Now HERE is a Petition Worth Signing!

COPY AND PASTE THE LINK BELOW TO SIGN THE PETITION!
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=34775

Petition: Free the Navy SEALs
By Michelle Malkin • December 11, 2009 10:06 AM

Human Events has posted a petition to free the Navy SEALs who’ve been hauled up for court martials after an infamous jihadi in Iraq (the same one who masterminded the ambush of Blackwater contractors whose bodies were burned and hung on a bridge in Fallujah) accused them of punching him in the stomach during a raid earlier this fall. You can sign here (petition text below). Members of Congress have called on Secretary Gates to intervene as well. Two of the SEALs were arraigned earlier this week and spoke out. Here’s an interview with Navy SEAL Matthew McCabe’s lawyer. Interviews and local coverage here. Excerpt:

Two Navy SEALs accused of mistreating an alleged terrorist denied the charges Monday — one during a formal arraignment and the other in more plain-spoken terms after the court proceeding.

“No — the answer’s no, point blank,” said Special Operator 2nd Class Matthew McCabe, as he met well-wishers outside Naval Station Norfolk.

McCabe is one of three Navy SEALs charged with mistreating Ahmed Hashim Abed, the suspected mastermind of the March 2004 attack that killed four Blackwater employees. The SEALs have also been credited with his capture.

The grisly ambush created worldwide headlines as the bodies of the burned and mutilated victims were displayed for the press to photograph.

…Capt. Moira Modzelewski, who presided over the arraignment, set a Jan. 11 trial date for Huertas and Jan. 19 for McCabe.

The case has attracted widespread public attention. About 20 members of Congress have signed a letter circulated by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., calling on Defense Secretary Robert Gates to intervene.

It has also attracted grass-roots support from people like Richard Berndt, of Virginia Beach, who arrived at the naval base at 6 a.m. with a sign that read, “You Fought For Us — Now We Fight For You.”

“I just feel I owe these guys everything I can give them,” said the 24-year Navy veteran. “They just need our support.”

Donna Zovko, the mother of one of the four slain Blackwater employees, drove from Cleveland, Ohio, to stand with the supporters. In one emotional moment, she found herself next to Marty McCabe, the father of the accused Navy SEAL.

The two shared a few words before embracing.

Until the charges became public, Zovko had never known the names of the SEALs credited with Abed’s capture.

“It took me a few minutes to talk to her,” McCabe said later. “I kind of got choked up. This is closure for her.”
IBD also has an editorial today calling for the SEALS to be freed. Amen to their conclusion: “McCabe is…officially charged with punching Abed ‘in the midsection with his fist’ while in custody. It is the American people who are being sucker-punched in the gut.”