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10-05-2007, 07:48
.S. Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina wants the Department of Defense Inspector General to investigate whether there was improper command influence from Army Lt. Gen. Frank Kearney in the case of two Special Forces soldiers accused of murder.
Jones asked Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for the investigation Wednesday.
“I want them to explain to me how the process works,” Jones said in phone interview from his Washington office.
“Command issues need to be looked into,” Jones continued. “Did he (Kearney) overstep his authority? Enough questions have been raised.”
Jones said he hopes to have Gates’ answer on an investigation in about two weeks.
Kearney could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Jones said he met with members of the Special Operations Legislative Affairs Office on Thursday on his request. He said the meeting was cordial and the office promised its cooperation.
Kearney was a two-star general in charge of special operations forces in Iraq at the time of the Special Forces shooting and a second incident mentioned in the letter. In that second incident, he ordered Marine special operations forces out of Afghanistan.
Kearney is now the deputy commander for U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa. Fla.
A spokesman for the command did not comment on Jones’s request. He said the Marine Corps incident is still under investigation.
Kearney directed that charges be brought against the two Special Forces soldiers, Capt. Dave Staffel and Master Sgt. Troy Anderson. They were accused of premeditated murder in the shooting of Nawab Buntangyar on Oct. 13, 2006, at the village of Ster Kalay near the Pakistan border.
A e-mail attributed to Kearney said he asked for the charges “since no one at Fort Bragg would.”
Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Csrnko dismissed the charges Sept. 28 after an Article 32 pretrial hearing at Fort Bragg.
Csrnko is the commander of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg. He had to make the decision whether to send the soldiers to a court-martial.
The decision to move forward with charges in the Special Forces case came a few months after Kearney removed the 120-man Marine company after a firefight that brought accusations of an overreaction by the unit.
The Marine unit is based at Camp LeJeune, which is in Jones’ district.
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Jones asked Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for the investigation Wednesday.
“I want them to explain to me how the process works,” Jones said in phone interview from his Washington office.
“Command issues need to be looked into,” Jones continued. “Did he (Kearney) overstep his authority? Enough questions have been raised.”
Jones said he hopes to have Gates’ answer on an investigation in about two weeks.
Kearney could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Jones said he met with members of the Special Operations Legislative Affairs Office on Thursday on his request. He said the meeting was cordial and the office promised its cooperation.
Kearney was a two-star general in charge of special operations forces in Iraq at the time of the Special Forces shooting and a second incident mentioned in the letter. In that second incident, he ordered Marine special operations forces out of Afghanistan.
Kearney is now the deputy commander for U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa. Fla.
A spokesman for the command did not comment on Jones’s request. He said the Marine Corps incident is still under investigation.
Kearney directed that charges be brought against the two Special Forces soldiers, Capt. Dave Staffel and Master Sgt. Troy Anderson. They were accused of premeditated murder in the shooting of Nawab Buntangyar on Oct. 13, 2006, at the village of Ster Kalay near the Pakistan border.
A e-mail attributed to Kearney said he asked for the charges “since no one at Fort Bragg would.”
Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Csrnko dismissed the charges Sept. 28 after an Article 32 pretrial hearing at Fort Bragg.
Csrnko is the commander of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg. He had to make the decision whether to send the soldiers to a court-martial.
The decision to move forward with charges in the Special Forces case came a few months after Kearney removed the 120-man Marine company after a firefight that brought accusations of an overreaction by the unit.
The Marine unit is based at Camp LeJeune, which is in Jones’ district.
:lifter
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