Posted on 03/11/2007 3:38:43 PM PDT by RedRover
Well, somebody's got to take the fall for Col. Davis, Col. Watt, Lt. Gen. Chiarelli, and Maj. Gen. Huck!
Lt. Grayson and Capt. Stone are both on the hook for failing to fully tell the higher ups why there should have been an investigation.
Lieutenant Grayson was the Intel officer. According to the North County Times, he is accused of dereliction of duty after he allegedly "willfully failed" to ensure that the incident was fully investigated and accurately reported up the chain of command. He also is accused of making a false official statement and obstructing justice, a charge that specifically alleges he wrongfully endeavored to impede an investigation.
Captain Stone was the 3rd Battalion's staff legal adviser. According to the North County Times, he was charged with violation of a lawful order for allegedly failing to ensure accurate reporting and a thorough investigation of a violation of the law of war.
Thanks for reminding me about order and priorities in the case. Silly me.
Captain Stone...charged with violation of a lawful order for allegedly failing to ensure accurate reporting and a thorough investigation of a violation of the law of war.
So he's getting charged for not agreeing the incident was a violation of the "law of war", and therefore didn't ensure someone else investigated the incident? Or more simply, he's getting charged for not trusting those around him.
I wonder if the terrorists know about the "law of war"? Do you think they penalize themselves when they violate self-imposed "laws of war"? Maybe they want to win their war.
Any idea how many JAG's have been charged with anything in Iraq?
Human Rights Advocates Not Satisfied with Haditha Charges
Aaron Glantz
OneWorld US
Fri., Dec. 22, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 22 (OneWorld) - Human rights groups reacted with skepticism Thursday after military prosecutors charged eight Marines in the November 2005 killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in the western Iraqi town of Haditha.
The squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, was among four Marines charged with murder. The other four soldiers charged were not believed to be present during the killings but were accused of failures in investigating and reporting the deaths.
"In these [U.S. military] courts, there is no voice for the victims," said Dr. Salam Ishmael. The Baghdad-based head of Doctors for Iraq was in Haditha last November when American soldiers allegedly went house-to-house killing two dozen civilians, including a 66-year-old woman and a 4-year-old boy.
"Not one of the victims' families is represented," he added. "No lawyer from the victims' families is represented. So you can see the basic idea of justice and fairness is actually not available."
Dr. Salam Ismael says many Iraqis would like to see the American soldiers brought to trial in Iraqi courts--a position shared by the country's elected prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has demanded an end to the immunity U.S. soldiers currently enjoy under Iraqi law.
"Why are you afraid of being ruled by the law of the country that you're supposedly trying to liberate?" he asked rhetorically. "That's the question--it's a simple question I would like to ask the American people."
International human rights groups have a different concern. They note that since the September 11th attacks five years ago, no officer above the rank of major has been charged in connection with torture or the abuse of detainees in U.S. custody.
In the Haditha case, the highest-ranking officer charged is a lieutenant colonel, who faces the relatively minor charge of dereliction of duty.
"Why isn't he being charged as a principal in the murder that the enlisted personnel are being charged for?" asked Human Rights Watch's John Sifton.
"The issue here is preventing future abuse from occurring and the best way to do that isn't to go after low-level enlisted personnel," Sifton said. "It's by sending a message to the officer corps that they need to prevent [abuses] and that's not going to happen if you just give officers a slap on the wrist."
Dr. Salam Ismael says the military needs to investigate more than the specific events that occurred in Haditha. He points to the current situation in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi, where locals have asked the U.S. military to move their posts outside the city limits.
"There are three check points and nobody can go around them. It makes lots of people more miserable," he said. "Fighting is continuous. For about two weeks there were attacks near the hospital in the city itself and many of our doctors said they could not get their patients--many of them women and children--out of the city."
The Pentagon did commission a separate investigation into how the military command structure allowed the Haditha massacre to occur and go unpunished until it was revealed by a Time Magazine article months later.
The details of that investigation, headed by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell, remain secret. But Bargewell told reporters earlier this year that while there appeared to be no cover up, senior Marine commanders failed to investigate when confronted with conflicting information.
According to journalist and foreign policy analyst Rahul Mahajan, "the entire ambiance in al-Anbar province was and still is such that this kind of atrocity was quite likely to happen--and when it did happen it could easily be ignored."
"Those kinds of things can't happen at low levels of the military," he said. "You're talking about large numbers of troops and so you're talking about command level staff."
June 16, 2006: The report by Maj. Gen. Bargewell into training and preparation of Marines prior to the Haditha incident and the reporting of information concerning the incident is forwarded to Lt. Gen. Chiarelli, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. The report finds no evidence of a cover-up, but instead finds that officers failed to ask the right questions or press the Marines about what happened.
August: Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the incoming commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Calif., is briefed on the Haditha investigative report by officials from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Mattis will convene with his lawyers to determine whether charges should be filed.
CYA bullmurtha.
HELL OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
bump THAT, pink!
Apparently NO EVIDENCE is not good enough anymore.
Apparently NO EVIDENCE is not good enough anymore.
In my opinion, the NCIS is the most abusive police organization in this country. After numerous scandals and congressional inquiries, the NCIS continues to routinely violate the rights of sailors and Marines and continues to operate outside of the restrictions of either constitutional or professional standards. This case is perhaps the most egregious example of the NCIS culture and practices. However, it is not unique.Ironically, the unconstitutional and abusive tactics used by the NCIS in this case not only undermined any legal case but defeated any legitimate search for the truth. After triggering an espionage investigation, NCIS agents found that they had no evidence and no spy. Rather than admit to a colossal blunder, these agents continued to interrogate a sailor for 19 and 20 hour sessions for 29 days. When no evidence was available to support their catastrophic misjudgment, they sought to create evidence. The NCIS manufactured a theory of espionage without foundation and then took steps to compel statements to support that theory.
Ronald Kessler, Moscow Station displays an NIS botching the espionage investigation--a brouhaha concocted by the KGB to cover their Ames/Hanssen issues.
The U.S. Naval Academy electrical engineering exam scandal ca. 1993-4 was another chance for them to fingerpaint in their poo, smearing the innocent, missing the boat, which, in the Navy, is kind of the point.
Our midshipman was saved by the intercession of a professor-emeritus of Brooklyn Law explaining how the cow ate the cabbage.
That the NCIS has taken the enemy's propaganda and run with it ought to place its pertinent personnel in Leavenworth--there is no place in wartime for the enemy's useful idiots.
That President New Tone has again failed to demand justice (in a parallel universe to the Ramos-Compean travesty) indicates it's time for an SOB.
Gates is no use in the SecDef seat--a spook who wants to negotiate with Meinkampfinejad--
It's the Caine Mutiny with Queeg running the court martial.
The NCIS is acting the part of the asshole internal affairs officers on the CSI and Law & Order series--if only they were acting.
Ignorance and arrogance in portions not seen since Waco.
Praying for a miracle; calling Senator and Congressman and 1-202-456-1111 (White House Comment Line) to demand one.
U.S. Marines are Reynald de Chatillon and Templar Bastards,
Haditha is unprotected Muslim Caravan.
Somewhere's later in this movie ...Richard the Lion Heart will appear,
Then Saladin will get his ass kicked!
Is it really this difficult for New Tone to keep focused on whats important?
Or has the base been brooding over too many Chi Coms throwing money around the back yard [South America] to Fascist's.
Maybe Pat Buchanan is hinting at that during his right seat moment on Mclaughlin group....and thats why the South Am trip just occured.
Hopefully Gates is not Balian of Ibelin.
Iran gets Iraq - log march out into the dust after Crusaders lose interest in Jerusalem of Oil.
This movie is getting confusing....and I'm wanting to fast forward to the battle scene's where Richard kicks the crap out of Saladin.
Terrific! That's the Readers' Digest condensed version. ;)
Since we quoted from the Daniel King case, here's a little more:
..."While most police departments moved away from a confession emphasis in investigations after Miranda, the NCIS continues to place an inordinate emphasis on interrogation and continues to engage in to trick or coerce confessions from sailors and Marines. As discussed below, NCIS agents are trained in interrogations with the use of a manual that construes virtually any response to a criminal allegation as evidence of guilt. According to the interrogation manual for the NCIS, an individual who denies an allegation or expresses a concern over his future is viewed by the NCIS as indicating guilt and beginning a confession."....
This is the Hamdania (Pendleton 8) case. I don't think there was much physical evidence. All of the pleas were based on confessions after "heavy-handed techniques". The last three standing will be convicted based on these confessions from the previous pleas.
In Haditha, I hope no pleas muddy the waters.
And that is where our hope for an eventual happy ending for these Marines comes into play. I am hoping general Mattis is going to get so pissed off over this whole affair to simply say enough is enough and stop the proceedings and acquit any charges/sentencing.
From your lips to Lt. Gen. Mattis's ears, Marine_Uncle. Again, could not agree more.
More news on this:
http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=180325
Never heard of this site before... A few comments too!
It must be a submariner site based on the comments.
Congrats you have crossed over to the Silent Service.
When Lt. Pantano was accused, he asked himself if he should fight. He had volunteered to serve his country. Would going to jail, so that Iraqis knew he was punished, be a service?
He decided to fight, obviously, but it's a really interesting question.
Would the Haditha Marines serve their country by pleading guilty and accepting punishment--even if they know they are innocent?
The reason to raise this question is to try and understand the political nature of the charges against the Marines. I believe that that therein lies the reason for Mattis' actions.
What do you guys think?
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