Marine Regains Freedom

Three years ago LCpl. Daniel Smith was on leave near the former US base at Subic Bay in the Philippines. He was at a bar and got drunk together with a local girl. The two got friendly enough that just after he was arrested for the young lady had filed rape charges against the Marine.
Smith got convicted, mostly based on the testimony of the young lady, and has been held in the US Embassy prison ever since. LCpl. Smith sustained the whole time that the sex had been consensual and that he was innocent.

The incident sparked a controversy that was taken up immediately by the al-Qaeda sympathizers in the Philippines in their quest to turn the whole country against the presence of US forces. It was a good chance for the terrorists to force the Manila government to reject the presence of American military on their soil. Gone the American forces, the leftist terrorists would have a much easier time undermining the government.
The Left also protested the fact that the Marine was being held in the US Embassy jail, as they wanted him to serve his sentence in a local prison. The decision to hold Smith in the Embassy was made by the Philippine government according to legal agreements between the two governments. All this made the Left furious, as they accused President Arroyo of being a lapdog for the Americans.

After two years in jail pending appeal, a court in the Philippines just overturned the conviction and ordered the Marine to be released. The court decision did not come as a surprise, as I had read a report in March that told about the fact that the woman, the alleged victim, had obtained a visa to come to the US and she now recanted her story, saying that maybe the sex had been consensual and that they had a lot to drink and got carried away. The woman made the statement after leaving the Philippines because of the expected anger her confession was most likely going to fuel, which is exactly what happened. Her lawyer was outraged. Women activists were outraged. Judges stated that she could face prosecution for perjury.
What I find interesting is that the court that overturned Smith’s conviction stated that the retraction from the victim had no bearing on their decision, but that analysis of evidence was at the base of the final judgment.

Regardless, LCpl. Daniel Smith is going to be free. Also important is the fact that the terrorists in the Philippine did not score a full victory and that that country’s government did not cave to their tactics.
Welcome home, Marine.

And these are my thoughts!
Frank “Semperpapa”