Posted on 07/12/2007 6:30:18 PM PDT by RedRover
Hearing fact sheet
The hearing is scheduled to commence July 16, 2007.
The accused, LCpl. Stephen Tatum, was 25-years-old at the time of the incident, and was on his second combat tour. In 2004, Tatum fought (along with LCpl. Justin Sharratt) in the "House from Hell" in Fallujah .
Preferred Charges and Specifications:
Charge I: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 118 (Unpremeditated murder)
(Maximum punishment: such punishment other than death as a court-martial may direct. [Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, confinement for life])
Specification 1: did murder Noor Salim Rasif.
Specification 2: did murder Zainab Unes Salim.
Charge II: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 134 (Negligent Homicide)
(Maximum punishment: Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, confinement for 3 years)
Specification 1: did unlawfully kill Abdul Hameed Husin Ali.
Specification 2: did unlawfully kill Guhid Abdalhamid Hasan.
Specification 3: did unlawfully kill Asmaa Salman Rasif, also known as Asamaa Salman Rasif.
Specification 4: did unlawfully kill Abdullah Waleed Abdul Hameed, also known as Abdullah Waleed Abdul.
Charge III: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 128 (Assault)
(Maximum punishment: Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 8 years)
Specification: did commit an assault upon Eman Waleed Al Hameed and Abid Al Rahman Waleed Al Hameed.
Convening authority: Lt. Gen. James Mattis, commanding general for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Forces Central Commander for Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa.
Investigating officer: Lt. Col. Paul J. Ware.
Defense counsel: Jack B. Zimmermann (civilian attorney); Lt Col. Matthew Cord and Maj. Jeffrey Muñoz (military attorneys)
How the incident in this house occurred according to the media:
Josh White in the Washington Post (January 6, 2007):
[After the IED was detonated] Wuterich, Salinas, Tatum and Lance Cpl. Humberto M. Mendoza formed a team to attack the house, launching grenades first and then busting through the door.
"I told them to treat it as a hostile environment," Wuterich told investigators. "I told them to shoot first, ask questions later."
Defense attorneys have argued that the men were following their "rules of engagement" when they shot into the homes, using effective techniques in a difficult environment....
After entering the first house through a kitchen, Tatum told investigators, he heard what he believed was an AK-47 rifle being "racked," or readied to fire, around a corner. He and Salinas tossed grenades into the room, according to the documents. Waleed Hasan, 37, was killed. Khamisa Ali, 66, was shot dead in the hallway before four others were killed in a bedroom by grenades and rifle fire.
Nine-year-old Eman Hamed told investigators that a grenade landed near her grandfather's bed and exploded, sending shrapnel through the room. Her mother and 4-year-old brother were killed as she huddled, injured, with another brother, Abid, 6, who survived. "All rooms," Abid told investigators. "They were shooting in all rooms."
Several Marines said they quickly cleared the home by fire, shooting through the dust, debris and darkness to eliminate what they believed was a threat.
From there, Wuterich, Mendoza and Tatum said, they moved to a second house after suspecting that insurgents might have escaped. Mendoza told investigators that the Marines approached the second house the same way they did the first, treating it as hostile, according to his sworn statement. Mendoza said he shot a man, 43- year-old Yunis Rasif, through the house's glass kitchen door.
"I fired because I had been told the house was hostile and I was following my training that all individuals in a hostile house are to be shot," Mendoza told investigators. The Marines then entered the house and tossed grenades before firing into a back bedroom, which they later found was filled with women and children.
"Knowing what I know now, I feel badly about killing Iraqi civilians who may have been innocent, but I stand fast in my decisions that day, as I reacted to the threats that I perceived at the time," Tatum said. "I did not shoot randomly with the intent to harm innocent Iraqi civilians."
What to expect at the hearing: The prosecution will hit hardest on the action in house number two. They will argue that the Marines should have stopped to reconsider their tactics after seeing that civilians were killed in house number one.
The greatest weakness of the prosecution's case is that it is largely built on witness testimony, tape recorded in Iraq. Nearly all such testimony was discounted in the LCpl. Sharratt hearing and will undoubtedly be so again.
The only witness to the events in house number two is 13-year-old Safa Younis. She gave wildly different accounts to the media about what happened that morning. If inconsistencies don't disqualify her as a witness, her desire for revenge should. Regarding the Haditha Marines, she told CNN, "I want them to be tortured and killed. And I want them to leave our country."
Hey Hey Dela Cruz your mama is lucky she didn't need your SGLI to pay for a funeral. Was this the ping of shame?
No, it doesn't. Seems to me that the prosecutors are trying to get a conviction on the basis of Tatum being a bad Marine.
But all of it is easily overcome.
In the Sharratt case, LCpl Prentice, LCpl Casiday, LCpl Graviss, LCpl Wright, HN3 Lopez, and HN3 Whitt ALL gave incriminating testimony against Justin and none of it mattered.
And none of those Marines and hospitalmen had the motive to lie that Mendoza has.
As e-mailed, please help Don find post 30 above.
I want to know how he knew there were just women and children in the room. I want him to say he went into the room to check without firing.
In the middle of a firefight he walked into an unknown room unannounced. Not flippin’ likely. He’s lying.
Tatum should simply say, “He did not say there are ‘women and children’ and he should say, ‘I didn’t reply “shoot ‘em”.’ if that did not happen.
If he did say something similar, he should clarify, “Mendoza was just guessing, because he didn’t walk into that room. He didn’t take a head count. He didn’t count noses. He was basing what he knew simply on SOUND. PLUS, he had no idea if they were armed, BECAUSE other women and children had fired or been human IEDs. The rules called for us to clear a room. Period. And I wanted to make it home. But not in a body bag for some stupid mistake of not clearing a room.”
Yeah, this is the first time we have heard this and I don’t believe it. ‘Course we don’t know if Mendoza is lying or if the AP is lying about Mendoza’s testimony.
Well said.
We also don’t know how smart Mendoza is. Methinks he’s not an idjit ; ) This is far from over. Let’s not crucify him.
PING to Post #30.
It can also lead to lots of “typed up testimonies” lying around that “accidentally” get mixed up with the case file.
Very good points, both of you. Girl, you know I loooove your brain!
Don Dinsmore is back to Camp Pendleton for the LCpl Tatum hearing!
Don was en route today and so he missed today's testimony but I filled him in. He's going to find the Tatum family, on what could rank as one of the worst days of their life, and give them support.
Don should be there through Friday so I hope we'll get better info than can be had through the media. As usual, there will be things better left unposted, so people can also get on my e-mail distribution list by e-mailing me at WarChronicle@Verizon.net.
WOO-HOO! Don’s on the job! He’s a good man to give the Tatum family some much deserved support. Don’s reporting should be a breath of fresh air, hopefully providing more of the total picture.
Don Dinsmore is back to Camp Pendleton for the LCpl Tatum hearing!
OK Red - I’m trying not to jump headfirst with my emotions but Mendoza’s testimony (as reported) just doesn’t add up. According to previous reports grenades were tossed into the rooms in both houses before firing. How in the world could Mendoza have known BEFORE shots were fired in the houses that it was only women and children?
As far as DelaCruz’ testimony...How does a conversation in January 2006 relate to the events of November 19, 2005?
And 24 markings? Maybe Tatum was a Jeff Gordon fan.
Something stinks here and it’s not my husband’s socks...
Geez Louise I’ve got a headache... Any news from testimony during defense questioning?
Why is the MArine Corps intent on criminalizing mistakes in battle?
Yes indeed...
We certainly are not getting the total picture now!
Those “typed up testimonies” are not only part of the case file, they were offered as evidence during the hearing today. They weren’t signed by Tatum. They could have said anything.
I’ve noticed more and more references to NCIS’ habit of not taping “interviews” in media reporting on these cases - And that the “interview reports” are questionable since there’s no proof. Also there have been instances where those statements have later been denied by the interviewee. NCIS is getting a reputation.
All very good points, Chaplin. Hopefully the IO can understand.
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