Parents of Imprisoned Army Officer Send Update

Posted on May 20, 2013 by BobMcCarty

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’ve been following the case of Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna since 2009. In addition, I wrote a book, Three Days In August, about Army Sgt. 1st Class Kelly A. Stewart, another wrongfully-convicted man he befriended while both served time behind the walls of the U.S. Military Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Today, I share an email update (below) from Lieutenant Behenna’s parents, Scott and Vicki Behenna:

Clockwise from upper left: Michael's family; Michael; Michael as a youngster; and Michael and his girlfriend, Shannon.

Clockwise from upper left: Michael’s family; Michael as a Soldier; Michael as a youngster; and Michael and his girlfriend, Shannon.

To all the thousands of Michael supporters,

Michael’s case, including the Petition, the Government Response, and the Reply to the Government Response, is now complete and before the Supreme Court. The Supremes have set Michael’s case to be initially discussed at their conference on May 30th which is ironically during the 50th Anniversary of Brady vs Maryland (the Supreme Court case demanding that prosecutors disclose all beneficial information to the criminally accused). During the conference, four out of the nine Supreme Court Justices must vote to hear the case in order to grant certiorari. If certiorari is granted in Michael’s case it would be the first time the Supremes would have granted a service member’s appeal from the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF). Needless to say, anxiousness will abound for the next few weeks and prayers are certainly welcome. We should have the Court’s decision sometime during the first week of June. If the Court grants certiorari, Michael’s case would proceed through a briefing process, oral arguments, and a decision by the Supreme Court hopefully before the end of the year.

We can’t thank you enough for all the encouraging cards and letters that you sent to Michael for his birthday. As Michael told us this past weekend it is these cards and letters that help him navigate the sometimes helpless and hopeless thoughts that have haunted him these past four years behind prison walls. He reads every card and letter sent to him, but given his prison schedule of work, exercise time, meals and early lights out he unfortunately does not have time to send out very many thank you notes. For this he sends his apologies and hopes a day will come soon when he can thank all of you in person.

If you did not see the Mother’s Day tribute to Vicki last Sunday in the Oklahoman, hopefully the attached video and article will describe the huge appreciation we have for all your support and what your individual words of encouragement have meant to Michael and our whole family.

Vicki’s Mother’s Day Video

Vicki’s Mother’s Day Article

Bless you all for your support of our son,

Scott & Vicki Behenna
DefendMichael.com

I pray for this young man’s swift release.

Bob McCarty is the author of two nonfiction books, Three Days In August and THE CLAPPER MEMO. Both are available in paperback and ebook formats at Amazon.com.

Flag Officers Back Supreme Court Brief Filed on Behalf of Lieutenant Michael Behenna

Posted on March 26, 2013 by BobMcCarty

Thirty-seven retired high-ranking military officers, including a former Chief of Naval Operations, signed an Amicus Brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Feb. 27 in support of Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna. An Edmond, Okla., native, Lieutenant Behenna is serving 15-years behind bars at the U.S. Military Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., for killing a known Al-Qaeda operative in Iraq.

Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna SCOTUS Amicus Brief

Click image to download document (pdf)

Early on, the 31-page brief raises an important question — that is, whether a servicemember in a combat zone categorically forfeits the right to self-defense as a matter of law by pointing a firearm without authorization at a suspected enemy. In the case of Lieutenant Behenna, he admitted during his court-martial that he shot Ali Mansur in self-defense. And therein lies the rub.

The brief’s conclusion section (below) makes a clear argument, stating that Lieutenant Behenna deserves some punishment, but not what he received, and, more importantly, a new trial:

Lieutenant Behenna’s unauthorized actions in a combat zone were a serious breach of military discipline and for that reason he should be subject to appropriate disciplinary action under the (Uniform Code of Military Justice). But in so acting without authorization, he did not forfeit his right to self-defense. This Court should grant the petition for certiorari, reverse the (Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces), and remand to allow a new court-martial panel to consider Lieutenant Behennas’s claim that he acted in self-defense, including evidence unlawfully withheld by the prosecution corroborating that claim.

At the same time as I’m pleased with this document, I remain disappointed that its authors made no mention of the colossal failure of leadership among officers in Lieutenant Behenna’s chain of command. That failure, a subject I tackled in a post Aug. 20, 2012, allowed him to be put in a position from which nothing good could result.

To read any of the more than 60 posts I’ve written about the lieutenant’s case since June 4, 2009, click here.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Lieutenant Behenna and Army Sgt. 1st Class Kelly A. Stewart, the man whose life story is chronicled in my book, Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier’s Fight For Military Justice, became good friends behind bars at Fort Leavenworth.

Bob McCarty is the author of Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier’s Fight For Military Justice, a nonfiction book that’s available in paperback and ebook via most online booksellers, including Amazon.com. It chronicles the life and wrongful conviction of Army Green Beret Sgt. 1st Class Kelly A. Stewart. His second book, THE CLAPPER MEMO, is coming soon.

Have Wars Strengthened Iran?

Posted on February 22, 2013 by BobMcCarty

While cognizant of the fact that the United States has spent much of the past 25 years engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, some statistics I came across today about population migration left me dumbstruck.

The United States has had troops in and around Iraq since the early 1990s when I was still wearing the uniform of an Air Force officer. Since then, we’ve rid the country of an evil dictator and brought about something akin to democratic rule. As a result, one might think the good ol’ USA a top choice among the 1.5 million Iraqi emigrants.

But it’s not. Instead, Iran is the top migrant destination of Iraqis — 379,356 in fact!

Not far away, the U.S. has had troops in Afghanistan in a big way since just after Sept. 11, 2001. Almost a dozen years! During that time, we’ve purportedly made inroads toward ridding the country of evil Taliban fighters who oppress the Afghan citizenry. As a result, one might think the good ol’ USA might be a top destination of Afghans opting to leave their war-torn country for better lives.

Wrong again. The leading designation of Afghan emigrants is, once again, Iran — to the tune of 1.7 million choosing to live there!

Makes one wonder if, by choosing to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan, we ended up strengthening Iran instead.

Just a thought as we enter another weekend.

Bob McCarty is the author of Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier’s Fight For Military Justice, a nonfiction book that’s available in paperback and ebook via most online booksellers, including Amazon.com. His second book, The CLAPPER MEMO, is coming soon.

New Cover Design Unveiled for THE CLAPPER MEMO

Posted on February 10, 2013 by BobMcCarty

Today, with little fanfare, I offer you a look at the front cover art for my soon-to-be-published second non-fiction book THE CLAPPER MEMO.

In THE CLAPPER MEMO, I’ll share details of a 40-year turf war involving players inside the Pentagon, at some of the nation’s top universities and in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and Mexico.

In addition, I’ll share never-before-published documents and insider details obtained from the people who interrogated detainees at Guantanamo Bay and who interrogated Saddam Hussein’s “Deck of Cards.”

Finally, I’ll connect the dots between three memos — including one signed by Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. — and the “Green-on-Blue” attacks (a.k.a., “insider attacks”) by so-called “allies” in Afghanistan against their U.S. and coalition colleagues.

Almost four years in the making, I think it’ll be worth the wait.

UPDATE 2/17/2013 at 5:16 p.m. Central: In case you’re wondering, the answer is “Yes, I changed the cover design again. The one shown above is the final design, replacing the one I thought would be the final design.

While you wait for the release of THE CLAPPER MEMO, be sure to read my first nonfiction book, Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier’s Fight For Military Justice. It’s available in paperback and ebook via most online booksellers, including Amazon.com.

I See Light at End of Tunnel

Posted on January 8, 2013 by BobMcCarty

This afternoon, I shipped off the 283-page manuscript of my second nonfiction book, THE CLAPPER MEMO, for final editorial review.

During the next week or so, I’ll be working with my graphic artist to complete the cover art and with my marketing experts to finalize details of the book’s launch. If all goes well, THE CLAPPER MEMO should be on the market by the end of the month.

In THE CLAPPER MEMO, I’ll share details of a 40-year turf war that span the globe — from the Pentagon to universities across the country and places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and Mexico. Plus, I connect the dots between three memos signed by top DoD officials, including Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr., and the “Green-on-Blue” attacks (a.k.a., “insider attacks”) by so-called “allies” in Afghanistan against their U.S. and coalition colleagues.

Army Officer’s Attorneys File Supreme Court Petition (UPDATED)

Posted on January 7, 2013 by BobMcCarty

I’m not an attorney, but it appears a new team of those legal experts has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of former Army Ranger 1LT Michael C. Behenna, an Edmond, Okla., native about whose case I’ve written more than 60 posts since June 4, 2009.

Click to link to NewsOk.com article.

Today, according to a report at NewsOK.com, the five-attorney team’s petition argued that the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the top military appeals court, issued a wrong and dangerous decision last year when it confirmed Lieutenant Behenna’s conviction of unpremeditated murder in a combat zone. If the report is accurate, the attorneys appear to have overlooked and/or ignored at least three key items crucial to this officer’s defense.

GENERAL AUSTIN’S MEMO

Page 1 of Memo

Apparently ignored was a two-page memo I obtained from a confidential source in December 2009. It concerns the declassification of information that was to be used in two courts-martial, one of which was U.S. vs. Behenna, that contained information about Ali Mansur, the Iraqi man Lieutenant Behenna admitted killing in self-defense.

Dated Oct. 28, 2008, and marked “For Official Use Only,” the memo was signed by Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, then-commanding general of the Multi-National Force-Iraq, and outlined specific intelligence information about Al-Qa’ida operatives in Iraq. It contains two descriptive sections of information as well as a “recommendation” section.

The first descriptive section (below) is dated April 27, 2008. Because it contains portions of other documents, it appears to not follow in alphabetic or numerical order:

SUMMARY: ON 20 APRIL 2008, MEMBERS OF THE AL-QA’IDA IN IRAQ IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES CELL CONDUCTED AN IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE ATTACK ON THE COALITION FORCES CONVOY IN THE VICINITY OF SALAM VILLAGE, SALAH AD DIN PROVINCE, IRAQ.

TEXT: 20 APRIL 2008, ADIL ARAK ((DAHIR)) TNU, SA’ID ARAK ((DAHIR)) TNU. KANAN FANNR ((THARTHAR)) TNU, SAHAB THARTHAR ((MUTLAK)) TNU, AND ARIF HAMID (AFFAN)) TNU EMPLACED AN IED AT SALAH AD DIN PROVINCE, IRAQ.

2. THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ARE MEMBERS OF THE AL-QA’IDA IN IRAQ IED CELL OPERATING IN SALAM VILLAGE, AND ALBU TOMA SALAH AD DIN PROVINCE –

A. ADIL ARAK IS THE LEADER THE AL-QA’IDA IN IRAQ IED CELL. ADIL MAKES AND EMPLACES IEDS. ARAK RESIDES IN SALAM VILLAGE.

F. ALI MANSUR TRANSPORTS EXPLOSIVES AND INFORM ADIL ABOUT THE CF PRESENCE IN THE AREA. ALI IS AN IRAQI POLICEMAN WORKING AT THE THP IRAQI POLICE STATION IN ALBU TOMA.

Page 2 of memo.

It’s important to note that Mansur’s name appears in paragraph “F” above. Beginning at the bottom of page one of the memo and continuing at the top of page two, Mansur is identified as one who transports explosives and informs Adil Arak, the leader of the Al-Qa’ida In Iraq IED Cell.

The second section is dated May 18, 2008, and contains a subject line — “INSURGENT CELL IN ALBU TOMA, SALAH AD DIN PROVINCE, IRAQ (U)” — followed by two paragraphs of text that appear not to be directly related to Lieutenant Behenna’s case. They are followed by two sections in which it is explained that numerous intelligence and security officials recommended the information listed above be declassified.

THE FORENSIC EXPERT IGNORED

Click to view story, Photos Show Scene Where Trail of Injustice Began.

Also apparently ignored by the attorneys was the military justice system’s serial refusal to consider the input of a forensic expert who examined the evidence in the deadly shooting incident and concluded that, yes, Lieutenant Behenna acted in self-defense.

Details of his never-heard-in-court testimony can be found in two articles — Army Officer Kills Al-Qaeda Operative, Imprisoned After Prosecutors Ignore Own Expert Witness and Photos Show Scene Where Trail of Injustice Began — I published Dec. 7, 2009, and Feb. 10, 2010, respectively.

A COLOSSAL FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP

Finally, the attorneys appear to have ignored a colossal failure of Army leadership that allowed Lieutenant Behenna to be put in a position from which only bad outcomes could, and did, result.

I highlighted details of that failure in an Aug. 20, 2012, post, Is Army Protecting Someone in Officer’s Chain of Command? An excerpt appears below:

While I realize Army officials cannot allow junior officers to get away with willfully disobeying lawful orders, I also realize someone in Lieutenant Behenna’s chain of command dropped the ball when he ordered the then-24-year-old officer to escort Mansur back to his hometown.

Why?

Because the Iraqi policeman was a prime suspect in an improvised explosive device attack two weeks earlier that had killed two members of Behenna’s platoon. But that’s not all!

When Mansur was in custody and being questioned about his terror activities, four different Army intelligence officers reportedly failed to ask the Iraqi about the IED attack, about a threatening phone call he allegedly made to Behenna, about another attempted attack months earlier, and about several trips he had made to Syria.

While consideration of any one of the three items listed above should have derailed the prosecution’s case against Lieutenant Behenna, the combination of the three should have slammed the door on efforts to railroad this young officer. Instead, he sits behind bars at the U.S. Military Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., serving a 15-year sentence.

UPDATE: Since July 19, 2012, I’ve tried to use the federal Freedom of Information Act to obtain a copy of the Army Regulation 15-6 Investigation Report (AR 15-6) from the Army about the incident involving Lieutenant Behenna. As of this morning, when I contacted FOIA officials at Army Central Command, I am still waiting for a copy of the report. Sadly, it seems, no one in the Army can find a copy of the report. More details appear in the post mentioned in the second paragraph of the “LEADERSHIP FAILURE” section above.

UPDATE 1/08/2013 at 10:14 a.m. Central: I owe an apology to the attorneys representing Lieutenant Behenna at the Supreme Court level. It appears I jumped the gun and assumed that NewsOk.com’s failure to mention the crucial elements highlighted above, which I deemed necessary for the petition to succeed, meant that the attorneys also failed to include them in the petition. Since publishing this post, I was able to obtain a copy of the petition and see I was wrong when I doubted the attorneys.

UPDATE 1/29/2013 at 5:30 p.m. Central: The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the U.S. Justice Department to respond to the appeal filed by 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, who is seeking to have his conviction of unpremeditated murder in a combat zone overturned, according to a news report today.

Bob McCarty is the author of Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier’s Fight For Military Justice, a nonfiction book that’s available in paperback and ebook via most online booksellers, including Amazon.com. His second book, The CLAPPER MEMO, is coming soon.

Smalltown Mayor Blocks Effort to Honor War Dead

Posted on September 25, 2012 by BobMcCarty

Residents of the village of Gurnee, Ill., simply wanted to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, leaving behind wives, children and extended family and friends — and then they ran into Mayor Kristy Kovarik.

PFC Geoffrey Morris, USMC

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, people in and around the Chicagoland town of 32,000 have buried seven of their beloved men who died while wearing the uniforms of their country on faraway battlefields: Sgt. Edward G. Davis III, 31, Marine Corps; Sgt. Jason C. Denfrund, 24, Army; Spc. Joseph W. Dimock II, 21, Army; Capt. Shane R. Mahaffee, 36, Army; LCpl. Sean P. Maher, 19, Marine Corps; PFC Geoffrey S. Morris, 19, Marine Corps; and Army Spc. Wesley Wells, 21.

For nearly three years, Gold Star Dad Kirk Morris has been engaged in a legal fight, the goal of which is to construct a public memorial that will be known as the Heroes of Freedom Memorial and serve to honor men like those listed above, including his son Geoffrey, who died in combat in Iraq on Palm Sunday, April 4, 2004.

Mayor Kristina Kovarik

Sadly, Morris finds himself up against Mayor Kovarik in a battle that makes little sense.

On Jan. 4, 2010, soon after Kovarik took office as the new mayor, she vetoed a development agreement between the village and the PFC Geoffrey Morris Memorial Foundation, founded by Kirk Morris, that had been approved by a 5-0 vote of Gurnee’s board. In response, officials with the foundation filed suit, seeking monetary damages from the city. The foundation had, after all, spent a sizable amount of money to develop the site in preparation for construction.

When the case finally appeared on the verge of going to trial July 13, attorneys representing Gurnee raised two settlement options with their counterparts representing the foundation. Important to note, neither option presented was conditional or subject to further approval by the board or the mayor.

In court the morning of July 16, Gurnee’s lead attorney informed Judge Jorge L. Ortiz that the village had made offers to settle the matter and that it need not go to trial.

According to the foundation’s Response to Motion to Vacate filed Aug. 22, the case was resolved on terms proposed by Gurnee officials after some minor revisions by lead foundation attorney Robert T. O’Donnell. As a result, the village was able to avoid a trial in which the mayor would have been called as an adverse witness.

In the same document, O’Donnell offered his description of what happened next:

…almost immediately upon leaving the courthouse and achieving its goal of avoiding trial that day, the Village and, specifically, the Mayor, attempted to backtrack from the very agreement it reached hours earlier. Over the next two weeks, the Village engaged in a series of acts that misrepresented the events of July 16 and undermined the settlement process supervised by Judge Dunn.

The foundation’s basic argument, according to the same filing in the Circuit Court of the 19th Judicial Circuit in Lake County, Ill., is as follows:

On July 14, the Village, through its attorneys, made an unconditional settlement offer. On the morning of July 16, Village attorneys represented to Judge Ortiz that the case could not proceed to trial because the offer provided the Foundation with all the relief to which it was entitled. Later that morning, Village attorneys represented to the Foundation and Judge Dunn that they were in contact with the Mayor and that all negotiations that morning were fully authorized by the Village. Based upon those unequivocal statements, the Foundation agreed to discuss the settlement with the Village. With the Court’s knowledge and supervision, the final settlement, based upon a proposal made by the Village, was reached on July 16.

The Court should reject the Village’s renunciation and enforce the terms of the Agree Order.

After using a half-dozen points to rehash the key points of his argument, foundation attorney McDonnell offered this conclusion:

The Village cannot be allowed to say and do whatever is necessary to avoid a trial, and then after succeeding to do so, avoid the consequences of its decision by hiding behind the fact (misrepresented as it was) that the Villages’s Board did not approve the actions of its attorneys and Mayor. Carried to its logical extreme, no Court or opposing party could ever be assured of a settlement with a municipality absent a resolution or ordinance of that municipality. Yet, that is not done, because the parties and the Court are permitted to, and do, rely upon the representations of counsel that they are acting with authority. For all of the above reasons, the Village’s motion should be denied.

The case is set for another court hearing before Judge Margaret Mullen Oct. 9 in Gurnee. For more nitty-gritty details, read this document.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Please accept my apology and let me know if I’ve missed recognizing any Gurnee natives whose names should also appear on the list of heroes above. I will gladly add their names to the list. Thanks!

UPDATE 1/19/2013 at 7:36 p.m. Central: I received word today from a reliable source that Kirk Morris is now running for mayor of Gurnee, Ill. — against Kristy Kovarik. This should be interesting.

Bob McCarty is the author of “Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier’s Fight For Military Justice,” a nonfiction book that’s available in paperback and ebook via most online booksellers, including Amazon.com. His second book, “The CLAPPER MEMO,” is set for release this fall.

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