Navy SEALS Facing Several Controversies, Including War Crimes Accusations

AFGHANISTAN SEALS VIRGINIA
A US flag is flown at half staff outside a restaurant near the main gate of Naval Air Station Oceana Dam Neck Annex the base of Navy Seal Team six in Virginia Beach , Va., Monday, Aug. 8, 2011. The base is the headquarters for Seal Team Six whose team members were involved in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Steve Helber / AP Photo
AFGHANISTAN SEALS VIRGINIA
A US flag is flown at half staff outside a restaurant near the main gate of Naval Air Station Oceana Dam Neck Annex the base of Navy Seal Team six in Virginia Beach , Va., Monday, Aug. 8, 2011. The base is the headquarters for Seal Team Six whose team members were involved in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Steve Helber / AP Photo

Navy SEALS Facing Several Controversies, Including War Crimes Accusations

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A U.S. military prosecutor has presented a case of war crimes against a decorated Navy SEAL sniper who is accused of indiscriminately shooting several civilians. His Navy colleagues told prosecutors that Silver Star recipient Edward Gallagher was “reckless and bloodthirsty.” At the heart of the case is the stabbing death of a teenage ISIS fighter whose bloodied corpse was photographed with Gallagher during his Naval reenlistment ceremony. Meanwhile, a separate case has rocked the SEALS. Navy Prosecutors say that SEALS strangled Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melger, then punctured his throat to make it look like they attempted a life-saving procedure. The murder and cover-up of Melger shook the military’s special operations community as this gruesome act reflected just how “lawless the elite SEAL Team 6 has grown”. Joining us to discuss the culture of Navy SEALS is Matthew Cole, investigative reporter with The Intercept.