Madam Speaker,

Today I rise to celebrate and honor the service of Army Master Sergeant Jeffrey Mittman for receiving the Osborne A. “Oz” Day AbilityOne Awareness Award.  The prestigious “Oz” Award is presented by the Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled to an employee at a federal agency who demonstrates exceptional service promoting the AbilityOne Program throughout the federal, state and local communities.

Now, the National Account Manager for the National Industries for the Blind’s Midwest Region, Master Sergeant Mittman supports a mission of employment for others with disabilities by promoting the AbilityOne Program through the federal procurement process in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District. This patriot’s story is a remarkable one, for his story does not start nor finish here with this award.

Master Sergeant Mittman’s indefatigable commitment to serve his fellow Americans began as a soldier in the United States Army in 1989. Having fought in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Enduring Freedom, and in 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Master Sergeant Mittman was the All-American hero who never turned down defending his country. It wasn’t till his return to Iraq in 2005 as a special advisor to the Iraqi Department of the Interior, that he came face-to-face with death; changing his life forever.

Tragically, an improvised explosive device that exploded near his vehicle in Iraq, leaving Master Sergeant Mittman without a nose, lips, most of his teeth, and the majority of his vision. Since that time, he has endured more than 40 operations and spent over four years recovering physically and emotionally. To his great credit, he has traveled the country sharing the lessons he learned from these experiences with the world.

He is noted for saying it is the veteran who has to take that very first step to recovering and that he realized this after attending the Blinded Veterans Association Conference in 2006, where he met people who were blinded years ago who are now attorneys, teachers and business executives. After realizing life can be good in spite of having a disability, he decided to help others who also have disabilities find jobs and lead meaningful lives.

Master Sergeant Mittman, a 40-year old decorated warrior, husband of 17 years, father of two and outspoken military veteran was and forever will be an All-American hero whose determination and selflessness continue to serve our country and inspire our hearts. Today, we salute you.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              CONTACT: John Donnelly
March 1, 2010                                                                                          (317) 848-0201

Reps. Burton, Rohrabacher To Renew Call For Exoneration Of Navy SEAL Three On Thursday

Press Conference Will Feature Over A Dozen Retired Special Forces Personnel, Plus An Update On The Pending Trials

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, March 4, at 3:00pm, Reps. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-46), will be joined by over a dozen retired Navy SEALs and other special forces personnel to host a press conference calling for the exoneration of the three Navy SEALs accused of mistreating al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed.

Who:
Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05)
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-46)
Neal Puckett, Lt. Col, USMC (Ret.), attorney for Matthew McCabe
Mr. Haytham Faraj, attorney for Matthew McCabe
Captain Larry Bailey, retired U.S. Navy SEAL
Over a dozen retired Navy SEALs and other special forces personnel

When:
Thursday, March 4, 3:00pm

Where:
The Capitol Visitors Center, Room HVC-201
Washington, DC

Background:
In September 2009, SEALs Matthew McCabe, Julio Huertas, and Jonathan Keefe, were part of a team that captured Ahmed Hashim Abed, the al-Qaeda mastermind behind the murder and mutilation of four American contractors in Fallujah in 2004.

In December 2009 and January 2010, the SEALs were arraigned in military court on charges of abusing Abed and giving false statements to investigators.  At that time, Reps. Burton and Rohrabacher, along with 38 other members of Congress, asked Major General Charles Cleveland to drop the charges, but the effort was unsuccessful.

With the trials set to begin for Huertas and Keefe in April and McCabe in May, Reps. Burton and Rohrabacher will again call for their exoneration and show the signatures of over 100,000 Americans on petitions that have called for the same.  The Representatives plan to deliver those signatures to Maj. Gen. Cleveland and Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations.

Neal Puckett and Haytham Faraj, attorneys for Matthew McCabe, will provide an update on the case.

Capt. Larry Bailey, a Navy SEAL and combat veteran who served in the U.S. Navy from 1962-1990 will speak about the impact of this case on SEALs in the battlefield.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              CONTACT: John Donnelly
February, 25, 2010                                                                                   (317) 848-0201

House Unanimously Adopts Burton Amendment Praising CIA

Amendment Honors CIA For Foiling Terror Plots, Defending Nation

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today--just two days after Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House, continued her ongoing spat with the Central Intelligence Agency by reasserting her claim the Agency lied to her and the Congress--the House adopted an amendment to the Intelligence Reauthorization bill proposed by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05), which praises and thanks the CIA for its role in combating terrorism, for foiling recent terrorist plots, and capturing senior al-Qaeda members.  Over the last year, the CIA has been under fire for using enhanc ed interrogation techniques, even though those tactics have been credited with thwarting terrorist attacks.  Rep. Burton issued the following statement after the House unanimously adopted his amendment:

"As the war on terrorism continues, a culture has emerged in Washington where political correctness has taken precedence over victory.  This is both dangerous for our citizens and demoralizing to the men and women who are fighting this war.  With the unanimous passage of my amendment, I hope we are seeing a shift in Washington toward praising the efforts of our intelligence agencies and military, and away from looking for ways to criticize them. 

"By passing my amendment, the House honored the CIA for defending our nation, foiling terrorist plots, and capturing senior al-Qaeda leaders, among other things.  It is important to remember that the CIA had to employ enhanced interrogation techniques in order to achieve many of those successes.  With that in mind, I hope the unanimous voice of the House today has reassured our nation's military and intelligence personnel that they have done the right and honorable thing in defending their country."

Background:

The Burton Amendment to H.R. 2701 - The Intelligence Authorization Act for FY2010:

http://www.rules.house.gov/111/AmndmentsSubmitted/hr2701c/111_hr2701_burton14.pdf

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              CONTACT: John Donnelly
January 4, 2010                                                                                      (202) 225-2276 

 

Rep. Burton Responds To Maj. Gen. Cleveland's Letter

“In this case the American people's perception is that you are unfairly prosecuting three heroes based, at least in part, upon the word of an inhumane monster." – Rep. Burton 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) sent a response to Major General Charles Cleveland's explanation for why three Navy SEALs are currently standing trial for their alleged mistreatment of terrorist leader Ahmed Hashim Abed.  Rep. Burton's letter is as follows:

 

January 4, 2010

 

Major General Charles T. Cleveland

Commander, Special Operations Command Central 

U.S. Central Command

7115 South Boundary Boulevard

MacDill AFB, FL 33621-5101

 

Dear General Cleveland:

 

I received your letter of December 15, 2009, regarding the pending courts-martial of Petty Officers Huertas, McCabe and Keefe; and I appreciate your office’s attempting to set the record straight and clarify what you describe as the “incomplete and factually inaccurate” press coverage of the situation.  Having reviewed all of the material you provided, I still have to strongly disagree with the decision of your officers to pursue punishment of these Navy SEALs.  

 

Ahmed Hashim Abed was one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq; responsible for the murders of innocent American civilians and numerous attacks on American and coalition forces.  The injuries to Mr. Abed were, as you readily admit, relatively minor and certainly pale in comparison to the brutality of the crimes he helped perpetrate.  While Petty Officers Huertas, McCabe and Keefe may have been wrong to not fully cooperate with investigators, it seems to me that the punishment still far exceeds the crime.  In my opinion, prosecutorial discretion should have been exercised.

 

Beyond the fates of the three individual sailors, I have some general concerns about this case that are only reinforced by your letter.  First, the fact that fellow U.S. service personnel initially raised the accusations against Petty Officers Huertas, McCabe and Keefe strongly suggests that we have created a culture within our Armed Forces where our military personnel are now more concerned about protecting themselves from legal jeopardy for every action or statement, than they are about fighting the enemy.  Our troops and these SEALs need to be bold and decisive in combat; not hesitant and over-thinking every action for fear of prosecution. We are in a war that we must win against a determined, patient enemy who already believes we do not have the will to do what is necessary to defeat them.  

 

Second, because of the intensive media coverage of this case – even if it is incomplete and factually inaccurate as you describe, this is the public’s perception of the case – the American people are outraged by the courts-martial of individuals who should be hailed as heroes.  In fact, over 30,000 Americans have signed my online petition calling for an end to this prosecution.  Perhaps even more alarming than the decline in morale this case has caused the country is the boost in morale and confidence that this case gives to Al Qaeda terrorists, who as I said, already believe America does not have the will or stomach to do what is necessary to defeat them.

 

General Cleveland, you are a distinguished soldier and former Special Forces operator yourself.  I have the utmost respect for you personally.  In this case the American people’s perception is that you are unfairly prosecuting three heroes based, at least in part, upon the word of an inhumane monster.  Al-Qaeda’s own handbook instructs their operatives to allege detainee abuse if detained by American forces.  In fact, al-Qaeda operatives are trained to self-inflict injuries for the sole purpose of accusing U.S. forces of abuse.  We've seen repeated cases of this since the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan began.  In my opinion, carrying forward these courts-martial will do our Nation and our Armed Forces more harm than good.  I respectfully and strongly urge you to exercise your leadership authority, stop the impending trials and drop the charges against these American heroes. 

 

I await your prompt response.

 

Sincerely, 

 

                        Dan Burton

                        Member of Congress    

 

CC:     Hon. Barack Obama, Hon. Robert Gates, Adm. Mike Mullen

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS (to press release):

 

PDF copy of 12/15/09 letter from Maj. Gen. Cleveland to Rep. Dan Burton.  Maj. Gen. Cleveland's letter was a response to a request from 40 Members of Congress, led by Rep. Burton, that the charges against the three Navy SEALs be dropped. 

 

PDF copy of 1/4/10 letter from Rep. Burton to Maj. Gen Cleveland.

 

For more background, please click this link:

 

 

###

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              CONTACT: John Donnelly
December 29, 2009                                                                                 (202) 225-2276 

 

Burton Calls For DHS Sec. Napolitano's Resignation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement about the security failures surrounding al Qaeda operative Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's terrorist attack on Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day:

 

“The details surrounding Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s attempt to kill hundreds of Americans on Northwest Flight 253 amount to what is a phenomenal breach of security.  This al Qaeda operative offered no shortage of red flags, but none caught the eye of intelligence and security officials.  Reports indicated that the laundry list of warning signs includes Mr. Abdulmutallab, who was on the terrorist watch list, buying a one-way ticket with cash, not checking any luggage, and boarding the flight without a passport.   Most shocking, his father told the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, weeks ago, that his son had been radicalized and is dangerous.

 

"The fact that this security breach occurred in such a brazen way means that there was a level of significant incompetence involved, and I believe that rests solely on the shoulders of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.  After serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee for the last 25 years, I can say with certainty that Secretary Napolitano does not have the background or experience necessary to execute her responsibilities.  Her bizarre remarks on Sunday were the final straw in a series of embarrassing and incompetent comments this year.   By saying ‘the system worked,’ Secretary Napolitano has undermined the confidence of Americans.

 

"The ‘system’ most assuredly did not work. This is the second time in two months that obvious warning signs were ignored, enabling an attack. The system is broken and regardless of the White House forcing Secretary Napolitano to go on an apology tour, I believe the only course of action is for the Secretary to either resign or be replaced with someone competent and able to protect the lives of the American people.  The American people must have confidence in their government’s ability to combat the constant threat of terrorism. 

 

"Finally, I have learned from Republicans on the relevant committees that the Obama Administration has once again stonewalled them from information about the attack on Flight 253.  With the Administration also excluding Republicans from information about the Ft. Hood shooting, a dangerous pattern of politicizing intelligence information has emerged.  This is an irresponsible and petty tactic, which has prevented the whole Congress from working to augment our national security efforts.”

 

###