Haditha Article 32: LCpl. Stephen B. Tatum

Defend Our Marines ^ | July 12, 2007 | David Allender

[Girlene]

Did the agent look like this in the staring contest?

[Girlene]

AND HERE IS OUR OBSERVER IN THE STARING CONTEST

[lilycicero]

YOU WIN!!!!

[RedRover]

WELL DONE, GIRLENE!!! But now your secret’s out! You HAD to have been there!

[lilycicero]

I did notice she was gone all day. Hmmm, you may be right.

[Girlene]

Nope, I wasn’t there. Thankfully, though, there were eagle eyes on the scene, observing and watching NCIS agents pull their stunts. Imagine how many Marines and Sailors have been subject to their hijinks in less high profile cases. Unbelievable.

[RedRover]

Yes, it truly is unbelievable that servicemen and women are treated like this.

Either SECNAVY Winters is kicking the can down the road for his successor to deal with or he’s working behind the scenes to clean this mess up. I can’t believe he thinks NCIS is doing just fine.

[pinkpanther111]

No way this observer could lose!

[lilycicero]

Maybe it’s you.

[freema]

Catch up ping.

[ticked]

thanks!

[Chickenhawk Warmonger]

red - has Eagle Eye One (my new nickname for your observer thanks to Girlene’s picture) said anything about Ware and his reactions during this testimony?

[Girlene]

Yes, Red. Chick and Girl want to know what Eagle Eye 1 is thinking about the IO.

[RedRover]

Eagle Eye One thinks the IO is very sharp and isn’t letting anything go by. Much pointed questioning of the NCIS agents.

The grapevine, by the way, is saying Tatums’s case will go to a court martial. The feeling is that Mendoza’s testimony is strong enough to see to that—but not strong enough to lead to a conviction.

I hope to have more from EEOne later this morning.

[Chickenhawk Warmonger]

The defense needs to do a little more “vetting” of Mendoza - something is really hinkey there and I don’t buy his statements. I appreciate his service but that doesn’t give him a pass when he makes such volatile and damning statements in a “less than truthful” manner.

Can you refresh those of us not knowledgable in the ways of military courts - if the IO recommends it to trial what happens then? Would Tatum be already considered court-martialed based on sending the case further up the system?

[RedRover]

A squib in the San Diego Union Tribune, July 20, 2007

Pretrial hearing on 2005 Iraq massacre continues

CAMP PENDLETON: A pretrial hearing continued yesterday for Marine Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, who is accused of helping to massacre 24 people in Haditha, Iraq, in 2005. Among yesterday's witnesses were an Air Force medical examiner and several agents from the Navy Criminal Investigative Service.

Prosecutors contend that Tatum and two other enlisted Marines killed civilians as an act of revenge after a fellow Marine was killed by a roadside bomb. Tatum's lawyers say the Marines were acting in self-defense.

The officer presiding over the hearing, Lt. Col. Paul Ware, will eventually recommend whether Tatum should undergo a court-martial. If Tatum is tried and convicted of murder, he faces life imprisonment.

Testimony is scheduled to continue today.

[RedRover]

Although it is usually followed, the IO’s recommendation is just a recommendation.

It works like this.

After the hearing concludes, the IO’s written determination (along with all the hearing transcripts and appended material from the defense and prosecution) will go to Gen. Mattis’ staff legal advisor for review. Then the general makes a final decision.

In the LCpl Sharratt case, the IO recommended dismissal, but it is still possible (though not at all likely) that Gen. Mattis could order Sharratt to a court martial.

Same will be true here. No matter what the IO recommends, the decision belongs to Gen. Mattis (with advice from his legal staff).

[RedRover]

The hearing will continue into next week.

EagleEyeOne just reported to base. As you know, EagleEye arrived Tuesday--just missing the Mendoza and Dela Cruz testimony. To his dismay, there has seen nothing but a steady stream of NCIS agents ever since.

Today will finish up another NCIS agent followed by two more agents tomorrow.

EagleEye will be packing it up and heading for home Sunday.

The testimony next week could be more interesting. Among others scheduled to take the stand is photographer Lucian Read.

[Girlene]

Here's another article about day #2 and Mendoza's testimony from the Washington Post by Sonya Geis. Witness Testifies Marine Knowingly Shot Children in Haditha

Snip from the article...Mendoza, testifying under immunity, pointed at a large diagram of an Iraqi house where his squad killed men, women and children on Nov. 19, 2005.

Mendoza said that he did not feel threatened in the house, even though he killed two men as the squad moved through the area clearing homes. In the second house they entered, Mendoza said, he stayed in the kitchen while the rest of the team moved inside. After several minutes of quiet, Mendoza said he ventured down a hall to a room with a closed door.

Inside, he found a bed with two women and four or five children on it. "They were scared," Mendoza said. He backed out of the room and told Tatum what he found. But Tatum told him to shoot the women and children, Mendoza testified.....

....Tatum then entered the room, Mendoza said. Mendoza heard rifle fire and later saw all of the occupants dead, he said.

This testimony, again makes no sense. These houses weren't that large. Mendoza claims he stayed in the kitchen, the rest of the team was moving around inside for several minutes. Then, he goes to investigate the back bedroom. Where were the rest of the guys? Were they all in the bathroom taking a smoke break? He testifies as if he was alone in the house to discover the women and kids, then the Marines, or at least Tatum, magically appear again after his discovery. If you look at the diagram, the bedroom where the women and children were killed is a straight shot down the hallway from the entry point of the kitchen.

[RedRover]

Thanks, Girl. BTW, I abandoned the idea of posting EEO's notes as a separate entry. They didn't stand on their own that well. So I'm now weaving them into our usual kind of summary. It's in progress here.