Dereliction of Duty
By Kieran Michael Lalor
Posted On April 25, 2005

When New Yorker and Army Specialist Robert Lorias lost his arm to a roadside bomb in Iraq’s dangerous Sunni Triangle he came home and the government stuck him with a bill. Senators Clinton (D) and Schumer (D) along with Congressman Hinchey (D) rightly rushed to action and pressured the Army to forgive the debt.

A Marine from New York acted in self-defense to protect the men he was entrusted to lead and killed two suspected terrorists discovered outside a bomb factory in the Sunni Triangle. To reward him for this act of heroism that likely helped prevent other casualties, the military is trying Pantano for two capital murders. Yet the people sent to represent Lt. Pantano in Congress are conspicuously and shamefully silent.

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) sits on the ultra-powerful Senate Armed Services Committee yet when I spoke with a member of her staff, she indicated that Senator Clinton has no position on Lt. Pantano. Last Monday I spoke with the office of Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC), who co-sponsored House Resolution 167, which seeks the dismissal of charges against Pantano. From this conversation I learned that the House Armed Services Committee has yet to schedule a vote on the resolution and will probably not get to the resolution before Pantano goes on trial for his life on April 25th, if they get to it at all.

Staffers for the only two Representatives New York has on the House Armed Services committee, Rep. John M. McHugh (R) and Rep. Steve Israel (D), did not know where their boss stood on this issue despite its being featured on 60 Minutes, in New York Magazine and countless on other news sources.

The Marine Corps teaches commanders to “Lead from the front.” Evidently Congress has not such policy because a Marine is facing death for protecting his men and his representatives in Congress have nothing to say. Perhaps it is the New York members of the Armed Services Committees that should be charged under the Universal Code of Military Justice. Clearly they have violated Article 85 which criminalizes desertion.

The American Dream

Lt. Ilario Pantano’s story of the American Dream is something out of a Disney movie. The son of an Italian immigrant, he earned a scholarship to the prestigious Horace Mann High School and worked part time on the USS Intrepid. He then enlisted in the Marine Corps, earned sergeants stripes, and served with honor in Operation Desert Storm.

After his enlistment was up he got a degree from NYU, worked for Goldman Sachs, and then in the communications field. To top off the storybook life, he was engaged to a fashion model and planned to start a family.

Then came September 11, 2001. The firehouse in Pantano’s Manhattan neighborhood lost 11 firefighters, four of whom had claimed the title Marine. 3,000 of his countryman were killed in a single morning. Clearly the nation was going to war and at age 30, his duty to country more than already fulfilled, Pantano put his perfect life on hold and earned an officer’s commission in the Marine Corps.

Platoon Commander

Last April with the insurgency at its height and operating on intelligence given by captured terrorists, Pantano led his platoon to conduct a search of a suspected bomb factory. Two suspected terrorists were caught trying to flee. While being searched they began excitedly shouting to each other in Arabic. Pantano could not understand what they were saying but did use his limited Arabic vocabulary to command them to “Stop!” 9/11 and the war on Iraq has taught us that the weapon of choice for the terrorist enemy is often themselves. Lt. Pantano knew this. Moreover, Marine Corps doctrine states that silencing Enemy Prisoners of War (EPWs) is crucial to the safe handling of EPWs.

Training, experience, intel reports, and instinct told the two war Marine that this communication from purported terrorist bomb makers was putting his platoon in mortal danger. Pantano acted decisively and eliminated this grave threat to his men by killing the enemy.

Other than a disgruntled sergeant removed from his squad leader position by Pantano shortly before the incident, Pantano’s unit supports his version of the story. In fact, the initial investigation at the field level cleared Pantano and he continued to effectively lead his platoon in combat operations for the rest of their tour.

A Navy corpsman (medic) was an eyewitness to the incident and corroborates Pantano’s version of the threat posed by the suspects who disobeyed Pantano’s order to stop communicating. Many of Ilario’s superiors and subordinates have come to his defense, praising his character and leadership.
The biggest threat our brave servicemen face in Iraq is the roadside bomb. Lt. Illario Pantano killed two bomb-makers and beginning Monday he goes on trial, literally to save his life. Still Congress refuses to act.

Dangerous Precedent

As an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran and enlisted Marine still serving in the Reserves, to me the case of Ilario Pantano is disheartening. I wonder as I’m sure most in the military now do: if an officer with a sterling record like Lt. Pantano can be second guessed from Washington despite being cleared of wrongdoing at the field level, what could happen to me or one of my buddies?

Lt. Pantano faces death for a decision made in combat, at the height of the war, in an area that is still so dangerous that the bodies of the dead terrorists cannot be retrieved for evidence purposes. This absurd decision to prosecute Pantano makes the incredibly arduous job of war fighting more difficult and more deadly because it invites hesitation and defensiveness on the part of the warrior.

Despite the obvious injustice of trying an authentic American Hero like Ilario Pantano, even the leaders in his home state refuse to come to his aid. A North Carolina Congressman has introduced a resolution to support Pantano and written a letter to the President asking him to intervene. I have conducted exhaustive research and know of no member of New York’s Congressional delegation who has publicly expressed support for Pantano.

How could the same state that sent a brave and selfless hero to war also sent a band of self-serving cowards to Washington?

Kieran Michael Lalor, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, is the founder and executive director of the Eternal Vigilance Society. For more information, visit www.eternalvigilancesociety.org.

E-mail this article to a friend.