The real Human rights violations by we Americans

- Wall Street Trader-Turned-Marine Faces Prosecution on Murder Charges

As a little boy growing up in a rough New York neighborhood, 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano dreamed of becoming a warrior. But first came prep school, a tour in the Marine Corps and a stint at an investment bank.

After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, he was inspired to rejoin the military. Ilario Pantano gave up his Wall Street career to rejoin the Marines.Pantano shipped out to Iraq in 2004 with his Marine infantry platoon and within weeks a wave of insurgent attacks rippled through Baghdad.

Combat and force were what Pantano had trained for, but he never thought it could threaten to ruin him or his reputation. The 33-year-old now faces charges of premeditated murder for the April 15, 2004, slayings of two unarmed Iraqis in his custody. Now he faces a murder trial for allegedly killing two persons suspected of being terrorists.

A preliminary hearing in the case begins today at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The investigating officer will then make a recommendation to the commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division about whether there is enough evidence for a court-martial — the military equivalent of a criminal trial. If the case proceeds and Pantano is convicted of murder, he could be sentenced to death.

Opinions in the case are divided.

Witnesses to the shooting have described the 30-plus rounds Pantano allegedly pumped into the victims as an overzealous act way beyond the call of duty.

But his attorney disagreed.

"Even if he's wrong, accidents happen in combat," his civilian attorney, Charles Gittins, told The Associated Press. "This was a very stressful situation."

The Fateful Day

After weeks of ambushes, mortar attacks and enemy fire in the "Triangle of Death" south of Baghdad, Pantano's platoon was, to say the least, in the thick of things.

On April 15, his unit was closing in on a house suspected of sheltering insurgents. A white sedan pulled out of this house and Pantano stopped the two men in the car with the help of a Navy corpsman and a radio operator.

He detained the men and had their car searched. Then word came over the radio that Marines in the house had found a stash of weapons. Convinced the car might be booby-trapped, Pantano ordered the Iraqis to search it themselves.

According to written charges, Pantano ordered his men to remove the suspects' handcuffs and to assume a defensive position with their backs turned to the car. And during this tense situation, a suspicious move by the motorists led to the troops opening fire in self defense. This was the marines' only crime.

Were they to be blamed since they opened fire on persons who came out of a house that was suspected to have been sheltering terrorists? Or were the marines expected to have allowed the armed suspects to have turned round and opened fire at them or blow up the car. Don't we hear of such things happening day and day out?

Penalizing our marines in such cases, along with that of Ms. Lindie England, the pregnant marine who was dragged to an American military tribunal, are the real human rights violations by the US. Punishing marines for following the line of duty is a travesty of justice and military ethics.

Story Credits: ABC News