Report: Marines may have foiled evidence (AP parrots NYT)

NEW YORK - U.S. Marines involved in the killings last fall in Haditha of two dozen Iraqis, most if not all of them civilians, appear to have destroyed or withheld evidence, The New York Times reported.

Pages from an official company logbook of the unit involved in the deaths were missing, and an incriminating video taken by an aerial drone was not given to investigators until a top commander asked for it, two Defense Department officials told the newspaper. The Times posted the story on its Web site Thursday night.

The Pentagon officials said a report about the Haditha killings does not directly accuse Marines of attempting a cover-up, the newspaper said. The report, based on an investigation by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell, has not been made public.

The Pentagon officials told the Times that the report faulted officers in the 2nd Marine Division for not aggressively investigating the Haditha killings and concluded that the commanders created a climate that minimized the importance of Iraqi lives.

No charges have been brought in the Haditha killings. They immediately followed a roadside bombing on Nov. 19 that killed a Marine lance corporal.

Initially, the Marine Corps reported that 15 Iraqis had died in the bombing or were killed in crossfire between Marines and insurgents. Survivors of the encounter and human rights groups, however, claimed that 24 Iraqi civilians had been deliberately shot to death by Marines.

The Haditha incident is among recent cases of alleged killings of Iraqi civilians. Five soldiers and a former soldier have been charged in the alleged March 12 rape-slaying of an Iraqi teenager and the killings of her relatives in Mahmoudiya. Seven Marines and one Navy corpsman have been charged with premeditated murder in connection with the killing of an Iraqi man in Hamdania on April 26.

U.S. Marine Pfc. Aaron Privett of Muncie, Ind., of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment patrols through a field in Haditha, Iraq, Friday Oct. 7, 2005. For some Marines in 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment from Camp Pendleton, California, this hectic pace is how they prefer life. But for others, many on their third tour in Iraq in as many years, the demands of life these days in the overstretched U.S. military is just too much, regardless of the plum bonuses being dangled in front of them. (AP Photo/Antonio Castaneda)

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) (L) is seen on Capitol Hill February 16, 2006. A Marine suspected in the killing of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, will sue Rep. John Murtha for libel after the war critic made public comments about the case and accused the serviceman of murder, attorneys said on Wednesday. (Larry Downing/Reuters)

http://www.irey.com/

HELP

http://www.bootmurtha.com/

Smart kid.

Hayden Malloy, 3, shies away from U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., left, as he enters a campaign stop for Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell in Carrolltown, Pa. on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2006. A Marine Corps sergeant under investigation in connection with the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha is accusing Rep. John P. Murtha of defaming him in public comments about the case. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Help the 'Pendleton 8' and their families.

Charity for the Pendleton 8. Click here. Mailing address available only now, paypal within the week.

Ongoing Coverage: Hamdania
FRom the North County Times

The 'Pendleton 8': A look at the 7 Marines and Navy corpsman charged in Hamdania incident
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1670877/posts

VIDEO-Camp Pendleton demonstration for Marines
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1655852/posts

Marine families wait and worry; (Frustrations, anger expressed by relatives of Pendleton 8)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1671948/posts

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Attorney: Col. visited ‘Pendleton 8’ before announcing charges
Navy Times article - 07/28/06

Accused troops' supporters busy fundraising - Hamdaniya / 'Pendleton 8' defense funds ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1654104/posts

Dozens rally at Camp Pendleton gates(24 June 2006) ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1655341/posts

Military justice under spotlight in Hamdania case - 'Pendleton 8' - 7 Marines, 1 Navy Corpsman ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1655333/posts

Lawyers for Marines, medic plan counterattack in Iraq murder case - Hamdaniya - 'Pendleton 8' ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1656712/posts

FREE REPUBLIC EXCLUSIVE: DIRECT INFORMATION ON THE 7 MARINES AND SAILOR HELD FOR MURDER
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1659084/posts

Defending the accused: Many attorneys in Hamdania case practiced law .. in military - 'Pendleton 8'
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1659351/posts

Letter reportedly from accused servicemen expresses thanks(Camp Pendleton 8)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1660140/posts

Delay is likely for (Camp)Pendleton(8) hearings
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1668925/posts

Attorneys for accused troops say Marine Corps hampering defenses
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1669976/posts

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Some of the familes and supporters of the 7 Hamdaniya Marines & a Navy Corpsman, now charged with multiple criminal offenses, have setup web sites for use in accepting donations for legal defense funds or sending notes of encouragement and support to the detainees and their families.

Cpl. Robert Pennington
http://www.defendrob.com

PFC John Jodka
http://www.innocentmarine.com

Tyler Jackson
http://www.fightingfortyler.com

Cpl. Marshall Magincalda
http://www.defendourmarine.com

Cpl. Trent Thomas
http://www.defensefundformyhero.com

Lance Cpl Jerry Shumate
http://friendsofjerry.blogspot.com/

Hospital Corpsman Third Class Melson J. Bacos
http://patriotdefensefund.com/

Other sites supporting the men:

http://www.defendthetruth.com

http://www.warrior-fund.org

If your financial situation permits, please help as you can to cover legal representation costs.

Thanks!

"U.S. Marines involved in the killings last fall in Haditha of two dozen Iraqis, most if not all of them civilians, appear to have destroyed or withheld evidence, The New York Times reported."

Thousands of civilians in Iraq have been killed by terrorists, dozens are killed each day. How about finding and killing those terrorists now instead of wasting time on this?

If a fair investigation shows they did it then they deserve to pay both for having disgraced their army and country and for having put their comrades lives in danger with the anger this has stirred up.

That said, they haven't been proven guilty yet and commentators shouldn't go jumping the gun...

How do they know they were all civilians????? Because someone said so?? These Marines were in a town that was KNOWN to be a hotbed of terrorists, one of their Humvees was blown up by an IED, one Marine killed, one seriously wounded. They received fire and shot back, entering the buildings to either kill or capture the terrorists. We KNOW for a fact that the terrorist use human sheilds, we also KNOW for a fact that the terrorists do not wear uniforms and blend with the population and there are many instances where the civilians in these towns are very sympathetic and therefore collaborators. We KNOW that the town leader never said anything regarding this incident in meetings with the security forces after this occured. Nothing was said until the Time reporter started questioning what happened. If the correct response to being blown up and taking fire is to run, then we shouldn't be asking our soldiers to be put in any situation where they cannot defend themselves. They are soldiers not babysitters. Until they come up with unrefutable proof that these Marines went into that building guns blazing and shooting everyone in sight, I will stand by their right of self defense.

...concluded that the commanders created a climate that minimized the importance of Iraqi lives.

Wrong...

Iraqis, perhaps more correctly Islam, under whose Sunni and Shiite banners senseless bombings and death squads have killed and/or maimed more of each other, non-cambatants in particular, than all the US combat operations combined, have created the climate that minimizes the importance of other Iraqis lives.

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