Marine Says Rules Were Followed [Haditha]

Washington Post ^ | 6/11/06 | Josh White

[saquin]

A sergeant who led a squad of Marines during the incident in Haditha, Iraq, that left as many as 24 civilians dead said his unit did not intentionally target any civilians, followed military rules of engagement and never tried to cover up the shootings, his lawyer said.

Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, 26, told his attorney that several civilians were killed Nov. 19 when his squad went after insurgents who were firing at them from inside a house.

[...]

A corporal with the unit leaned over to Wuterich and said he saw the shots coming from a specific house, and after a discussion with the platoon leader, they decided to clear the house, according to Wuterich's account.

"There's a threat, and they went to eliminate the threat," Puckett said.

[...]

Although it was almost immediately apparent to the Marines that the people dead in the room were men, women and children -- most likely civilians -- they also noticed a back door ajar and believed that insurgents had slipped through to a house nearby, Puckett said.

[...]

At one point, they saw a man in all-black clothing running from one of the houses they had searched. The Marines killed him, Puckett said.

They then noticed another man in all black scurrying between two houses across the street. When they went to investigate, the Marines found a courtyard filled with women and children and asked where the man was, Puckett said.

When the civilians pointed to a third house, the Marines attempted to enter and found a man with an AK-47 inside, flanked by three other men; the first Marine to enter tried to fire his weapon, but it jammed, Puckett said. The Marines then killed those four men.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Bump and ping.

[CindyDawg]

It's really a shame that our military is having to justify doing their job.

[Coop]

More details that differ greatly from Mr. Murtha's account of that day.

[Pox]

That's probably the most thorough accounting of the incident I've read to date.

I'm very interested in what the investigations will conclude.

[FreedomPoster]

This thing is looking more and more like a mediaops setup by our enemies.

[Mr. Mojo]

....went after insurgents who were firing at them from inside a house.

Using women and children as "human shields."

It's what terrorists do.

[Dialup Llama]

This is a clear explanation of what happened. The video from the two person Hammurabi Human Rights organization is self serving fiction produced by people opposed to the US mission in Iraq. Its a false narrative imposed over video taken well after these events transpired. Some in congress and in the media took this narrative as a record of the actual events.

[FlingWingFlyer]

It is starting to appear as though my suspicions about this so-called "massacre" were correct. The insurgents (some being family members) were in that house. They set up the IED. After the IED was detonated, the Marines returned fire at the house and the so-called "civilians" were either killed in the crossfire or murdered by the insurgents as they departed.

[JoanneSD]

I pray this account is accurate, and if it is we should all phone Murthas office non stop..day and nite, fill his voice mail to the brim..

[nmh]

And the truth trickles out ...

"A four-man team of Marines, including Wuterich, kicked in the door and found a series of empty rooms, noticing quickly that there was one room with a closed door and people rustling behind it, Puckett said. They then kicked in that door, tossed a fragmentation grenade into the room, and one Marine fired a series of "clearing rounds" through the dust and smoke, killing several people, Puckett said."

"The Marine who fired the rounds -- Puckett said it was not Wuterich -- had experience clearing numerous houses on a deployment in Fallujah, where Marines had aggressive rules of engagement."

"Although it was almost immediately apparent to the Marines that the people dead in the room were men, women and children -- most likely civilians -- they also noticed a back door ajar and believed that insurgents had slipped through to a house nearby, Puckett said. The Marines stealthily moved to the second house, kicking in the door, killing one man inside and then using a frag grenade and more gunfire to clear another room full of people, he said."

Marines are NOT mass murderers. They were simply doing their job. With gun fire coming out of the house, who would expect less? It's war. People die. Sometimes innocents die too. This is one of those situations.

What disgusts me the most is the additional stress put on our military for DEFENDING THEMSELVES and DOING THEIR JOBS. Marines are a class act.

[bybybill]

Mr. Murtha, Home Depot has a sale on rope.

[rolling_stone]

Sounds like the Marines followed the rules and it was a job well done. War is Hell, better them than US.

[Lancey Howard]

Although it was almost immediately apparent to the Marines that the people dead in the room were men, women and children -- most likely civilians -- they also noticed a back door ajar and believed that insurgents had slipped through to a house nearby, Puckett said.

WOW!!! Okay, I've been waiting to hear from this sergeant. The Haditha hoax is unravelling faster than Zarqawi's colon.

[Enchante]

HADITHA PING! Sounds like Murtha will really be shown to have gone off the deep end slandering our Marines, but more importantly all of the jihad-journalists who have been flogging this issue without the real facts need to FRY.

[tiredoflaundry]

Thanks for the ping Coop.

[Lancey Howard]

(( ping ))

[Mrs. Darla Ruth Schwerin]

Sounds like Murfa is about to eat some rotten crow...

[Chieftain]

The Haditha hoax is unravelling faster than Zarqawi's colon.

That line is a WINNER!!

[onyx]

Thanks for the ping.
Different from Murtha's claims.