Saving Lieutenant Behenna

Unsubstantiated charges and concealed evidence ruin another hero and his family

America has lost 5,300 American men and women in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tens of thousands more have returned home permanently disabled. But the men and women of our Armed Forces have suffered another type of casualty, of almost equal gravity and rarely mentioned. The loss of support of their own commanders in Washington, beginning with Commanders And Chiefs George W Bush and Barack H Obama, on down.

American casualties have been compounded, and both conflicts prolonged, by White House insistence that our soldiers operate under some type of bizarre Marquis de Queensbury style rules of engagement. These lofty White House ideals have often left the best trained and best equipped military force in history at a fatal disadvantage, fighting house to house, against groups of rag tag guerrillas, armed with carbines and IEDs. Both presidents have clearly proved to be more interested in appeasing liberals, Europeans and Muslims than winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan decisively and limiting the casualties of their own troops.

And perhaps the most disgraceful examples of this abandoning of our troops are the many prosecutions of our own soldiers on charges of “war crimes”. Almost all of these charges arose from situations where the soldiers faced split second, life or death decisions in the midst of combat. But no matter how flimsy the evidence, nor how highly decorated the soldier in question, neither presidents Bush or Obama ever once intervened in these kangaroo court martials.

So perhaps it should be no surprise that the arm chair warriors in the upper echelons of the chain of command have done likewise. Indeed, in what can only be classified as attempts to curry favor from above, commanders who are supposed to be the brothers in arms of these unjustly persecuted soldiers, have zealously pursued prosecutions beyond any sense of justice, military or otherwise.

Almost all of these cases have eventually resulted in dismissal or not guilty verdicts. But careers have been ruined, reputations destroyed and families bankrupted by legal fees.

The case of First Lieutenant Michael Behenna, however, has gone one egregious step further. First Lieutenant Behenna was unjustly convicted, in spite of substantial exonerating evidence, of “murdering” a known Al Qaeda terrorist in Iraq.

Army Ranger And Platoon leader
A graduate of the US Army’s Ranger School, First Lieutenant Michael Behenna was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and assigned to the 101st Airborne Division as the platoon leader for 5th Platoon, Delta Company of the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment. In Iraq, Lieutenant Behenna conducted counter-insurgency operations. He worked to establish ties with local Iraqis, began to learn Arabic and encouraged his soldiers to learn about Iraqi culture. One of Behenna’s soldier’s described him as a commander who “liked Iraqis… and was always about saving the country.”

On the 21st of April, 2008, Behenna’s platoon was returning to base with two detainees when their convoy was hit by an IED. Two of his men were killed and several others wounded. The losses severally affected Behenna who was said to have broken down in tears during a group therapy session.

On May 5, Behenna received information on a suspected Al Qaeda operative, Ali Mansur Mohamed, whom military intelligence believed to be responsible for the attack. Behenna’s platoon raided a house where they found Ali Mansur Mohamed, along with a cache of ammunition, a RPK light machine gun and a passport with Syrian visas. Lieutenant Behenna turned Mansur over to military intelligence agents for questioning.

Mansur was later released by intelligence officials, citing insufficient evidence to hold him. Behenna’s platoon was ordered to return Mansur to the town he was captured in. On May 16, while waiting for a dust storm to clear, Lieutenant Behenna, and his Iraqi interpreter, “Harry”, took Mansur aside and tried to question him further on the April 21st attacks. Mansur, having already been released by “military intelligence”, refused to speak to Behenna. The Lieutenant, hoping to bluff Mansur into cooperating, threatened to kill the Al Qaeda agent if he refused to talk by the end of the day.

After the dust storm cleared, the platoon continued on their way. At some point, Behenna ordered the unit to stop. He removed Mansur from their armored vehicle and Behenna, “Harry” and platoon sergeant Hal Warner disappeared from the rest of the platoon’s line of sight into a roadside culvert.

Behenna and Harry attempted again to interrogate Mansur. During the interrogation, Mansur attacked Lieutenant Behenna, who shot and killed the terrorist in self-defense. Sergeant Warner, concerned about the well publicized kangaroo court martials favoring the enemy, that have become part of the military code of justice, detonated an incendiary grenade under Mansur’s head in hopes of making identification impossible.

On July 31, 2008 Lieutenant Michael Behenna was relieved of his command and charged with the premeditated murder of Ali Mansur Mohamed. At the time he was charged, Lieutenant Behenna had been rated in the top 20% of the US Army’s officers.

Military railroad
Sergeant Warner struck a plea bargain to plead guilty to assault, maltreatment of a subordinate and making a false statement in exchange for not being charged with premeditated murder and for his future testimony against Lieutenant Behenna.

Warner, however, could not say he actually witnessed Lieutenant Behenna shoot Mansur, or if Mansur lunged at Behenna in an attempt to grab his weapon. The prosecution’s circumstantial case was expected to be substantiated by the testimony of their expert forensic witness, Dr Herbert MacDonnell. Dr MacDonnell is a well known expert on crime scene forensics, having investigated such high profile cases as Dr Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, and OJ Simpson.

Dr. MacDonnell instead stunned prosecutor Captain Erwin Roberts by telling Roberts, prior to trial, that Lieutenant Behenna’s version of the shooting was consistent with the forensic evidence. MacDonnell demonstrated to the prosecution team how Ali Mansur must have been standing and reaching for Lieutenant Behenna’s gun when he was shot. Dr MacDonnell assumed that prosecutors would provide Behenna’s defense lawyer, former Marine combat veteran and military judge, Jack Zimmerman, with this crucial evidence.

Captain Roberts would have none of it. He was expected to get a conviction. Roberts removed MacDonnell from the prosecution’s witness list, concealed the exculpatory forensic evidence from the defense and proceeded to trial.

The military court found Lieutenant Michael Behenna not guilty of premeditated murder, but guilty of unpremeditated murder. On March 25, 2009 Lieutenant Behenna was sentenced to 25 years confinement. The verdict, no doubt, enabled George Bush and Barack Obama to stand tall with the “Muslim community” and the “Arab Street”. And Captain Erwin Roberts can look forward to a well paying position with the ACLU.

Defense lawyer Zimmerman only learned of Dr MacDonnell’s forensic evidence after Lieutenant Behenna had begun serving his 25 year sentence. When prosecutor Roberts had told Dr MacDonnell his services were no longer desired, an outraged MacDonnell sent an e-mail to the prosecuting attorneys telling them that “in the interest of justice” he expected them to advise the defense of his conclusion that Lieutenant Behenna was telling the truth. And all exculpatory is required to be turned over to the defense immediately, yet Dr MacDonnell’s e-mail apparently lingered in limbo until it was too late to affect the outcome of the trial.

Saving Lieutenant Behenna
An appeal for a new trial was immediately filed on the grounds that the prosecution clearly withheld evidence which demonstrated the shooting of Al Qaeda operative Ali Mansur Mohamed had been in self defense. The appeal was denied. The military review panel, however, magnanimously reduced Michael’s sentence to 20 years. The Behenna family appealed to the Army’s Clemency and Parole Board. Clemency was denied, but the sentence was further reduced to 15 years. The United States Army is adamant in refusing any further consideration of Michael’s case.

As happens in all of these cases, Michael’s parents have nearly been bankrupted by legal fees. Adding insult to the injustice inflicted upon their son is the fact that Scott and Vicki Behenna have successful careers in service to the federal government. Scott is an FBI intelligence analyst and retired Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation special agent. Vicki Behenna is a federal prosecutor who worked on the Oklahoma city bombing case.

The Behenna family is working to bring national attention to the chilling case of injustice perpetuated on their son. Their Defend Michael website requests that Americans contact their congressional representatives and ask for a congressional investigation into Michael’s case. The Behennas also request letters be sent to Secretary of the Army John McHugh. You can sign a petition on the website. And contributions to the Michael Behenna Defense Fund can be made online or through the mail. Donors who contribute $20 or more will receive a DefendMichael.com wristband to help raise awareness.

The Behennas have recently gained a powerful ally in the person of nationally syndicated conservative talk show giant Dr Michael Savage, host of The Savage Nation. The good doctor Savage, for some reason, seems to stand alone in the conservative talk show community in spending a significant portion of air time bringing attention to, and railing against, these outrageous prosecutions of our soldiers. Savage has raised significant amounts of money for legal defense funds in these cases, including making substantial personal donations.

Dr Savage was instrumental in drawing national attention to, and raising money for, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani USMC, unjustly charged in the “Haditha Massacre” case. Savage is doing likewise for First Lieutenant Michael Behenna and has pledged to pursue the case relentlessly until justice is done.

Americans, almost unanimously, claim to “support our troops. And most of us try to do just that in any manner we are able to. Now, with our presidents and military commanders abandoning our valiant men and women in the field for purely political purposes, our troops are going to need us more than ever.

First Lieutenant Michael Behenna is an American hero, who should be held up to the young men and women of America as a role model. Instead he sits in Leavenworth penitentiary, reviled by the government he was willing to give his life for. Be there for him, as Michael Savage would say. Or be nowhere.

Defend Michael Website

You can write to Michael Behenna at
Michael Behenna #87503
1300 N. Warehouse Road
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-2304

Members of congress can be contacted through our White House And Congressional Contact Page

Voice your support for Lieutenant Behenna with letters to the Secretary Of The Army
Secretary Of The Army- John McHugh
1400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1400