This Ongoing War: A Blog: 29-May-17: In Jordan, lives, deaths and separating truth from politically-correct illusions

Monday, May 29, 2017

29-May-17: In Jordan, lives, deaths and separating truth from politically-correct illusions

Jim Moriarty [Image Source: Houston Chronicle]

Before readers drill down into the extracts below from a very moving Memorial Day feature article in the Houston Chronicle, they might want to get acquainted with the background.

We laid it out a few weeks ago - see "28-Apr-17: Calling the Jordanians to account for the cold-blooded murder of three Green Berets".

In last month's piece we wrote that we are honored to know Jim Moriarty, the father of one of three US Special Forces servicemen whose deaths - while serving the United States on the territory of one its supposed allies in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan during November 2016 - have barely been reported. We actually did write about the killings at the time they happened. And - as we noted a month ago - it turns out our predictions at the time were not far from the mark: "18-Nov-16: American service personnel killings in the Mid East get scant reporting and even less comprehension".

Mr Moriarty served his country via three tours of duty as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam, and is today a Houston attorney and a bereaved and understandably angry father.

This week he is the focus of an article by a Houston Chronicle reporter, Mike Glenn, published yesterday (Sunday) under the headline "Houston father searches for the truth about Green Beret son's death in Jordan".

Some verbatim extracts:

When Jimmy Moriarty brought up the idea of enlisting in the Army to become a member of the elite Special Forces, his father was skeptical. "He's the world sweetest kid, but they're just going to eat him for breakfast," Houston attorney James Moriarty recalled thinking to himself about his son and namesake. "In hindsight, I was such an idiot," Moriarty said. Jimmy Moriarty qualified for the Special Forces and made it though several other demanding training programs during his three years as a Green Beret...
On Nov. 4, his only son, Staff Sgt. James Moriarty, 27, was one of three Special Forces soldiers fatally ambushed by a guard at the front gate of the austere and isolated King Faisal Air Basein Jordan, about 190 miles east of the nation's capital, Amman...
Now, the still angry and grieving elder Moriarty is on his own mission - more critical than any he undertook as a combat Marine in Vietnam or later as a high-powered lawyer going up against corporate giants like Shell Chemicals and DuPont. "I want to know who killed my son and why," he said.
From the outset, James Moriarty has believed Jordan, an ally of the U.S. in the war against terrorist organizations like ISIS, has not been honest about what happened. "Our 'friends' don't murder our children," he said.
In late February, Moriarty went to FBI headquarters in Washington to watch a security video taken at the Jordanian base. It showed what happened, he said, and is proof that his son and the other American soldiers did nothing to instigate the shootout... "If I have to watch the video 5,000 times, I'll watch it," he said...
The Army said Jimmy acted with great valor by placing himself in harm's way. He was awarded several posthumous decorations, including the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Moriarty contends Jordan's government has lied from the beginning about what happened to his son and the others. Moriarty remains angry that almost a dozen Jordanian soldiers were nearby and failed to respond... The U.S. Army said Jordanian military officers at the base also prevented other American soldiers from assisting their fellow Green Berets – ostensibly because they feared for their safety. "They just sat there and watched it happen," Moriarty said.
In April, Moriarty's family received a letter from King Abdullah II of Jordan. It formally acknowledged that Jimmy and the other Green Berets did nothing to provoke the attack. "I can assure you that justice will take its full course and the perpetrator of the attack will be held fully accountable," the letter stated. However, Jimmy's father remains dissatisfied. "If these are our friends, we don't need enemies," Moriarty said.

The full text of the Houston Chronicle article provides difficult details of the circumstances in which the three Americans were killed. We urge you to read it all and to share.

As you do, please also think of the boastful, happy murderer of our daughter Malki who, illicitly shielded by the government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, lives today free as a bird in Jordan's capital, hidden in plain sight as a fugitive from the US Department of Justice and as an FBI Most Wanted Terrorist.

The murderer's name is Ahlam Tamimi and here are some recent posts we published about her and our struggle to get her extradited from Jordan to face trial in the United States. Jordan is refusing even though it is party to a binding extradition treaty signed with the US during Bill Clinton's presidency:

05-Apr-17: Abdullah in the White House today: Questions need to be asked | 01-Apr-17: Ahlam Tamimi, Most Wanted Terrorist - now in Arabic | 30-Mar-17: Years of pursuing a child's killer: Setbacks, challenges and a roller-coaster ride | 28-Mar-17: Terror, justice and the Hashemite king of Jordan | 23-Mar-17: Looking for justice in Jordan, Jerusalem and Washington | 21-Mar-17: Tamimi extradition: When it's claimed that something is illegal in Jordan... | 20-Mar-17: The Hashemite Kingdom's courts have spoken: The murdering FBI fugitive will not be handed over | 19-Mar-17: A thought about Jordan and its treaty obligations | 15-Mar-17: Sbarro and justice | 14-Mar-17: Will Jordan's lust for dead Jewish children cause problems with the US?

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