Wives say sergeants are heroes, not criminals

[sabra]

Source: CNN

Vilseck, Germany (CNN) -- The wives of three Army sergeants in prison for premeditated murder say their husbands are war heroes who should not be in prison.

"I can sympathize with them that they felt like there was nothing else they could do," said Jamie Leahy, wife of Sgt. Michael Leahy, a 28-year-old medic.

She said her husband and the other two sergeants were heroes for protecting other soldiers. Leahy, 1st Sgt. John Hatley and Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Mayo killed four Iraqi men whom they had taken into custody at a canal in Baghdad, Iraq.

...

Earlier this year, Leahy, Hatley and Mayo were convicted of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder in the killings of the four Iraqi detainees in March 2007.

Documents obtained by CNN, as well as Army interrogation tapes, reveal that Hatley believed that if the men were taken to a detainee holding area, they would be released because there was not enough evidence to hold them.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/18/army.tapes.wives/index.html

[TwilightGardener]

1. So these guys took four Iraqis captive, and then executed them based

on a GUESS about the outcome of an investigation. Sorry, ladies, they're not heroes.

[saigon68]

18. These Dirt Bags will never see old sparky

The Major however will see the Death sentence

After all these Murdering Creeps only "greased" a few (insert racial epithet here ) Heads

[Ian David]

2. They're not heroes, their monsters. Fuck 'em. n/t

[YOY]

3. Well I guess that makes it all right then...

:sarcasm:

[Mari333]

4. these people live in a world of delusion

they think that sending their husbands and sons to war is somehow a heroic thing,. and see no problem in them committing murder of ;the others; i.e. anyone not white .

oh, and many are as dumb as a box of hammers. I have met these people.

[YOY]

5. To admit that they got fucked over and sent over there for someone else's profit would destroy them.

I have met a few myself. They know it's a fuck up. They still have to cling to some nothing that Iraq is/was about freedom, WMDs, and fighting terror and all the other BS excuses Rummy, Cheney, and Zippy came up with. Despite all the evidence contrary to this they still need to believe that it was for those reasons.

They need that delusion. To admit otherwise would cause a mental breakdown for all they have gone through emotionally.

Facts are cold and ugly things.

There's this picture of a burnt marine (no face left) in the DC metro and a plea to not let him be forgotten (for some Veteran's service). The thing I cannot forget is the situation that lead him to this fate...I wonder if he thinks about it. I wonder if he can bear to consider reality. Poor guy.

[Mari333]

12. I think that is why so many of them hate Cindy Sheehan

she just tells the truth.

[Romulox]

6. I think we all do: namely, that there is an "honorable" way to slaughter strangers in a phoney war.

That said, these guys sound guilty of premeditated murder. I can't defend them.

[gratuitous]

7. The wives might want to check with the widows

And see if the surviving family of the men who were summarily executed share their feelings.

[atreides1]

8. Interesting take

I wonder if they could have the same sympathies if an Iraqi had killed their husbands using the same reasons?

They didn't protect anyone, they murdered unarmed prisoners, and that isn't heroic or honorable!

[dschis]

16. Agreed it's obvious

I agree it's sad for all concerned. Even though you've got the nerves going...there is no excuse. The Army used to make that abundantly clear.

I dunno it used to be the Army and the rest of the military used to train for a higher standard of conduct. They need to bring these kids home

[Crowman1979]

9. This is about as pathetic as parents defending their bully kids!

He's just a nice boy, he wouldn't hurt anyone! :sarcasm:

[prole_for_peace]

10. So, if the situation was reversed

And the Iraqis killed their husbands for the same reasons would the Iraqis be heroes? I seriously doubt it.

[MisterP]

14. exceptionalism is the name of the game:

they always run around with signs reading "Killing THE ENEMY is not a crime" (uh, when it's in an invasion, it basically is...)

for another example, they LOVE Hiroshima and Dresden (they saaaaved liiiiives, the Germans/Japanese were pure evil and didn't care if they killed civilians), but if, say, San Diego or Modesto were obliterated in a 4-mile fireball, as "military targets" in an aggressor nation, they'd wig out entirely (or orgasm, since they can nuke whoever it was: H. Bruce Franklin has a whole book on this)

[The Stranger]

11. Maybe the wives are accessories after the fact.

[edwardian]

13. Heroes! Heroes! Heroes...

of the 4th Reich, maybe. But American soldiers were once respected for their restraint and respect for the laws governing warfare. Their wives are only doing what wives do when husbands stand accused of behavior unbecoming their husbands. Heroes don't murder, in fact, heroes die for others.

[TheLastMohican]

19. Hold on

These wives will still have a chance to live with their homicidal maniacs (I mean heroes) once they get free from jail.
We probably won't hear another story about women abuse, because stories like these don't sell.

[tabasco]

15. They have disgraced the military and deserve life in prison.

Time to move on, ladies.

[Solly Mack]

17. Disgusting