Three Green Berets murdered in Jordan, now the families speak out

Today the families of SFC Matthew Lewellen, SSG Kevin McEnroe and SSG James (Jimmy) Moriarty held a press conference to demand accountability from the Jordanian government after one of their soldiers identified as Muarek Abu Tayeh brutally murdered the three 5th Special Forces Group soldiers during a routine checkpoint stop outside a military facility.

Part of the families’ statement reads:

Muarek Abu Tayeh, sometimes referred to as Cpl Al-Tawayha, is a Jordanian Air Force soldier who shot and killed SFC Matthew Lewellen and SSG Kevin McEnroe without warning then stalked and killed SSG James Moriarty. Only one American Special Forces soldier would survive the attack at the King Faisal Air Base in Al Jafr, Jordan on November 4, 2016.

11 other soldiers of the Jordanian Air Force or Army stood by, even after recognizing that our troops were Americans who lived on the base, traveling through the same gate, day after day, without lifting a finger to protect our soldiers.

Every Jordanian soldier with knowledge of the murders has lied to the FBI about what happened that day.”

Each family issued a separate statement this morning in addition to publishing detailed timelines, maps, and descriptions of the triple murder that took their loved ones’ lives.  James R. Moriarty, the father of Staff Sergeant Moriarty said, “my son was doing exactly what he wanted to do. He loved being a Green Beret, he loved his teammates and he loved his country. He did not deserve to die at the hands of a so-called American ally.”

SOFREP’s own investigation into the killings revealed that the three Green Berets were assigned to the inter-agency (IA) mission, meaning that they were on loan to the CIA in order to provide training to Syrian rebels at a facility in Jordan.  During the course of that investigation, it was also uncovered that the CIA’s vetting of Syrian rebel forces is lackadaisical at best and further, that the CIA ignored the concerns and warnings coming from 5th Special Forces Group.  The official 15-6 investigation concludes that at this time there is no evidence that Muarek Abu Tayeh was radicalized, but no evidence that would speak towards his motive is given.

James Moriarty said that he is thankful to the Army for investigating the matter, but demands accountability of the Jordanian government for the murder of his son.  “The government of Jordan lied to the world, immediately claiming that our sons failed to stop at the gate. When the FBI confirmed that the video showed that as a lie, the Jordanians then claimed there had been an ‘accidental discharge’ by one of the Americans. That was also proven to be a lie. Now the Jordanians claim there was a loud noise. Again, the video refutes that,” Moriarty said, referring to CCTV footage of the murder which is being withheld from the public due to an ongoing FBI investigation.

Moriarty closed his statement by saying, “our government gives Jordan more than a billion dollars each year in foreign aid. The American public is told that the government of Jordan is our ‘ally.’ This incident raises some troubling questions about that relationship – especially when you consider that no Jordanian has accepted any responsibility for these murders – for four months. Nor has any Jordanian stated, officially or otherwise, what truly happened. As for the foreign aid for Jordan, I say, ‘No more.’ Enough is enough.”

(Featured image: Sergeant Lewellen and his parents. courtesy of the families.)