Al-Tawaiha claimed he was just following orders yet security camera footage showed him shooting for six full minutes…
(Amman, Jordan) Maarik al-Tawaiha, the Jordanian soldier who opened fired on and killed three American Special Forces soldiers on a training mission in southern Jordan, has been sentenced to life in prison with hard labor after being convicted of their murders.
The incident occurred on November 4, 2016, when the three Green Berets were waiting at a checkpoint at the King Faisal base, located just outside the capital city of Amman in al-Jafr. The 39 year old soldier had plead not guilty to all charges. Even after his sentence was read, al-Tawaiha remained unapologetic, claiming as he was lead out of the court room “I was doing my job.”
The Jordanian government initially appeared to support his claims, saying that the Americans had caused the guard to open fire by violating security procedures. However, they then reversed their position in June and charged al-Tawaiha with the “voluntary manslaughters” of SSG Kevin McEnroe, SSG Matthew Lewellen, and SSG James Moriarty. He was also charged with “insulting the dignity and reputation of the armed forces and violating military orders.
In Jordan, his life sentence can actually translate to a 20 year sentence, with the possibility of time off for good behavior. Critics complained that al-Tawaiha should have received the death penalty. However, in Jordan the death penalty is usually reserved for terrorism charges and the investigation had ruled out terrorism as a cause of the shootings.
After sentencing, the United States Embassy in Jordan issued a statement saying that the verdict “confirmed that the deceased US service members followed all established procedures when accessing the base the day of the incident.” During the trial, al-Tawaiha and some guards present during the shooting testified that they heard a gunshot coming from the direction of the American convoy. The defendant then insisted that he engaged the convoy with his weapons, as he believed the base was under attack. However, none of his fellow guards opened fire, as they said they could not determine the source of the reported gunshot. Security camera footage of the incident contradicts al-Tawaiha’s claims, reportedly showing him shooting for six full minutes, during which he reloaded and continued to engage the Americans as they continued to try and identify themselves as friendlies.
SSF Lewellen was a 27 year-old Missouri native; SSG McEnroe was 30 and from Arizona; and SSG Moriarty was a 27 year-old Texan. Moriarty’s actions returning fire reportedly allowed one of his teammates the opportunity to stop the attacker, during which Moriarty was mortally wounded. SSG Lewellen’s father stated that the verdict would not “take the pain away” but it did prove that his son was indeed murdered.
The Kingdom of Jordan is considered a key strategic ally in the American war against ISIS, where approximately 2,200 American service members are stationed. Many of the airstrikes carried out on ISIS in Iraq and Syria have been launched from Jordan; Jordan’s King Abdullah reportedly personally participated in the initial bombing campaigns against the Islamic State after the terrorist group burned a captive Jordanian pilot to death.
