Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Representative takes aim at critics of accused Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher

Hunter’s Most Dangerous Game

In this undated file photo, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher (left) and US Representative (and ex-Marine) Duncan Hunter (right) pay a visit to the black site headquarters of the mysterious Colonel Kurtz to seek counsel regarding both the treatment of enemy combatants and the proper method of dealing with fallout resulting from same. Center is an unnamed civilian photographer, apparently serving as an advisor on dealing with leaks to the press. Notes taken from the seized phone of Rep. Hunter indicate that the photographer said, “He can be terrible, and he can be mean, and he can be right. He’s fighting the war. He’s a great man. You don’t judge him like an ordinary man.” It was not immediately clear whether he was referring to Kurtz or Gallagher.
In this undated file photo, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher (left) and US Representative (and ex-Marine) Duncan Hunter (right) pay a visit to the black site headquarters of the mysterious Colonel Kurtz to seek counsel regarding both the treatment of enemy combatants and the proper method of dealing with fallout resulting from same. Center is an unnamed civilian photographer, apparently serving as an advisor on dealing with leaks to the press. Notes taken from the seized phone of Rep. Hunter indicate that the photographer said, “He can be terrible, and he can be mean, and he can be right. He’s fighting the war. He’s a great man. You don’t judge him like an ordinary man.” It was not immediately clear whether he was referring to Kurtz or Gallagher.

In a surprising development, military judge Captain Aaron Rugh today dismissed all charges against Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher related to his alleged murder of an injured Islamic State prisoner under his care and the shooting of two Iraqi civilians in 2017. Gallagher has also been accused of posing in photos with the dead bodies of his enemies. In his comments on the dismissal, Rugh cited the defense offered by Representative Duncan Hunter, who recently stated, “I was an artillery officer, and we fired hundreds of rounds into Fallujah, killed probably hundreds of civilians. Probably killed women and children if there were any left in the city when we invaded. So, do I get judged too?” As for the Islamic State soldier whom Gallagher allegedly executed with a knife, Hunter said, ““I frankly don’t care if he was killed. I just don’t care.”

“Representative Hunter is a former Marine, and he clearly knows whereof he speaks,” said Captain Rugh. “His words reminded me of another soldier who knew what it takes to win a war, the famous Colonel Walter Kurtz of US Army Special Forces. ‘I’ve seen horrors,’ said Kurtz shortly before his death. ‘Horrors that you’ve seen. But you have not right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that. But you have no right to judge me. It’s impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror has a face. And you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared.’ Amen.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Operatic Gender Wars

Are there any operas with all-female choruses?
Next Article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
In this undated file photo, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher (left) and US Representative (and ex-Marine) Duncan Hunter (right) pay a visit to the black site headquarters of the mysterious Colonel Kurtz to seek counsel regarding both the treatment of enemy combatants and the proper method of dealing with fallout resulting from same. Center is an unnamed civilian photographer, apparently serving as an advisor on dealing with leaks to the press. Notes taken from the seized phone of Rep. Hunter indicate that the photographer said, “He can be terrible, and he can be mean, and he can be right. He’s fighting the war. He’s a great man. You don’t judge him like an ordinary man.” It was not immediately clear whether he was referring to Kurtz or Gallagher.
In this undated file photo, Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher (left) and US Representative (and ex-Marine) Duncan Hunter (right) pay a visit to the black site headquarters of the mysterious Colonel Kurtz to seek counsel regarding both the treatment of enemy combatants and the proper method of dealing with fallout resulting from same. Center is an unnamed civilian photographer, apparently serving as an advisor on dealing with leaks to the press. Notes taken from the seized phone of Rep. Hunter indicate that the photographer said, “He can be terrible, and he can be mean, and he can be right. He’s fighting the war. He’s a great man. You don’t judge him like an ordinary man.” It was not immediately clear whether he was referring to Kurtz or Gallagher.

In a surprising development, military judge Captain Aaron Rugh today dismissed all charges against Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher related to his alleged murder of an injured Islamic State prisoner under his care and the shooting of two Iraqi civilians in 2017. Gallagher has also been accused of posing in photos with the dead bodies of his enemies. In his comments on the dismissal, Rugh cited the defense offered by Representative Duncan Hunter, who recently stated, “I was an artillery officer, and we fired hundreds of rounds into Fallujah, killed probably hundreds of civilians. Probably killed women and children if there were any left in the city when we invaded. So, do I get judged too?” As for the Islamic State soldier whom Gallagher allegedly executed with a knife, Hunter said, ““I frankly don’t care if he was killed. I just don’t care.”

“Representative Hunter is a former Marine, and he clearly knows whereof he speaks,” said Captain Rugh. “His words reminded me of another soldier who knew what it takes to win a war, the famous Colonel Walter Kurtz of US Army Special Forces. ‘I’ve seen horrors,’ said Kurtz shortly before his death. ‘Horrors that you’ve seen. But you have not right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that. But you have no right to judge me. It’s impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror has a face. And you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared.’ Amen.”

Sponsored
Sponsored
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown
Next Article

Secrets of Resilience in May's Unforgettable Memoir

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader