Rep. Ted Poe told HUMAN EVENTS he thinks the three Navy SEALs who captured terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed should be sent back out to capture another terrorist. The SEALs face court martial after Abed accused them of punching him.
Poe isn’t necessarily buying Abed’s story, especially since Abed didn’t launch the accusations until after the SEALs surrendered him to the Iraqis (he supposedly underwent further questioning by the SEALs, while technically remaining in Iraqi custody). According to the Al Qaeda training manual released by the U.S. Justice Department, members of the organization must complain of torture and mistreatment inflicted on them.
“I think they ought to give them medals, send them out to bag another one,” Poe said of the SEALs. “I think they showed great restraint. We are at war.”
He and 76 cosponsors introduced a resolution back in December to honor the Navy SEALs for capturing Abed, but the resolution hasn’t made it out of a House committee.
Poe feels the SEAL three - Matthew McCabe, Jonathan Keefe, and Julio Huertas
- need all the support they can get.
“This resolution says, ‘We appreciate you, thanks, job well done,” Poe said.
Poe, who has not spoken with the SEALs, says that even if the three are ruled against in the court system, he would still stand by the resolution.
He also isn’t happy with the way the media and the military have handled the SEALs case. The military, instead of giving the SEALs an internal reprimand, offered them what would most likely be a career-curtailing option: a non-judicial punishment. The SEALs’ decision to appear before a military tribunal instead gives them a way to have their names exonerated if found innocent and being able to continue their careers.
“It looks like in this situation, the military and the media both are equally responsible for the criticism against the SEALs.” Poe said. “I would hope the high level brass would be praising our SEALs as opposed to quickly criticizing what they did. They ought to be quickly praising them for capturing this guy.”
Read the HUMAN EVENTS petition in support of the three Navy SEALs, and watch the press conference held by members of Congress in support of the SEAL three.
