pull some strings to keep this "investigation" open!"
Posted on 02/24/2005 9:30:14 AM PST by TexKat
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Marine Corps' commandant said an investigation was still open into the actions of a Marine who was captured on videotape killing a wounded Iraqi at point blank range during November's assault on Fallujah.
General Michael Hagee denied a CBS News report Wednesday that investigators have concluded there is insufficient evidence to charge the Marine.
"That report is not correct. The investigation is still ongoing. There has been no decision one way or the other," Hagee said at a breakfast with defense reporters.
Once the investigation is completed it will go to the US combatant commander, General John Abizaid, he said.
The November 13 shooting occurred during a search of a mosque in a widely broadcast incident that sparked worldwide outrage and was described by the International Committee of the Red Cross as a demonstration of "utter contempt for humanity."
But Hagee said that email he has received from members of the public has expressed "strong support for the individual marine, and we ought to do nothing on that."
He said the volume of email he had received on the matter was high compared to the response to other incidents.
In the incident, a trooper raised his rifle and shot point blank at an apparently unarmed, wounded Iraqi who was slumped against one of the mosque walls, in footage captured by an embedded cameraman working for the NBC network.
Although the insurgents were found to be unarmed, investigators said the one the Marine believed he had seen moving could have been reaching for a weapon.
The rifleman was withdrawn from combat pending the results of the investigation, but the graphic footage enraged many, months after the scandal over US troops' abuse of inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison.
The raid on Fallujah, part of an attempt at reclaiming key lawless enclaves across the country ahead of January elections, has been the largest military operation in Iraq since the March 2003.
BTT!!!!!
bump to the top
Thanks for the ping.
This really sucks! I just read and responded to yesterday's thread about this. Thought it was all settled. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1349751/posts
No way. Bad sign. BTW, where is Cpl. Hassoun? Does anyone know?
By the time I responded to your ping, Ros, this update came across the wire. The case is not closed, according to the Marines. It should have been closed right after the mission in question. But, thanks to Kevin Sites (don't forget that name!), it became an "incident."
I'm not a betting woman. ;-]
Bump!
Clarification: it enraged many of the sissies and wimps on the left who hate America and our military to begin with. Red-blooded Americans were thankful this Marine took such quick action perhaps preventing his death and the death or injury of others.
Thanks for the ping guys. This shouldn't even be an issue or have an in-depth investigation going on. I'll bet there are many Marines in the field right now thankful that there are brothers-in-arms like him watching their back. I know I'd be grateful for his quick thinking actions and would be honored to serve with him.
What's embarassing is that this matter wasn't settled in about a week. The Marine involved in this incident is owed a rapid conclusion to this incident, one way or another.
I'm of the opinion that there's plenty of evidence to believe he acted under the belief the lives of himself and his fellow Marines were at risk. There's certainly not enough evidence for someone who wasn't there to conclusively find otherwise.
Just saw O'Reilly saying he wasn't gonna be charged...
Thanks for pings! So which bonehead at CBS gave the go ahead for this story THIS TIME? geeze!! That Marine should have been cleared along time ago!! @#$%$%@&*..there I feel better now...:)
How ironic that Hagee would defend Lt. Gen. James Mattis, for saying it was "fun to shoot people"...yet he can't clear a Marine that did it in an actual life and death situation??
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A three-star Marine general who said it was "fun to shoot some people" should have chosen his words more carefully, the Marine Corps commandant said Thursday.
Lt. Gen. James Mattis, who commanded Marine expeditions in Afghanistan and Iraq, made the comments Tuesday during a panel discussion in San Diego, California.
"Actually it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot," Mattis said, prompting laughter from some military members in the audience. "It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up there with you. I like brawling.
"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil," Mattis said. "You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."
Mattis' press office has not yet responded to a request to answer questions about his comments.
However, the Marine commandant, Gen. Michael Hagee, defended Mattis, calling him "one of this country's bravest and most experienced military leaders."
Let them keep investigating. I told them to put me back in my U. S. Air Force uniform and court martial me with him because my finger was on that trigger too. I mean it!
I remember this story, but didn't realize he was the same General. I hope he is defending this one behind the scenes as much as he defended Mattis.
Told my heathens (squad): "You shoot them until they quit moving. Then, when you run past them, you shoot them twice in the head just to be sure."
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