It is actually possible that those two men did nothing but turned to Lt Pantano with nothing but "bad attitude".

Certainly we can't second-guess men in combat, but is the alternative that men with weapons can essentially kill whomever they wish with whatever suspicion and no consequences will come?

Perhaps police will soon be able to claim they are "in combat" any time they have to draw their weapons, and thus be able to excuse any poor case of judgement in firing.

Based on an unreliable witness and the autopsy findings I agree that the murder charges should be dropped. But...shooting the guys 60 times and then hanging a sign on their dead bodies. That is not what they teach us in the US military, and in no way is it honorable. He deserves NJP. It makes us all look bad. my2cents. Andre

and yes, I have served.

Robert Novak had a column this morning about recruiting problems in the military.

Maybe this is one of the reasons.

I'm not sure this is one of the reasons. People don't NOT join up because of a Marine LT being charged and then having the charges dropped...but nice try. Ironically, the Marines aren't having a problem meeting their recruitment goals.

Army recruitment has declined since the fall of the Soviet Union...as in, there used to be a persistant long-term threat to the U.S. and then there wasn't. The notion of "we need to defend our country from those bad commies" isn't at the forefront any more. Army recruitment continued to decline through the 90's and continued to decline into the 2000's before the current wars started. Actually, in some years they (the Army) met their goals....but THAT's because they lowered the goal to make it seem like there wasn't a decline. Yes, wars deter some from joining up...but it isn't ALL that clear cut. As Novak points out....this is the first time the country has gone to an extended war with an all volunteer force. Thusly, with nothing to compare it to, it's too difficult to see how this will pan out in the end.....unless one wants to speculate. Either way, there will always be a group that will join up in war-time.....and there will always be a larger group that will join up in not-so-war-time (since when is there ever really "peace")....and people will throw around statistics (the 3rd form of lie) to make their political points.

Knowing through PME that Lt. Pantano's charges were dropped gave me a lot of joy. I always considered it unfair to court martial him. Circumstances by which he killed an enemy, point to the fact that he followed all rules of engagement, only witch hunters saw it different.

Now, on recruiting, i honestly don't know much about the topic, but i have the impression that some branches of the armed forces are more appealing than others. i repeat, i don't know much about it, but if i was american my first choice would be the navy, then marines and at last the army or the air force. Maybe it's just a matter of recruitment promotion. Sarge, you certainly know by far much more about all this than i do, so maybe i'm being dumb by saying that there'll always be lots of persons willing to join the armed forces(enlisted or comissioned)because the military carreer is one of the most amusing. (At least more than law)

Alberto;

You can't get dead being a Lawyer. In the US as opposed to the Eurotrash countries being a line Soldier has a highter death rate than say a soldat in the frog army.

After 38 years as a civilian, the gutlessness of the left leaves me wondering, would you rather be a slave than a free man?

Bill

Bill, i get your point, maybe i wasn't clear enough. i said that the military carreer was more amusing than law because i find it better being out there doing something risky than behind doing paper work (That's why i didn't study law).

And fully agree with you about what you call eurotrash. It's internationally well known that americans are by far more risk taking than europeans, it seems that europeans prefer the paper work i mentioned above (not to mention their love for fat welfare systems). For example, the best "european" military unit, the foreign legion is composed mostly by non europeans.

When i mentioned Sarge that it seemed to me that some branches are more appealing than others i was thinking about that mystic aura that makes the Marines Corps so famous worldwide.

Some mexican-americans i know, always think of becoming marines when they wish to get enlisted, maybe the army should promote itself the same way USMC does.

...and Bill, it's statistically more dangerous to be a civilian at a wrong part of town than a soldier at the front.

"Based on an unreliable witness and the autopsy findings I agree that the murder charges should be dropped. But...shooting the guys 60 times and then hanging a sign on their dead bodies. That is not what they teach us in the US military, and in no way is it honorable. He deserves NJP. It makes us all look bad. my2cents. Andre"

Shooting the guys 60 times and then hanging a sign on their dead bodies.

Huh?!?!?

First off, having served in the same unit as LT. Pantano at the same time the incident took place, I must say that I stand behind his judgement in deploying his right to engage the ENEMY. LT. Pantano is a good Marine with a good head on his shoulders. He is one of few LT's that I would willing follow into combat on my third tour. Also, I personally know the prosecuting witness and his incompetency. I know for a fact that he was fired from 2 Non-comissioned officer billets: Company Custodian and Squad Leader because of his inability to lead and his lack of accountability. Perhaps Lt Pantano fired an excessive amount of rounds into the Iraqis. Could that possibly be because his adrenaline may have gotten the best of him? I think so, having been in highly intensive situations myself, I know that it is difficult to control "the rush". Is that reason enough to convict a man of murder? Heavens no. Reason to NJP him and take away his military career, ruining his life? My opinion is no.

Mel...if what you say is factual....thank you for your continuing service to the People of this fine country. What I wanna know is....how the hell can an LT fire 60 rounds into someone? Do the Marine LTs carry SAWs? Or did he reload and empty ANOTHER magazine into an already dead body? I just don't buy the stories.

...but thank you nonetheless.

He did reload and continue firing (according to the stories I've read and the people I've talked to). Why? I don't know, i did not witness the incident first-hand. My company was conducting operations in a different location at the time. I'm just happy that the murder charges were dropped. Had he been convicted of murder, I'm sure that we would have suffered many more casualties in Iraq from people being too scared to pull the trigger (for fear of being sent to prison for murder).