Justice is delivered as Abu Tayeh and eleven other Jordanian guards are charged with the murder of three American service members.
The government of Jordan has formally charged one of its soldiers with murder in last year’s deaths of three Green Berets. The case has been under investigation for six months. The fathers of two of the Green Berets told the Houston Chronicle that the charges were leveled against Jordanian soldier M’aarek Abu Tayeh, who has been accused of opening fire on a U.S. military convoy.
The three Green Berets, Staff Sgt. James Moriarty, Sgt. First Class. Matthew Lewellen and Staff Sgt. Kevin McEnroe were murdered by Abu Tayeh, a gate guard at King Faisal Air Force Base in Jordan where the soldiers were part of a training mission. The three soldiers were all Green Berets working for the CIA in Jordan, training Syrian rebels. U.S. officials say the security camera video shows several American vehicles stopped in broad daylight at the entrance to the Jordanian airfield where the Green Berets were based.
The incident occurred November 4th, 2016. An investigation into the event revealed a harrowing tale of the Green Berets being ambushed by the Jordanian guard and of their heroic battle to survive.
There were four cars in the convoy that approached the first gate, and as they did, Jordanian soldiers moved the spike strips from the road and raised the barrier, allowing the convoy to continue toward the checkpoint a few yards away. The second gate was alongside a concrete guard shack in the center of the road. The guard shack was covered with camouflage netting, making it difficult to see inside. Jordanian soldiers lifted that gate as well, allowing the first car in the convoy to pass through without incident.
Lewellen and McEnroe were in the next vehicle. As it passed by the shack, the guard inside the shack unleashed a hail of bullets from behind the netting, killing McEnroe instantly. Lewellen was mortally wounded, according to the report
Staff Sgt. Moriarty and another Green Beret were driving the next two vehicles. Each jumped out of their trucks and took cover at some nearby concrete barriers. They tried to talk to the Jordanian soldier while motioning to the other soldiers around them, with whom they’d been working that morning.
The six other Jordanian gate guards who had opened and closed the gates for the convoy took no action to assist the Americans or to stop the assault. Staff Sgt. Moriarty called out in Arabic, “We are Americans. We are friends.” The exchange lasted at least six minutes. Even after Staff Sgt. Moriarity made it clear they were allies, Abu Tayeh opened fire again, killing Moriarty before the fourth Green Beret was able to engage and shoot him. Video of the incident showed Staff Sgt. Moriarty is signaling to the other soldiers before he was killed. In the video Staff Sgt. Moriarty can be seen putting his hands up and raise up from behind a concrete “Jersey” barrier, signaling Abu Tayeh to halt. Bullets can be viewed in the video hitting the top of the barrier. Abu Tayeh can be seen attempting to flank the two soldiers behind the barrier.
Staff Sgt. Moriarity stands up in full view of the shooter and engages Tayeh with his pistol exposing himself to open fire from the Jordanian. Several assault rifle rounds hit Moriarty in the chest. Using that opportunity the other Green Beret is seen circling the jersey barrier, engaging and emptying his weapon into Tayeh, thus stopping the threat. While Tayeh was put to the ground, he did end up surviving the incident.
The military investigation concluded that “the actions of Staff Sgt. Moriarty and the other Green Beret, his name has been redacted as he is still on active duty, demonstrated valorous conduct and extraordinary heroism in fighting and remaining with teammates while engaging a force that was better equipped and armed.”
Maj. Gen. James E. Kraft Jr., commander of the Army’s 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), said Staff Sgt. Moriarty could have fled the scene of the shooting, but remained at the scene to maintain contact with Abu Tayeh. He referred to the slain soldier as a warrior of courage, commitment, and honor.
“His actions that day, in the face of grave danger and the midst of chaos, ensured the safety of his brothers in arms, but ultimately resulted in his death. Over the course of their entire history, Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) have created a legacy of exceptional commitment to valor and Staff Sgt. Moriarty will be remembered as a great contributor to that legacy.”
The Jordanian media suggested, at first, that the U.S. soldiers had charged the gate. Subsequent reports from Jordan stated one American had accidentally discharged his weapon in the vehicle. Later, Abu Tayeh along with other Jordanian soldiers later told investigators that he heard a loud noise. In the continuing changing story, Jordan’s state media reported that the slain American trainers had sparked a firefight by disobeying direct orders from the Jordanians.
The investigation and the video show there was no evidence of shots fired or loud noises before Tayeh engaged the vehicle. The video shows other Jordanian soldiers showing no reaction to noise or accidental discharge. The video also shows the vehicles stopped as was the procedure. No vehicle charged the gate as the Jordanian media contended.
The official charge against Abu Tayeh is murder with intent to kill more than one person as well as being charged with “insulting the dignity and reputation of the military” and “violating orders and instructions of the military.” Eleven other Jordanian soldiers are also being charged with various offenses for not intervening in the attack even though they were able to assist the Americans, they chose not to get involved and in fact hindered another American vehicle coming to aid the embattled Green Berets. The trial will be held in Jordan, but no date has been set.
The Nov. 4 slayings of the three soldiers are believed to be the deadliest single incident involving a CIA team since December 2009, when seven officers and contractors were killed in a suicide bombing in Khost, Afghanistan.
Jordan is a key U.S. ally and a member of a U.S.-led military coalition fighting militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, which controls parts of neighboring Iraq and Syria.
