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GOP Reps. try to prevent discharge of Green Beret who beat up alleged rapist

By Andrew V. Pestano
Army Gen. John Campbell recently rejected claims the Pentagon has a policy of ignoring sexual abuse committed by Afghan officials. On Wednesday, two Republican House Representatives introduced legislation for the reinstatement of a Green Beret discharged for his role in beating up an Afghan alleged child rapist. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
Army Gen. John Campbell recently rejected claims the Pentagon has a policy of ignoring sexual abuse committed by Afghan officials. On Wednesday, two Republican House Representatives introduced legislation for the reinstatement of a Green Beret discharged for his role in beating up an Afghan alleged child rapist. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Two Republican House Representatives have called for the reinstatement of a Green Beret discharged for his role in beating up an alleged child rapist while on duty in Afghanistan.

Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland and former Capt. Daniel Quinn were disciplined by the Pentagon after an incident in September 2011 when they assaulted an Afghan police official who allegedly tied up a boy to his bed and used the child as a sex slave.

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Quinn has since left the military, but Martland is scheduled to be dismissed Nov. 1.

The two House GOP representatives, Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, issued a nonbinding resolution on Wednesday calling for Martland's reinstatement.

"Driving Sgt. Martland out of the Army for standing up for American values is a national disgrace," Buchanan said in a press release. "Now is the time for the U.S. House to demand Sgt. Martland be reinstated for his honorable actions in defense of innocent children."

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential election, asked the Pentagon how it plans to combat abuse within the Afghan military.

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"So long as Americans are expected to fight for the security of the Afghan government, the United States has every right to demand that such action be taken, and if the Afghan government proves unwilling to take the necessary action, then the United States should do so itself or be willing to withdraw our Service Members from this appalling situation," Cruz wrote in a letter to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.

The Pentagon recently rejected claims it has a policy of ignoring sexual abuse committed by Afghan officials.

"I personally have served multiple tours of duty in Afghanistan and am absolutely confident that no such theater policy has ever existed here, and certainly, no such policy has existed throughout my tenure as commander," Army Gen. John Campbell, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

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