Mistrial in Watada Court Martial

[ArmyLawyer]

Over the stipulation of fact

FORT LEWIS -- The court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada ended in a mistrial Wednesday.

The case's judge, Lt. Col. John Head, declared the trial over after a day of wrangling over a stipulation of facts that Watada had signed before the trial and that would have been part of the instructions to the jury. The judge decided that Watada never intended when he signed the stipulation to mean that he had a duty to go to Iraq with his unit.
...
He had been charged with two other counts of conduct unbecoming for interviews he gave. Prosecutors dropped those charged in return for Watada's signing a stipulation that he had given the interviews. He also acknowledged in the stipulation that he didn't go with his unit to Iraq, though he didn't admit his guilt to the missing movement charge.

With the jury of officers out of the courtroom Wednesday morning, Head wanted to question Watada about the stipulation to make sure that it was accurate and to protect the lieutenant against any mistakes in it.

But Eric Seitz, Watada's attorney, objected to the questioning. He said the stipulation should include Watada's reasons for not going to Iraq: His views that the war is illegal.

"It has always been his position that not only would he miss movement but he would not participate in a war he considered illegal" and not participate in war crimes, Seitz said.

"His specific intent was of a different character all together" than simply missing his unit's deployment to Iraq, Seitz said.

Don't worry, under Rules for Courts Martial 915, the declaration of a mistrial has the effect of withdrawing the charges and returning them to the convening authority, who may refer them to a brand spanking new court martial.

So we ain't done yet.

via (MM)

UPDATE: Nope, not done yet:

Military judge Lt. Col. John Head granted prosecutors' request for a mistrial, which Watada's lawyer opposed. He set a March 12 date for a new trial and dismissed the jurors.

The Waxman Cometh

[ArmyLawyer]

California Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman is gettin' all investigatory in hearings yesterday and faulting the coalition provisional authority for how it handled cash payments made following the fall of the Iraqi regime:

Mr Waxman said that, in a 13-month period, the US government had shipped 360 tonnes of cash to Iraq. “Who in their right minds would send 360 tonnes of cash into a war zone? But that’s exactly what [this government] did.”

Apparently Waxman would have preferred we cut them checks? Or maybe direct deposit?

Look, waste is serious problem, but in a chaotic environment where communication between civilian personnel and military personnel isn't perfect and all-present--money will get lost.

And "lost" in a sense of "wait, you paid for that too? So did I." I recommend reading this testimony from Dave Oliver, the Director of Management and Budget for the CPA and Adviser to the Iraqi Finance Minister. (in particular pp 34-35)

Small errors, like the CPA bringing the wrong denomination of currency to a job site to pay workers, workers getting upset, and a local Marine commander takes it upon himself to "solve" the problem of angry workers by paying out from funds under his control in smaller denominations.

The Marine commander doesn't technically have the authority to make such payments and doesn't make payments according to the CPA's work log, and hence, such money is "wasted."

Now multiply that scenario over a country the size of California with a population of about 25 million people.

But then again, what do I know, I'm not in Congress.

When to go to Court Martial?

[CDR Salamander]

Always a good question. Though it was in another professional world, it is always worth remembering that as a JO, Fleet Admiral Nimitz went to Court Martial for running a ship aground - and he came out OK.

In today's world where nothing stays secret for long and we have to make sure that we treat what few real allies we have with respect - perhaps going to CM is best in some cases so there is little question that justice will be done, and a fair airing will take place. Right now the U.S. is taking a huge hit in the UK for a Blue-on-Blue in '03. Tough call.

The Pentagon refused last night to take any further disciplinary action against the US pilots whose "friendly fire" attack on British tanks in the Iraq war killed a soldier and wounded four others.

Despite the leaking of graphic cockpit video and voice transcript evidence of the 2003 strike, Washington said the officers were cleared in an inquiry held within months. It did not have to re-evaluate its position.

But, faced with a public relations disaster, it agreed officially to hand over the evidence for the inquest into the death of L/Cpl of Horse Matty Hull on condition that it was seen only by his family and by the Oxford assistant deputy coroner Andrew Walker.

You can find the video and transcript links at the link above. Tough call - but there is enough there that from a British perspective - I think they have a gripe. Usually better to get that stuff out there early and be done with it. Not unlike the Blue-on-Blue F-15 vs. Blackhawk in the '90s.

RE: I KNOW THAT DUDE (TOO)

[Buck Sargent]

You know, it's really beginning to become a pet peeve of mine that some people insist on "correcting" the spelling of my own pseudonym for me, as if us enlisted men are so stupid that wee woodn't even no howe too spel r own freeking rank. Anyway, just had to get that off my chest.

So uh, yeah... "the movie." Haven't spent one second on it since I got back. Hey, doing nothing's hard work! (Hard to get used to, at least.)

But it's still gonna happen, I'm just thinking that a "Band of Brothers" type mini-series is more likely to work for me than one continguous film. I just have too much footage to sift through to be able to edit it down to 90 minutes. I'll try to get the first episode on the web by my target date of Spring 07, and then stetch it out one month at a time all the way through the campaign season next year. One, this will help simulate what it was like for us to be gone that long (16 dang months; I still can't believe it's finally over) and two, there's seems to be a rush among CinC wannabee's to see who can announce they'll quit the war fastest. Well, there'll be no quitting on my watch, dammit. I'll force-feed the public this project in month-long installments for the next year and a half if I have to. I can already tell you that my mini-series will flatly contradict everything you'll be hearing about what has gone/does go on in Iraq by the time Hillary really starts campaigning. This won't be because I'll spin it, but because I've already lived it.

-Buck (repeat after me, fobnobs) S-A-R-G-E-N-T

Just Run Away

[Greyhawk]

Hey, Gyrenes: If, a few months from now, a brand new El-Tee named Barrett challenges you to a race, just say no.

(You won't do it, though. I know you people.)

Recognition

[Andi]

Submit your nominations.

The troop-support group SemperComm is asking for nominations for its 2007 awards program recognizing the morale-raising efforts of troops stationed throughout the world. This is the fourth year of the awards program highlighting the personal contributions of troops who go the extra mile for their fellow servicemembers. The deadline for entries is Feb. 26.

“The SemperComm Award recognizes the valuable contributions of military men and women based in out-of-the-way overseas locations where there often isn’t much to do that could be considered recreational,” said Lara Coffee, SemperComm executive director, in a news release. “Keeping our uniformed personnel’s moral high is essential to their well-being and the ability to stay focused on their jobs.”

Nominees will be judged by four retired military officers who will consider three factors: actions taken to boost the morale of fellow servicemembers, remoteness and size of the base where the nominee is stationed, and the desire to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Past winners include National Guard soldiers who built a bocce ball court in Iraq and a chaplain who created a cafe where personnel could enjoy refreshments in addition to watching movies and participating in movie or cigar nights.

SemperComm site here.

Defining "Withdraw"

[Greyhawk]

More of this:

Suicide attacker detonates VBIED on ambulance in Mosul

MOSUL, Iraq – A suicide terrorist, driving a Blue Vargas Wagon packed with explosives at approximately 11:55 a.m., attempted to detonate his vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) in the center of the crowded Al Boursah Market on the west side of Mosul, Feb. 3.

The attacker was heading toward his primary target, believed by local investigating police to be the Al Boursah Market, when he veered into the path of an Iraqi ambulance detonating his VBIED, according to witnesses.

There were three Iraqi civilians in the ambulance, two medical technicians and a pregnant woman on her way to the hospital. All three were wounded in the explosion and the woman later died after succumbing to her injuries. The bomber was killed in the blast.

Iraqi police are currently investigating the incident.

“This is a heinous act by terrorists targeting a pregnant woman in an ambulance,” said Col. Gary Patton, chief of staff for Task Force Lightning.

None of this

YUSUFIYAH — Iraqi Army and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers uncovered more than 1,100 81mm high-explosive mortar rounds at a cache near the main highway, Route Tampa, leading into the Iraqi capital Saturday.

Troops from 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Troop B, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment “Wolverines,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), made the discovery during Operation Wolverine Alesia near Yusufiyah, Iraq, just 10 miles southwest of the capital.

Acting on a tip from a local resident, the troops conducted an intentional search of the area which resulted in the largest cache find in 2nd “Commando” Brigade’s history. In all, 1,129 mortar rounds were uncovered.

The cache, which was buried in the dirt, was larger than expected. As the Soldiers continued to unearth more mortar rounds, it became evident that this was a major find.

More than 1100 mortar rounds were found by Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 89th Calvary Regiment “Wolverines,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) along Route Tampa, just 10 miles southwest of Baghdad Saturday. (courtesy photo by U.S. Army)

During the operation four individuals were detained by the Iraqi Army for suspicious activity in the vicinity of the cache.

At a second cache site located nearby, Troop C, 1-89th found 20 120mm mortar rounds, 26 81mm mortar rounds, four medium machine guns, 8,000 rounds of machine gun ammunition, three rifle scopes, 60 fragmentation hand grenades, 50 pounds of homemade explosives, 27 boxes of 5.56mm rifle ammunition and 10 rocket-propelled grenade projectiles.

Operation Wolverine Alesia is a joint operation designed to deny terrorist sanctuary along Route Tampa, the military designation for Iraqi Highway One, leading into Baghdad from the south. The operation began Saturday and is ongoing.

That's today's news - yesterday's is here.