General: SEALs on Trial for Cover-up

[unhappycamper]

General: SEALs on Trial for Cover-up
January 02, 2010
The Virginian-Pilot

The Army general who ordered three local Navy SEALs to trial for their involvement in an alleged case of detainee abuse says he is more upset by the men's apparent attempt to cover up the incident than by the "relatively minor" injuries inflicted on a high-value detainee.

Maj. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, head of Special Operations Command Central, wrote to lawmakers who had questioned the prosecutions that their perceptions of the case appear to be based upon "incomplete and factually inaccurate press coverage."

Fox News was the first to report in November that the SEALs would be prosecuted for their actions in Iraq in early September, spurring tens of thousands of people to sign online petitions calling for the charges to be dropped.

The military released Cleveland's two-page letter Wednesday evening. It came in response to a Dec. 10 letter from Indiana Rep. Dan Burton, co-signed by 40 other members of Congress.

"While the assault and resulting injury to the detainee were relatively minor, the more disconcerting allegations are those related to the Sailors' attempts to cover up the incident, particularly in what appears to be an effort to influence the testimony of a witness," Cleveland wrote.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/general-seals-on-trial-for-coverup.html?col=1186032325324