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| Marine faces death penalty for killing 2 terror suspects |
| Monday, February 14, 2005 |
'What's he supposed to do, wait until he's standing in the inferno?'
� 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
A U.S. Marine charged with premeditated murder for shooting two
Iraqis may face the death penalty, although one of the men he shot
appeared to be preparing to attack the Marines or detonate nearby
explosives, says the Marine's attorney.
Second Lieutenant Ilario G. Pantano was charged Feb. 1 in connection
with the April 15, 2004, shooting incident, according to a Marine
Corps statement released yesterday.
Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, commanding general of the 2nd Marine
Division, convened an investigation to determine if the 33-year-old
Pantano should stand trial, but no further details were released.
But Charles Gittens, Pantano's civilian attorney, said Pantano
has "made it pretty firmly clear that he is not guilty," according to
a Reuters report.
The Marine platoon Pantano commanded had been tasked with searching a
suspected terrorist hide-out south of Baghdad last April. After
finding weapons, ammunition and bomb-making material in the building,
they observed two men fleeing in a sport utility vehicle, Gittens
said, according to the wire report.
Upon shooting out the vehicle's tires to stop it, the Marines took
the two Iraqi men into custody, ordering them to search for booby
traps and secret compartments in the vehicle by ripping out its
interior and seats, Gittens told Reuters.
Then, according to Gittens, one of the suspects turned suddenly
toward Pantano "as if to attack." When Pantano ordered them to stop,
they kept moving toward him, Gittens said.
"He (Pantano) thought he was in danger and he fired and he killed
them and that's what we do to terrorists who don't listen to
orders. ... It's a combat situation, kill or be killed," the attorney
told Reuters.
Fearing the two suspects may have been attempting to detonate
explosives remotely, Pantano shot them, Gittens said.
"What's he supposed to do, wait until he's standing in the inferno?"
the attorney added.
After the incident, Pantano served three more months in Iraq when he
returned to Camp Lejeune at the end of his tour of duty.
Possible outcomes to the case, say Marine investigators, are that
Pantano could be court-martialed, disciplined administratively, or
have the charges dropped.
Merry Pantano, the accused Marine's mother, has created a website
titled "Defend the Defenders" to tell her son's story and raise money
for his defense.
http://www.defendthedefenders.org/pages/1/index.htm
"Who is my son?" she asks on the website:
He is a young, intelligent, charismatic Marine officer and all that
that entails. And yet he is incomprehensibly charged with heinous
crimes related to a dangerous military operation that took place
in "the triangle of death" just south of Baghdad.
It was during the peak of insurgent violence in mid April of 2004,
with hundreds of fellow Marines and soldiers being killed and wounded
throughout the "Sunni Triangle." Terrorists, captured while trying to
recover a vehicle used in an earlier attack on the Marines, had given
detailed information about a supply of weapons and terrorist hideout
that my son and his platoon were hastily dispatched to search. Their
search revealed weapons, ammunition, mortar equipment, bomb-making
material and two fleeing terrorists.
In an ensuing search of the terrorists' vehicle, my son, concerned
for his safety and the safety of his men shot them both in self
defense and then disabled their vehicle so it could not be used in
further attacks. He and his men went on to fight with distinction and
honor in Falluja and the surrounding areas and, when possible, aided
in the reconstruction effort. Months later, the government began an
investigation that only now, 10 months after the fact, alleges an
evil intent which is at polar opposite of my son's character and
principles.
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posted by J.R. @ 9:50:00 AM   |
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| 1 Comments: |
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There is a new World Net Daily story out with new info.
http://ridingsun.blogspot.com/2005/02/update-on-ilario-pantano.htmlIt's a mix of good and bad news for Pantano -- a Navy witness corroborates his claim that the Iraqis refused his order to stop, but claims that the Iraqis were moving away from him, not toward him.
The best part of the new info is that the accuser's claim of a cold-blooded execution seems to be contradicted by Pantano's and the Navy man's accounts.
--GB
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There is a new World Net Daily story out with new info.
http://ridingsun.blogspot.com/2005/02/update-on-ilario-pantano.htmlIt's a mix of good and bad news for Pantano -- a Navy witness corroborates his claim that the Iraqis refused his order to stop, but claims that the Iraqis were moving away from him, not toward him.
The best part of the new info is that the accuser's claim of a cold-blooded execution seems to be contradicted by Pantano's and the Navy man's accounts.
--GB