Help For The Pendleton 8 Families

As many of you might know, a group of military members are being tried for alleged crimes in Iraq. I believe these men are innocent and will be exonerated at trial but at what cost? Kit Jarrell puts it like this:

The seven Marines and Navy Corpsman charged with kidnapping and murder in connection with an incident in Hamdania, Iraq are innocent. I believe this with all my heart, and the upcoming courts-martial will vindicate these heroes. Many have donated to their astronomical legal defense fees. Experts take money. Attorneys take money. Travel to Iraq to question “witnesses” takes money. A murder defense for any one of these men costs well over $100,000. Multiply that by 8.

Contrary to what people see on TV, most folks can not afford high priced lawyers like Ben Matlock and there are few of the big guns who work for free. These families have had to to make a lot of sacrifices to hire and retain attorneys and they have done so at the expense of basic necessities. People hardly stop and think about the additional hardship placed on military families when their loved ones are wrongly accused and then charged based upon flimsy evidence. The families have endured great hardship with multiple deployments of their loved ones and they have weathered these deployments because this is what they signed up to do. What they did not sign up for was to be the victims of the lies of Islamic tribesmen who say anything in order to get US dollars. What they did not sign up for was their government treating them worse than they allow us to treat the terrorists we KNOW have committed horrible crimes.

The families of these brave men need basic items like diapers, formula, food, and money to pay utilities. Kit Jarrell has set up a program where people can donate money for the families of these men. All of the money will go toward the basic needs of daily living. As of this writing, people have donated $1360. Please consider contributing any amount that you can comfortable afford in order to help the families of these men. They were on the front line protecting our families and now it is our turn to step up and reciprocate.

You can donate by visiting this site

All proceeds go to the families in order of need. Visit Euphoric Reality for more information.

UPDATE: (from Euphoric Reality) “So far we’ve raised more than $4500! THANK YOU! If you haven’t donated, click the links above and please help! if you have already sent some money, then please know that the families thank you and I thank you!”

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3 Responses to “Help For The Pendleton 8 Families”

  1. Bos'un says:

    Big Dog,

    Thanks for posting this. It is essential that the America people know what is going on about this case (and what is not right.) I have cross posted it at my wordpress site.

    Respectfully,
    Bosun

  2. Bos'un says:

    Just in from NewsMax.Com Insider via their email alerts. I have yet to substantiate this story. In saying that, perhaps you should look into it yourself. In the past, NewsMax has been a reliable source of information.

    New Report Refutes Haditha ‘Massacre’ Claim

    A report has surfaced casting doubt on published claims that U.S. Marines massacred 24 Iraqi civilians in the city of Haditha last November.

    But that report merely echoes what was reported by NewsMax back in June.

    The new report came from Reuters, which disclosed on Sept. 22 that it had obtained a transcript of an interview with Maj. Sam Carrasco, who was overseeing troop movements in the area when the massacre allegedly took place.

    He said he believed at the time the civilians died in crossfire between Marines and insurgents.

    And he told investigators that Marines were so locked in battle with insurgents that the troops considered bombing a house where the insurgents took refuge.

    “We saw insurgents go into a house, and we did not drop bombs on that house because we did not have [positive identification],” Carrasco told investigators. “They had engaged a previous unit and had run into a house with weapons.

    “We vectored the [Marine] squad and they got shot up. I watched the whole thing happen as they got shot up … And now I’m kicking myself in the ass because we didn’t drop the bomb and we didn’t lead with appropriate force because we didn’t have positive identification.”

    Iraqi witnesses say Marines shot civilians in their homes to retaliate for the death of a comrade, Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, in a roadside bomb. Investigators are weighing charges.

    But the firefight revelation was old news to NewsMax readers. On June 26 of this year, NewsMax correspondent Phil Brennan, an ex-Marine, wrote a lengthy article on the Haditha episode that included these passages:

    “Military sources familiar with the incident have told NewsMax:

    “Within minutes of the early morning IED [improvised explosive device] explosion, a firefight erupted between insurgents and Marines. Civilians were caught in the middle of the firefight. Also, although civilians did die, their deaths were the result of door-to-door combat as the Marines sought to clear houses and stop the insurgent gunfire.

    “Ample evidence proves that a firefight took place. For example, every second of the ensuing firefight was monitored by numerous people at company, battalion, and regimental HQs via radio communications.

    “Video evidence supports the Marines’ claims. Within a very few minutes, battalion, regimental, and division headquarters were able to watch the action thanks to an overhead ultralight aircraft that remained aloft all day. Photos of some of the action were downloaded and in the hands of Marines and the NCIS [Naval Criminal Investigative Service].

    “Some of the insurgents involved in planning the attack and firing at Marines during a daylong engagement have been apprehended and are in custody.”

    Brennan cited a source who said some of the civilian casualties resulted when Marines came under fire from insurgents inside a house and tossed a grenade inside the dwelling to eliminate the threat. A similar incident occurred at another house.

    He also wrote:

    “When the Marines first went into the city, they were aware of the tight control insurgents exercised over Haditha. They discovered that the insurgents had freshly paved over dirt roads leading into town under the auspices of civic works projects.

    “They were, according to a NewsMax source, ‘beautiful asphalt-surfaced roads’ that even included painted lines. The only problem, the source recalled, was that insurgents had laid more than 100 mega-IEDs under that asphalt. And, in order to avoid having to change batteries in the triggering devices, they had wired them into the city power lines lining the road.

    “It is important to remember that the so-called details of the alleged massacre came from Iraqis and residents of Haditha, a city run by insurgents who have those residents not allied with them under their bloody thumbs.”