Kudos to Representatives Duncan Hunter and Dan Burton!

It is commendable and noteworthy that Representatives Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and Dan Burton (R-IN) are standing up and speaking up for the three Navy SEALS that are facing courts martial for a mouth and/or stomach punch to the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004.

The Mudville Gazette has Dan Burton addressing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mullen last Wednesday during the House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on Afghanistan Strategy.  I have to agree with this statement:

I think if the Germans in World War Two had killed and mutilated American troops and hung them from a bridge, and somebody busted them in the mouth when they captured them they wouldn't have been court-martialed.

Duncan Hunter sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates expressing his grave concerns about the courts martial and concluding with this:

It appears from all accounts that these SEALs are exceptional sailors, demonstrated by the fact that each had recently been advanced in rank. They captured a terrorist who had planned an attack that not only killed Americans but also maimed and mutilated their bodies. We believe that prosecution of these sailors for such an apparently limited action will have a negative impact on others in the military who risk their lives in dangerous, often ambiguous situation. Again, we strongly believe that these court-martial proceedings are not warranted and would urge that you review this matter.

Don Surber at the Chareston Daily Mail has more here.