Posted on 08/15/2007 4:26:28 AM PDT by Abathar
INDIANAPOLIS -- A Marine reservist from Indiana has been charged with murdering an Iraqi army soldier in Fallujah, an attorney said Tuesday.
Lance Cpl. Delano Holmes, 21, of Indianapolis, is accused of stabbing Munther Jasem Muhammed Hassin to death as the two men stood watch at a security post on Dec. 31, 2006, Holmes' lawyer said.
The struggle began in the pre-dawn darkness after Hassin allegedly opened his cell phone then lit a cigarette at the post, attorney Steve Cook said.
The men were not supposed to display any illuminated objects because of the threat of sniper fire, and Holmes made repeated attempts to make Hassin extinguish the cigarette, Cook said.
"(Holmes) said 'No, no,' but the Iraqi soldier refused to put out the cigarette," Cook said. "Holmes knocked it out of his hands and they started wrestling on the ground."
Holmes thought Hassin was reaching for his loaded AK-47, so the Marine killed him with his bayonet then radioed for help, Cook said.
Holmes faces charges of unpremeditated murder and making a false official statement, and has been in the Camp Pendleton brig since Feb. 23, Cook said.
Cook said his client was acting in self defense.
"Lance Corporal Holmes is not guilty of the charges and he intends to prove that at trial," Cook said.
Holmes was arraigned July 31 but reserved his right not to enter a plea.
A message left with a Camp Pendleton Marine spokesman was not immediately returned Tuesday night.
The attorney said he waited until now to go public about his client's case because he was hoping the Marines "would do the right thing" and drop the charges.
Holmes' court-martial is set to begin Dec. 3., said Cook, a former federal prosecutor in San Diego.
Holmes enlisted in the Marine reserves in May 2004 and was on his first deployment in Iraq, Cook said. He is from the 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, based out of Lansing, Mich.
Hassin allegedly opened his cell phone then lit a cigarette at the post,
Who knows, this could have been some sort of signal from the I/S, maybe it was best the Marine took him out. Just sad that he is in the brig and has been since late feb.
So, if the Iraqi soldier was disobeying orders by smoking and using his cell phone, which could draw enemy sniper fire and thus endanger the American soldier’s life, and then when told to extinguish the cig he instead went for his gun, further endangering the American soldier’s life... I just don’t see the problem.
Looks like the US soldier was following orders and practicing self-defense to me. It also looks like the Iraqi soldier was deliberately trying to draw enemy fire. But since everything these days is backasswards from what it should be, with US border patrol agents being charged with murder and jailed, while illegal immigrant criminals are released scott free....I’m not surprised.
Nothing makes sense any more....except biblical prophecy.
that guy badly needed to be killed, putting the marine in danger of sniper fire as he did!!
If the Marines keep this up how long will it be before it starts hurting morale, reenlistment and recruiting rates?
What is with the Marines filing charges against their own for folllowing orders to protect soldiers and territory?
Smoking on guard duty AND using a cell phone? I would have stabbed the SOB myself.
This has got to start hurting morale soon, it’s nothing more than pandering and appeasement to those who hate us anyway.
This is BS!—Here we go again. The JAG Corps wants to make themselves indispensable. They have intimidated lower Officer Ranks into passing something up when it should have been reviewed and dumped at the Regiment level.
There’s a saying for that in Texas. “He needed killin’.”
The Marines of Iwo Jima would not recognize the Marine Corps of today. What has happened to the “elite” of the US military? Unbelievable.
That place must really be crowded with some fierce warriors. Now what would have happened to him if Iraqi soldier was sending a signal and he let it slide? He would be in the brig for conspiracy.
Send treats to the troops...
Great because you did it!
www.AnySoldier.com
This makes me so f’ing angry! Asswipe Iraqi got what he deserved. Instead of prosecuting this guy, they should use this incident as a key learning point when training other Iraqis ... follow orders and don’t put others at risk.
Can you believe that this Marine is in the BRIG??? What the heck for? Confined to base, I can understand (sort of). There are absolutely no standards to these decisions about confinement.
Reminds me of a lawyer joke, to wit:
Cinderella and her fairy godmother were standing together looking at the ground at a pumpkin, some mice, and a steaming pile of s***.
The fairy godmother says, "I will turn the pumpkin into a beautiful coach to take you to the ball, I will turn the mice into handsome stallions to pull the coach, and the pile of s***, that will be your lawyer.
The DIFFERENCE is in the leadership and the HIGHLY charged political atmosphere of todays Corps.
How do you think the Marines of Iwo would do with todays ROE and an enemy in the media that thinks “Pulitzer” every time an enemy feels his self esteem or religion has been insulted.
Hmmm?
Based on the charges, the brig does not seem wholly unjustified. The Marine started a fight wherein an Iraqi was ultimately killed. You just can’t beat up a guy because he’s smoking and talking on his cell phone. If that puts you in danger, that’s what the chain of command is for.
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