Posted on 06/13/2007 9:30:23 AM PDT by RedRover
For the summary of the previous hearing for Capt. Randy W. Stone, click at the link.
For the main thread for the current hearing for LCpl. Justin Sharratt, see here.
Wow! Red, you do great work pulling all the info together in one place. Thanks for keeping us informed.
Thank for staying on top of this !!!!!.....
Excelent summary on the hearing for LtCol Chessani, Red. Thanks for posting.
You da’ man! That was an awesome summary of facts. Can you teach the media outlets how to do that?
Wow! Thank you so much for that compilation of media reports! Excellent work!
Marine Officers Strategized Their Haditha Responses
NPR / Morning Edition, June 12, 2007
A document entered into evidence in hearings related to the killing of Iraqi civilians in Haditha in November of 2005 reveals that Marine officers in charge of the squad in question met to discuss how they would handle a reporter's questions about the episode.
After a Marine was killed in Haditha by a roadside bomb, 24 Iraqi civilians were slain in three houses being cleared by a Marine squad. Staff Sgt. Frank Wutterich, who led the squad that day, has been charged with unpremeditated murder.
Hearings on the case against Wutterich and others are under way at California's Camp Pendleton.
Neither Wutterich's battalion commander nor anyone else in the Marine chain of command saw any reason to investigate the civilian deaths, even though several women and children were killed in their homes.
In January of 2006, Time magazine reporter Tim McGirk sent a series of questions to the military asking what had happened in Haditha on the day of the killings, Nov. 19, 2005.
Officers of the battalion in charge of the platoon and squad involved met to discuss their response to McGirk's questions. The notes that emerged from their meeting show how the Marines hoped to shape the story — and to prepare the officers to answer McGirk's questions.
It is unclear which one of the officers wrote a synopsis of their meeting, which was provided to NPR.
McGirk never went out to Haditha to interview those directly involved. He has said that his editors thought it to be too dangerous. Some of the Marines involved in the incident feel that it was unfair for him to file his story without talking to them.
Sgt. Wutterich told CBS's 60 Minutes that he made a logical guess that fire was coming from the houses they cleared. No one in the Marines' chain of command has testified that they saw any reason to suspect that a law-of-war violation had occurred.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the battalion commander, was charged with dereliction of duty for failing to properly report and investigate the incident.
Camp Pendleton is also now hearing pretrial motions on a case prompted by the alleged execution of a 52-year-old Iraqi man by a Marine squad in Hamdania.
Yes, I agree.
save
Marine Combat Commanders Give Dramatic Testimony In Support of Lt. Colonel Chessani During Haditha Hearing
ANN ARBOR, MI – Perhaps the most dramatic point in the Article 32 Hearing of Lieutenant Colonel Chessani ─ overlooked by the media ─ was the testimony of LtCol David Furness who declared that if the Marine Corps is going to second-guess its combat leaders by sending them to criminal trials, then this is not an organization he wants to be a part of.
Furness, who had four combat tours in Iraq, two as a battalion commander and two as a senior staff officer, testified that under the circumstances as they existed in Iraq in 2005, the decisions that LtCol Chessani made were appropriate. LtCol Furness provided a refreshing dose of reality to the proceedings, putting LtCol ChessaniÂ’s actions and decisions in the appropriate context of combat. He warned the Investigating Officer that this case could have a long-lasting detrimental effect on future battalion commanders.
In addition to LtCol Furness, LtCol Jeff Kenney, one of the most respected combat veterans in the Marine Corps gave powerful testimony in favor of Chessani as did Major General Johnson in command of the Multi-National Forces West.
Kenney, a combat veteran with 32 years of service in the Marine Corps—twelve as an enlisted Marine and twenty as an officer—testified about his experience in Iraq. In 2005-2006, he was assigned as an advisor to the Iraqi forces that were supporting U.S. troops in the region, including those that supported LtCol Chessani’s battalion. As part of his duties, LtCol Kenney often toured Haditha, providing him an opportunity to observe LtCol Chessani first hand.
Based on his observations, he testified that LtCol Chessani was a focused commander who led his Marines from the front, often placing himself in personal peril by doing so. He testified that LtCol Chessani and his Marines were respected by the local civilians and that they were having tremendous operational success in a very difficult area of operations. LtCol Kenney also provided unique insight with regard to insurgent tactics, specifically including the insurgentsÂ’ use of IEDÂ’s (roadside bombs) to initiate complex attacks from residential areas.
LtCol Kenney spoke from personal experience—his tour in Iraq ended abruptly when his vehicle was hit by an IED containing three 155mm artillery shells and other explosives. LtCol Kenney received near fatal wounds and was awarded the Purple Heart. It was a miracle that he survived the tremendous blast; his companions were not so fortunate.
The sworn testimony of Major General Johnson was introduced to show that he was most concerned about the coordinated attack the enemy was able to perpetrate.
Said Johnson, “I guess maybe if I was sitting here at Quantico and heard that 15 civilians were killed, I would have been surprised and shocked and gone—done more to look into it. But at that point in time, I felt that that was—had been, for whatever reason, part of that engagement and felt that it was just a cost of doing business on that particular engagement.”
Major General Johnson went on to say, “I think that the way this is laid out is that the impression that we were dealing with is that these folks were hit as a result of this coordinated attack that occurred there in Haditha, in that particular incident. That it was reported and that while it is regrettable, I think it was probably considered that at that time an element of the circumstances; and that our thought process would have been that, hey, if the enemy hadn’t done it, those people wouldn’t have got killed.”
Several other witnesses testified that LtCol Chessani was not derelict in his duties and appropriately reported the events of November 19, 2005 regarding the Battle of Haditha to his chain of command. There were also a great many witnesses that testified as to LtCol ChessaniÂ’s good military character and honesty.
The most universal tribute to LtCol Chessani from these character witnesses was that he is a godly, Christian man, with great moral and physical courage.
Thomas More Law Center attorney Rob Muise delivered a powerful and impassioned closing argument on behalf of LtCol Chessani. Afterwards, Muise explained, “I wanted to focus the Investigating officer’s attention on the context of November 19, 2005. Decisions are not made in a vacuum. LtCol Chessani’s battalion had intelligence that told them they were going to be attacked by foreign fighters a couple days before they were actually attacked on November 19th. When they were attacked on November 19th, LtCol Chessani was not surprised. He had to marshal his forces to repulse a brutal enemy that uses women and children as cover and concealment in order to attack and kill Marines.”
Muise also focused on the fact that there were in fact many terrorists in the town that were observed by unmanned aircraft above. There were several engagements that day that were initiated by an IED that killed a Marine and wounded two others. Throughout the day, LtCol Chessani coordinated counterattacks and evacuation of wounded—friend and foe a like. Follow-on intelligence confirmed that the November 19, 2005 attack was the complex attack that LtCol Chessani expected.
Brian Rooney, a Thomas More Law Center attorney also involved in the Hearing, observed, “Rob demonstrated that every level of LtCol Chessani’s chain of command was kept informed of what happened that day and how it happened—including the tragic deaths of civilians that the terrorist used as human shields. That same day, Regimental commanding officer Colonel Stephen Davis, Division commanding General Richard Huck, and even General Casey knew that women and children had been killed as a result of terrorist activities in Haditha.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center who observed several days of the Hearing commented, “Rob and Brian did an outstanding job defending LtCol Chessani. They spent over two weeks at the Camp Pendleton Hearing and were able to shed much needed light and clarity on this misguided prosecution.”
The Investigating Officer will have at least two weeks to write his report to Lieutenant General James Mattis recommending what action should be taken. General Mattis is not bound by this recommendation, but it would be highly unusual if he did not follow it. LtCol Chessani could face a general courts-martial as a result of this Article 32. A general court-martial carries with it the possibility of 3 years in jail and a dishonorable discharge.
Thanks for this release, Red.
It is pathetic that the MSM cannot be bothered with taking the time and making the effort to report at least some of the testimony from experienced combat officers who testified in defense of LTC Chessani. These are men who have actually walked the walk and know under what conditions our military has to operate.
This is only one reason many refer to the MSM as the enemedia. They manipulate the news by omission, embellish the points that support their agenda and out and out lie which in turn rallies the masses to inappropriately believe that which is not true.
Thankfully that pathetic reporting will not affect the decisions of the IO’s in these cases, at least it hasn’t as yet.
Daily Dispatch of LtCol Chessani - Awaiting a Decision
As many of you know from reading our "Daily Dispatches" from the LtCol Chessani Article 32 Hearing, we concluded the hearing on June 11, 2007. One of the strange nuances of an Article 32 Hearing is that the Investigating Officer - in this case Col Conlin - is allowed up to two weeks or more (for good cause) to submit his recommendation to Lt Gen Mattis.
Another nuance is that both the defense and government have an opportunity to submit further written matters on objections that came up during the Article 32. We have received the government's submission and we are in the process of submitting ours, which is due by the close of business today.
Col Conlin will have all matters submitted to him for review today. After today, Col Conlin will write his report. Col Conlin has intimated that he will have his report done by the end of next week.
By rule, Col Conlin must give a copy of his report to both the government and defense counsel at the same time he gives it to General Mattis. General Mattis then can decide either to follow the recommendation of Col Conlin or not. It would be highly unusual for General Mattis not to follow the recommendation of Col Conlin, but the rule does allow for this different course of action.
The recommnedation could be for any number of things to include the following: not bring any criminal charges against LtCol Chessani, take LtCol Chessani to general courts-martial, or deal with these charges administratively - not criminally (there are a number of administrative things that could occur; for example, a Board of Inquiry, punitive letter of caution, etc).
We at the Thomas more Law Center have asked Col Conlin and are hopeful that he will recommend dismissal of all criminal charges. In one of the companion cases involving LtCol Chessani's battalion judge advocate, Captain Randy Stone, the Investigating Officer recommneded dismissal of all criminal charges because the government did not meet a probable cause showing. Captain Stone was charged with the exact same charges LtCol Chessani is charged with.
In another companion case involving one of the actual shooters, LCpl Justin Sharrat, the Investigating Officer - in an unusual move - said to the government, during closing arguments, that their theory of the case did not match the evidence. He further stated that he was inclined to believe LCpl Sharrat acted properly and that he would be recommending dismissal of the charges - to include the murder charge.
We have come a long way from the scandolous remarks of Congressman John Murtha and the yellow journalism of Tim McGirk and Time Magazine. The truth of November 19, 2005 is finally coming out. The support of people like yourselves has in no small way allowed this to occur. We at the Thomas More Law Center have been able to put forward such a robust case because of prayers and contributions you have given to us for LtCol Chessani.
The fight is not over. We still may have to press forward at a general courts-martial. The politics surrounding this case are great. It is truly a "David versus Goliath" battle, but we are confident in the end we will win.
As soon as Col Conlin issues his report, the Thomas More law Center will inform you. Thank you and God Bless you for your contniued support and prayers.
Excellent. Thank you for passing that along.
The waiting has to be just awful for LtCol Chessani and his family. God bless them all.
Lord, let this be over soon.
Thanks, Red. I appreciate the TMLC being open and informative as they have been throughout this process.
This, the common theme to all the individual cases would have been obvious from the start, especially to a pile of "journalists" who had the entire 10,000 page case to cherry pick from.
Murtha/WAPO/Time KNEW the 3/1 was ambushed, and hid the facts while they ambushed them again.
Coordinated/complex attack indeed.
BTW, I've been meaning to ask; didn't the suitcase filled with passports the NCIS "lost" also used to be filled with cash?
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