I’ll update the summary later. But since the North County Times lost interest in this story, I feel like we’re flying blind.
Officer in Haditha Case to Speak
Associated Press, June 9, 2007
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- After being advised to open an inquiry into the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians by Marines in the town of Haditha, witnesses say, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani responded with outrage, shouting "My men are not murderers!"
On Saturday, it was Chessani's turn to testify with an appearance before a military court conducting a preliminary hearing, called an Article 32 hearing under military law.
An investigating officer will determine at the conclusion of the hearings whether Chessani will stand trial on charges of dereliction of duty and violating a lawful order for failing to investigate the deaths of the men, women and children.
Chessani, 43, is the most senior of seven Marines of seven charged in the case, and the highest-ranking Marine officer charged since the start of the Iraq war. He faces up to three years in prison if convicted.
After his outraged outburst about his men, he apologized and agreed to review the slayings, testified Maj. Samuel Carrasco, operations officer at the time for the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, to which all of the Marines belonged.
Attorneys for Chessani, from Rangely, Colo., have said he reported the facts as he understood them at the time, and saw no violation of the laws of war.
The two dozen people were killed as a Marine squad went house to house looking for people responsible for a roadside bombing that killed one Marine and injured two others.
The Marines have said they believed they were coming under fire from the houses, and they used fragmentation grenades and machine guns to clear the homes.
Character witnesses called Friday and early Saturday described Chessani as a leader who stayed calm under pressure and was admired by his troops.
Three other officers are also charged with dereliction of duty, and three enlisted Marines are charged with murder. All belonged to the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.