.
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES.
BY- DAVE PHILIPPS.
Anguish and Anger From the Navy SEALs Who Turned In Edward Gallagher
(I ITALICIZED ONE PARAGRAPH, AND OUTLINED IT IN RED.- DAVID McD.)
“I think Eddie was proud of it, and that was, like, part of it for him,” Special Operator Miller told investigators.
Chief Gallagher’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, said the video interviews were rife with inconsistencies and falsehoods that created “a clear road map to the acquittal.”
Since his arrest nearly a year ago, Chief Gallagher has insisted that the charges against him were concocted by six disgruntled SEALs in his platoon who could not meet his high standards and wanted to force him out.
“My first reaction to seeing the videos was surprise and disgust that they would make up blatant lies about me, but I quickly realized that they were scared that the truth would come out of how cowardly they acted on deployment,” Chief Gallagher said in a statement issued through his lawyer.
“I felt sorry for them that they thought it necessary to smear my name, but they never realized what the consequences of their lies would be. As upset as I was, the videos also gave me confidence because I knew that their lies would never hold up under real questioning and the jury would see through it. Their lies and N.C.I.S.’s refusal to ask hard questions or corroborate their stories strengthened my resolve to go to trial and clear my name.”
The video interviews and private group text conversations obtained by The Times do not reveal any coordinated deception among the SEALs in the chief’s platoon. Instead, they show men who were hesitant to come forward, but who urged one another to resist outside pressure and threats of violence, and to be honest.
“Tell the truth, don’t lie or embellish,” one sniper who is now in SEAL Team 6 told the others in a group text in 2017, when they first tried to report the chief. “That way, he can’t say that we slandered him in any way.”
When several SEALs in the group questioned what would come of reporting the chief to their commanders, another wrote: “That’s their decision. We just need to give them the truth.”
It is an unspoken rule among their teams that SEALs should not report other SEALs for misconduct. An internal investigation could close off choice assignments or end careers for the accusers as well as the accused. And anyone who reported concerns outside the tight-knit SEAL community risked being branded a traitor.
“In a perfect world, there would be no risk, but that is not where we are,” Rick Haas, a retired command master chief who served in the SEALs for 30 years, said in an interview with The Times. “The teams are now divided over this, like I’ve never seen happen before.”
In cramped interview rooms in San Diego, SEALs who spoke to Navy investigators painted a picture of a platoon driven to despair by a chief who seemed to care primarily about racking up kills. They described how their chief targeted women and children and boasted that “burqas were flying.”
Asked whether the chief had a bias against Middle Eastern people, Special Operator Scott replied, “I think he just wants to kill anybody he can.”
Some of the SEALs said they came to believe that the chief was purposefully exposing them to enemy fire to bait ISIS fighters into revealing their positions. They said the chief thought that casualties in the platoon would increase his chances for a Silver Star.
Special Operator Vriens told investigators he had wanted to confront the chief in Iraq but had worried that if he did, he would be cut from missions and no longer be present to protect other SEALs from the chief. As he spoke, he struggled to keep his composure.
“I can speak up, stand my ground,” he said in the interview. “He’s just going to do this to a new guy who he can manipulate. So I was like, I’m going to be his right-hand man, so — so no one else got hurt.”
He pressed his forehead into his fists and started to cry. Then he took several deep breaths, rubbed his hands together and tried to continue.
“So I worked for him and I kept my mouth shut,” he said.
The platoon members told investigators that they tried repeatedly to report what they saw, but that the chain of command above them was friendly toward Chief Gallagher and took no action. Finally, in April 2018, they went outside the SEALs to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Chief Gallagher was arrested a few months later.
The SEALs in the platoon were scattered to new assignments. They tried to keep tabs on the case, texting one another and commiserating over a series of setbacks, including accusations of prosecutorial misconduct, the removal of the lead prosecutor and reports that the judge overseeing the case was being investigated on suspicion of lying under oath.
“This stuff is frustrating to read and makes it seem like Eddie will possibly get away with murder (literally),” Special Operator First Class Dylan Dille texted the group. “Let’s not forget there are 7-12 of us in here who had the balls to tell the truth about what Eddie has done.”
He said he thought the case against Chief Gallagher was strong despite the procedural setbacks. “I am also convinced that we are gonna answer to a higher power someday, and everything happens for a reason,” wrote Special Operator Dille, who has since left the Navy. “Not compromising our integrity and keeping right on our side is all we can do.”
Seven members of the 22-person platoon testified at the trial that they saw the chief commit war crimes. Two men from the platoon testified that they did not see any evidence of crimes. Others refused to cooperate with prosecutors. Crucially, one SEAL who had accused the chief during the investigation — Special Operator Scott — changed his story on the witness stand, testifying that he and not Chief Gallagher had caused the captive’s death.
Three of the men who testified at the trial left the Navy afterward, and have been trying to keep a low profile while they build civilian lives. Others are still in the SEAL teams, in some cases working on classified assignments. Some fear that coming forward has hurt their chances at success in the SEALs, but none have reported any retaliation. All of them declined to comment for this article.
Since the trial, Chief Gallagher has repeatedly insulted them on social media and on Fox News, especially Craig Miller, whom the chief singled out for weeping while talking to investigators.
Chief Gallagher retired from the Navy with full honors at the end of November, and has announced that he was starting a SEAL-themed clothing line.
A few days after he retired, an Instagram account belonging to him and his wife posted a photo of a custom-made hatchet, forged by the same SEAL veteran who made the hunting knife he was accused of using to kill the captive. Before the deployment, Chief Gallagher had told the knife maker he hoped to “dig that knife or hatchet on someone’s skull!”
“Eddie finally got his stuff back from NCIS,” the post said, listing the hatchet among a “few of our favorite things now returned.”
Another item returned to him was a black-and-white Islamic State flag. On Saturday, Chief Gallagher presented Mr. Trump with a folded black-and-white cloth that other SEALs from the platoon said appeared to be the flag.
A post on the chief’s Instagram account said, “Finally got to thank the President and his amazing wife by giving them a little gift from Eddie’s deployment to Mosul.”
Saturday, December 28, 2019
BLAST FROM THE PAST: 2/4/2017- AS A FRAUD TAKES OVER THE WHITE HOUSE.
FEATURE ARTICLES. A TRUMP VISION OF THE U.S.?
WHAT ARE THE TRUE GOALS OF A DONALD TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, AND WHAT WILL SUCH POLICIES MEAN TO ALL AMERICANS, NOW, AND IN THE FUTURE?
HERE IS A SHORT LIST TO CONSIDER:
PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS REPUBLICANS.
SUPPORT.
- UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE. OPPOSE ALL
- RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE. OF
- LEGALIZING SAME- SEX MARRIAGE. THESE.
- RESTRICTIONS AND DISCLOSURE LAWS,
ON CONTROLLING CAMPAIGN SPENDING.
- PROVIDING SANCTUARY FOR WAR REFUGEES
FROM SYRIA.
... AND STRICT GUN CONTROL LAWS.
WHAT CAN WE TAKE FROM THIS?
It is a List that gives us a snapshot OF WHAT IS CONSIDERED IMPORTANT TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ON A NATIONAL LEVEL. ( OR ISN'T IMPORTANT, TAKE YOUR PICK.)
It can also give us INSIGHT INTO WHY THEY ARE ANXIOUS TO DEMONIZE ENTIRE GROUPS OF HUMAN BEINGS, WHICH INCLUDES FELLOW AMERICANS, WHO ARE GUILTY OF NOTHING.
HOW SO?
REPUBLICANS DO NOT SUPPORT
ANYTHING ON THE LIST, EVEN THOUGH IT...
- Gives different groups of AMERICAN CITIZENS
RELIEF FROM SPECIFIC CAUSES OF ECONOMIC
DISTRESS. ( UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE, RAISING
THE MINIMUM WAGE.)
- Offers an OPPORTUNITY FOR COUPLES OF THE
SAME GENDER, TO ENTER INTO A LEGAL AND MORAL
MARRIAGE CONTRACT.
- Expands or Creates Laws that Limit Campaign Spending, and
Discloses Lists of Prominent Donors.
- Expands Gun Control Laws To: REQUIRE BACKGROUND CHECKS,
LIMIT PRIVATE GUN SALES, RESTRICT THE SALE OF
AUTOMATIC WEAPONS.
- OFFERS REFUGE TO WAR VICTIMS, WHO ALREADY
HAVE TO PASS A COMPREHENSIVE BACKGROUND CHECK, AND
HAVE NEVER BEEN ACCUSED OF HARMING ANYONE.
WITH THE ABOVE IN MIND, LET US ASK THE FOLLOWING:
QUESTION #1.
WHICH PART OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC IS
HARMED BY ANY OF THESE?
IF SO, HOW, AND IS THE HARM ENOUGH TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT
THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ANY CITIZEN?
QUESTION #2.
DO ANY OF THESE ALLEVIATE HARDSHIP, OR CAUSE IT?
QUESTION #3.
WHO BENEFITS FROM THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS LIST,
AND WHO SUFFERS?
QUESTION #4.
DOES THIS LIST VIOLATE ANY PORTION OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION,
IF SO, HOW?
QUESTION #5- DO ANY OF THESE REMEDY PAST INJUSTICES,
OR ELIMINATE ANY INEQUALITIES FOUND IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, OR IN CIVIL LAW.
??????
(THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED ON 12/10/2015).
BLAST FROM THE PAST: KNOW YOUR OPPONENT, THEN MAKE A STAND. (UPDATED)
As Donald Trump continues an agenda of Persecution, many Americans are missing the True Dangers that will become a reality if he gets his way.
To Defeat this Assault on the CONSTITUTION, AND COMMON DECENCY, THE FOLLOWING MUST ACKNOWLEDGED AS TRUE:
1) Donald Trump is a Symptom of the REAL PROBLEM, NOT THE CAUSE.
2) Many of his Supporters consider "RIGHTS" TO BE GUARANTEES THAT PROTECT ONLY
THEM.
3) Often, these same Supporters will claim that anything they do or say must be allowed by
Law, SO THEY CAN FULFILL A DIVINE MISSION THAT MUST TAKE PRECEDENCE
OVER EVERYTHING ELSE.
4) "THE ENDS JUSTIFIES THE MEANS" is an essential part of the Fanaticism that grips many
Americans, when it comes to certain issues.
5) THERE ARE THOSE WHO BELIEVE RELIGIOUS FAITH ALONE IS ENOUGH TO SET LEGAL GUIDELINES THAT MUST BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT QUESTION.
6) CONTRARY TO WHAT THEY MAY SAY PUBLICLY, SOME AMERICANS WOULD
GLADLY LIVE IN A TOTALITARIAN STATE, AS LONG AS IT IS SET UP TO GIVE THEM
POWER AND PRIVILEGES OVER EVERYONE ELSE.
7) TO MANY AMERICANS, SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES ARE NEGOTIABLE, AND CAN BE ACCEPTED OR REJECTED REGARDLESS OF THE POTENTIAL OUTCOMES.
8) History, to some Americans, should BE REWRITTEN OR IGNORED, DEPENDING ON THE
POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE IMAGE IT CREATES.
9) PERHAPS THE MOST DANGEROUS OF ALL: THE IDEA THAT THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE BEYOND
THE RULE OF LAW, AND WHOSE ACTIONS CANNOT BE QUESTIONED, OR PROSECUTED....
...WHICH LEADS US TO THE FOLLOWING.
10) THE RULES OF LOGIC AND DEDUCTIVE/INDUCTIVE REASONING DO NOT CHANGE JUST
BECAUSE THE INDIVIDUAL HAS MD, Phd, JD etc. after their name. ALONG THE SAME LINES,
THOSE WHO ARE REFERRED TO AS SCIENTISTS, PHILOSOPHERS, ENGINEERS, MINISTERS,RESEARCHERS etc., ARE NOT EXEMPT FROM HAVING THEIR OPINIONS AND/OR JUDGEMENTS
TESTED AND DEBATED. NO ONE SHOULD BE GIVEN A FREE PASS AS "BEYOND ALL REPROACH."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)