Ahmad Hashim Abd al-Isawi

Ahmad Hashim Abd al-Isawi was an al Qaeda terrorist operating in Iraq in the early 2000s.[1] He earned the nickname the "Butcher of Fallujah" after he masterminded the murder and disfiguration of four Americans whose bodies were hung from the old bridge over the Euphrates river in Fallujah, Iraq.[2] In September 2009, a team of U.S. Navy SEALs captured al-Isawi in a nighttime raid in Fallujah.[1] Currently he is being held by the United States intelligence community.

Butcher of Fallujah

On March 31, 2004, Iraqi insurgents ambushed a convoy making a delivery for food caterers ESS near Fallujah.[3] Four private contractors working as security guards for Blackwater USA were killed.[4] Their bodies were dragged from the burning wreckage of their vehicles by a mob, mutilated, dragged through the streets, and two were hung on display from a bridge over the Euphrates river as the crowd celebrated below.[5][6] Images of the brutality were released by the insurgents, drawing attention to issues around private contractors[3] and prompting Operation Vigilant Resolve,[7] which evolved into the first Battle of Fallujah. Intelligence reports concluded that Ahmad Hashim Abd al-Isawi was the mastermind behind the attack,[4] and the brutality of the treatment of the victims earned al-Isawi the nickname the "Butcher of Fallujah."[8]

Capture

Five years after the ambush, in September 2009, a Navy SEAL team raided a house in search of al-Isawi,[4] who was viewed as a high-value target for intelligence gathering.[8] Special Warfare Operator, Second Class Matthew McCabe located and confronted a man matching al-Isawi's description, who was reaching for a gun.[4] Following orders to capture al-Isawi if possible, and at personal risk, McCabe subdued al-Isawi and he was taken into custody in what was initially reported as a "textbook" operation.[4]

Following his incarceration at Camp Schwedler, al-Isawi alleged, with blood on his lip and shirt, that he had suffered abuse as a detainee. Despite it being known that the al-Qaeda Handbook instructs captured operatives to immediately claim to have been mistreated, members of the SEAL team were interrogated and encouraged to confess to misdeeds.[4] McCabe, Jonathan Keefe, and Julio Huertas ultimately faced courts-martial on charges including assault (McCabe only), making a false official statement, and dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, and all were acquitted.[9][10] McCabe's court-martial heard evidence suggesting the blood on al-Isawi's lip was from him deliberately biting a mouth ulcer.[10] Patrick Robinson advocated a similar explanation in his book about the capture of al-Isawi and subsequent events, titled Honor and Betrayal: The Untold Story of the Navy Seals Who Captured the "Butcher of Fallujah"—and the Shameful Ordeal They Later Endured.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Smith, Kyle. "How political correctness took down Navy SEALs". New York Post. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  2. ↑ Robinson, Patrick (November 11, 2013). "The Night the SEALS Captured the Butcher of Fallujah". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "The high-risk contracting business". Frontline. Public Broadcasting Service. June 21, 2005. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Deignan, Tom (December 22, 2013). "Navy SEALS tragedy in Afghanistan chronicled in new film, "Lone Survivors"". IrishCentral. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  5. ↑ Arraf, Jane; Clancy, Jim; Starr, Barbara; Flower, Kevin; Sadeq, Kianne (April 6, 2004). "Marines, Iraqis join forces to shut down Fallujah". CNN. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  6. ↑ Flower, Kevin; Gray, Melissa; Kroll, Sue; Paulsen, Vivian; Sadik, Auday (May 6, 2004). "U.S. expects more attacks in Iraq". CNN. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  7. ↑ Camp, Dick (2009). "Operation Vigilant Resolve". Operation Phantom Fury: The Assault and Capture of Fallujah, Iraq. MBI Publishing Company. pp. 63–78. ISBN 9781616732530.
  8. 1 2 3 Robinson, Patrick (2013). Honor and Betrayal: The Untold Story of the Navy Seals Who Captured the "Butcher of Fallujah"—and the Shameful Ordeal They Later Endured. Perseus Book Group. ISBN 9780306823091.
  9. ↑ CNN Wire Staff (April 22, 2010). "Navy SEAL not guilty of charges in Iraq". CNN. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  10. 1 2 Centanni, Steve (May 6, 2010). "Navy SEAL Found Not Guilty of Assaulting a Suspected Terrorist". Fox News. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
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