Posted on 12/21/2006 11:03:18 AM PST by areafiftyone
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A Marine Corps squad leader was charged Thursday with 13 murder counts stemming from the killings of 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha last year, his attorney said.
Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich was charged with 12 counts of murdering individuals and one count of murdering six people by ordering Marines under his charge to "shoot first and ask questions later" when they entered a house, according to charging sheets released by defense attorney Neal Puckett.
As many as eight Marines could be charged in the case, the biggest U.S. criminal case to emerge from the war in Iraq in terms of people killed.
The deaths occurred on Nov. 19, 2005.
Lawyers for two Marines already have said they expect their clients will be charged and it’s believed up to six others could join them.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Yes, I certainly do.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1010/p04s01-woiq.html
[Rules of Engagement] Vary from war zone to war zone
Rules of engagement tell troops when they can apply force. They can vary from war zone to war zone, operation to operation, and even mission to mission. They're usually set by "combatant commanders" - those in charge of an entire region, such as Gen. John Abizaid, head of US forces in the Middle East. But some rules must be approved by the secretary of Defense or even the president.
In conflicts like the one in Iraq, applying the rules can be difficult, especially when troops must make split-second decisions. Sometimes, the rules even allow troops to shoot at civilians, if they can't be distinguished as such and appear to pose a threat.
(Diana here: If the ACLU and Human Rights Watch are behind this, then our guys MUST be guilty. Yeesh! Follow the money, Honey! I know General Abizaid from various military schools I've taken through the years. He is an honorable man and an awesome leader. The Socialists hope to have his head on a platter before this is through. And THAT will be a d@mn shame. No wonder he wants out in March '07. He sees the handwriting on the wall. This is the TIP of the iceberg as far as these "trials" go.)
You've been added fm, welcome.
Marines find insurgency's deadly tools in Haditha - October 7, 2005
"US Marines and members of Iraqi Special Forces on Thursday uncovered a sizable weapons cache hidden in a shrine and yard adjacent to a mosque in east-central Haditha... and continued to uncover deadly buried roadside bombs. The city itself is almost literally an improvised explosive device (IED) field."
"...the route in front of the mosque was being swept for mines when the unit was hit by an IED... Discovered a second IED with a detonation cord leading to the mosque... The unit hit by the IED reported seeing a male fleeing from the scene." (this is a little over a month prior to the incident currently under investigation. Remember the "innocent males" in the taxi who ran from the Kilo Co. soldiers??)
Red, is this site linked to yours?
How many dead men?
How many dead men?
Oh, you can start with Al Mas.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=RNWE,RNWE:2005-01,RNWE:en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=al+mashadani+haditha&spell=1
Thank you.
If these are just "innocent civilians," why do some of them have aliases?
Thank you for posting those...(I think).
Hi B. Hang in there.
Do you have a link for that?
Perhaps you should refrain from commenting then. I spoke in a general way before given a general and casual understanding of the facts.
The question as it appears to me now, is did misreporting the incident constitute a specific intent to coverup a crime that was in fact committed with premeditation as retaliation for events prior in the day. You don't need a specific amount of time to hit "premeditation." Nor do the actions have to be carefully planned in advance. That is something that can be revealed in an investigation. But should an investigation take place at all? Especially at the urging of the American media who love the idea of military murderers running amuck and smearing the good name of the United States.... (hurl alert)! If the media wants a circus it will not benefit the war effort and war is an UGLY thing....we all agree. Will putting these troopers on trial serve the best interests of our country or work against those interests?
As for whether or not the commanders should have known...unless they were there....no, of course not. It's not called the fog of war for nothing. If the leadership is experienced and reliable, you must trust them and give them the discretion to act reasonably under the circumstances.
Semper Fi ma'am.
Got the link, thanks.
Hat tip to pinkpanther111. Here's the link.
http://www.usmc.mil/lapa/Iraq/Haditha/Haditha-Preferred-Charges-061221.htm
From the Vets for Irey and Boot Murtha website:
MURTHA NEWS
Murtha News Archive - click here
EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA!
MURTHA WON? GUESS AGAIN!
Dec. 21, 2006...While the world watched (and Murtha partisans gloated), John Murtha won his 17th election back in November. Many of us were disheartened that we didn’t beat him, but we knew that we had won a moral victory in greatly lowering his usual margin of victory.
There was a morale up-tick last month when, on a national news program, Murtha blamed a bunch of “outsiders” for his difficulties in being elected House Majority Leader by his fellow Democrats. He said they came to his district and “swiftboated” him! Yessiree—that was our group of dedicated veterans!
Then we were further gratified when the corrupt old geezer was resoundingly defeated for the Majority Leader post by Cong. Steny Hoyer (D-MD). Some of us thought that our war had been won, despite losing the November election. VFTT members were significantly encouraged by this news, knowing that their efforts had not been in vain.
But there’s more! Just today we have learned that the House Ethics Committee is actively investigating Murtha’s wheeling and dealing with Paul Magliocchetti Associates, or PMA, his favored lobbyists. And guess what? The Justice Department is also aware of these goings-on, as is a major newspaper!
Murtha is dead meat as a House leader of any sort, or so says our “Congressional” source providing this information. Stating, short of a full Justice Department investigation, a very real likelihood, that the BEST Murtha can expect is to be censured by the House of Representatives and stripped of his soon-to-be chairmanship of Defense Appropriations, and emphasized that this information came from “the highest sources,” adding that, it was only after the removal of Congressman Mollohan -- ranking Democrat on the Ethics Committee and CLOSE friend of Murtha -- that the Committee was able to go forward with an investigation. Mollohan is under investigation on corruption charges.
Speaker-elect Pelosi and Majority Leader-elect Hoyer are aware of what is happening, but it is not known if they are actively involved in uncovering Murtha’s corruption. Given Pelosi’s close relationship with Murtha (she openly supported Murtha’s bid for Majority leader), this certainly raises questions about her covering for Murtha’s dirty dealings? “Our” source suggests that VFTT members write letters and e-mails to Pelosi and Hoyer reminding them that we have previously written them about Murtha and nothing has been done—not even answering our communications.
Pelosi’s e-mail address is: sf.nancy@mail.house.gov;
Hoyer’s is: www.hoyer.house.gov/contact/email.asp.
Let ‘em know what you think! And, perhaps more importantly, write/e-mail your own congressperson, asking why it is taking so long to root out Murtha’s corruption.
In the meantime, stand by for breaking information…
(http://bootmurtha.com/)
Standards for transliterating Arabic script into the Roman alphabet are not universal (for example, Khadafy/Khadaffi/Qadafi, Osama/Usama). Different translators use different standards, mostly depending on where they studied Arabic. If more than one translator worked on the documents, then they probably generated more than one transliteration of the decedent's name.
Sad is right.
And how many Marines and soldiers will hesitate in a dangerous situation because of the threat of being criminally charged later. Our troops need to be able to do their job and protect themselves and each other. This makes me so mad!
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