The Marine who sent classified material over a public email server to alert his allies of an insider attack and sexual abuse of children by an Afghan police official will likely face punishment- and the US Navy is more than willing to let it happen in order to lampshade the issue of sexual abuse of children by Afghan allies in the region.
According The Washington Post, the Navy Department was handed the case last fall, in which Major Jason Brezler had been asked by his USMC colleagues to submit all material in regards to an influential Afghan police chief who was suspected of abusing children. When Brezler sent the classified document over a Yahoo! Email server, he reported himself soon after.
When Brezler filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Department of the Navy and the USMC, documents showed that the Navy and Marines were aware of the abuse allegations back in 2012, which led to one of the alleged sex slave teenagers of the Afghan Helmand Police Chief opening fire on a US base in August of the same year, killing three marines and wounding a fourth.
The five page review recommended that the USMC’s move for discharge against Brezler should be upheld, and that further investigation would draw media attention to the case, “especially in the aftermath of significant media attention to the allegations regarding the practice of keeping personal sex slaves in Afghanistan.”
The Navy surely watched the Army struggle with the Martland case, and the Army was ultimately left no choice but to retain Martland,” said Joe Kasper, spokesman for Rep. Duncan Hunter, who intervened on the Martland case. “The Brezler case is no different in that, at its foundation, there’s a corrupt Afghan commander that exploits children. It’s something that Americans won’t tolerate, and good luck to the Navy as it tries to explain that Brezler was better to keep quiet, avoiding scrutiny altogether, than attempt to save several Marines that were killed. On that aspect alone, the Navy loses.”
In November of last year, acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy Scott Lutterloh upheld the Corps’ decision.
Brezler attorney Michael J. Bowe said Wednesday that his client is entitled to a “real review” of his case- “not a whitewash designed to avoid uncomfortable press stories about child rape by our ‘partners’ in Afghanistan.
“Our service members deserve better,” he added.
The case draws similarities to yet another US service member who drew attention to child molestation by government officials in Afghanistan- Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland of the US Army Special Forces made brief headlines after the Army decided to separate him for striking an Afghan police official who laughed about raping a teenage boy. While the Army moved forward with the decision, it was ultimately overturned by way of Congressional intervention.
Brezler’s case has been given new life by way of media attention, as critics of the handling of Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified material drew parallels between the Democratic nominee and the Marine Major. Suing the Marines and Navy in 2014, Brezler says he is a victim of reprisal for discussing the case with a member of Congress, and his case has been in the purgatory of the courts ever since.
US Navy and Marine Corps officials -as well as the Justice Department- have declined to discuss the case and any new documents filed in it, citing pending litigation.
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