Army Guardsman, Sergeant Derrick Miller has been sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole by the United States Military.

During a combat mission in a hostile area of Afghanistan in September 2010, SGT Derrick Miller’s attention was drawn to an Afghan national who had penetrated the defense perimeter set up by the US Army. The Afghan man was identified by another soldier who recognized him from a detainment the previous day. The man in question was the driver of a truck reported by military intelligence as transporting members of the opposition to a nearby combat firefight. US military intelligence let the trucks pass.

SGT Miller questioned the Afghan national after observing the suspicious behavior of the man as he reconnoitered their defense perimeter. It appeared that the man was gathering information and since he was already identified as an enemy combatant, SGT Miller was acting instinctively to protect his unit by detaining this man.

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To the thousands of Michael Behenna supporters:

The New York Times recently reported (see link below) that the US military has initiated a policy to “reintegrate” imprisoned Taliban fighters to their Afghan communities. These Taliban fighters were caught with evidence that they had killed our soldiers, but are released to their families in an active war zone with merely a ‘pledge’ that they will not return to the Taliban. This appears to be the latest attempt to win the hearts and minds of our enemies and taking the ‘catch and release policy’ to a whole new level.

This brings us to Michael’s case. Michael has been incarcerated by the Army for over a year now. We have asked at every level that Michael’s constitutional right to a fair trial be granted so that all the evidence is disclosed to the jury. Doesn’t seem too much to ask for an American citizen who fought for his country does it? Yet Michael’s request for a new trial has been stranded. The Army seems to be in no hurry to have Michael’s case in front of the Army Court of Appeals as they have yet to file their response to Michael’s brief which was filed back in December 2009.

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US Navy SEAL cleared in Iraq abuse case

Associated Press

BAGHDAD

BAGHDAD (AP) — A U.S. Navy SEAL was cleared Thursday of charges he covered up the alleged beating of an Iraqi prisoner suspected of masterminding the grisly 2004 killings of four American security contractors.

A six-man Navy jury found Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas not guilty of dereliction of duty and attempting to influence the testimony of another service member. The jury heard too many differences between the testimony of a sailor who claimed he witnessed the Sept. 1 assault at a U.S. base outside Fallujah, Iraq, and statements from a half-dozen others who denied his account.

Smiling and composed as he left the courthouse at the U.S. military’s Camp Victory on Baghdad’s western outskirts, Huertas said he felt vindicated.

“It’s a big weight off my shoulders,” said Huertas, 29, of Blue Island, Illinois. “Compared to all the physical activity we go through, this has been mentally more challenging.”

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Cross posted from New Zeal

A “sockdolager” is a knock-down blow. This is a newspaper reporter’s story of his unforgettable encounter with the old “Bear Hunter” from Tennessee – Davy Crockett.

This is the story of Congressman Crockett’s coming to understanding of what made America exceptional among all societies in human history – the US constitution.

Congressman Crockett votes against a Bill, on principle, that even most conservative US Congressmen would support today.

It illustrates the type of thinking that lay behind the writing of the US Constitution and the imperfect grasp of its principles common in even many of its bravest defenders.

It shows very plainly why freedom is struggling to survive in today’s America.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2iiirr5KI8