Marine Charged With 13 Civilian Murder Counts (Haditha)

MSNBC ^ | 12/21/06

[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.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

This is so much BULLSH*T! Watch our Marines get railroaded on this deal.Disgraceful.Charging murder in a war zone is like handing out speeding tickets at the INDY500.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Bigtime

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Good for you.I only wish i would have been with you when you did.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

You can indict a ham sandwich so this is no surprise.

[freema]

Maybe he was confused and thought he was speaking of jihadis.
/sarc

[Non-Sequitur]

You can indict a ham sandwich so this is no surprise.

Yeah but if you convict the ham sandwich then it was guilty of something.

[freema]

Marine Lance Cpl. Edward Schroeder, left, and Lance Cpl. Christopher Dyer, far right, and unidentified Marines patrol through the city of Kubaysah in 2005 in western Iraq. Dyer and Schroder, members of 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, were killed, along with nine other members of 1st Squad, in a roadside bombing near the city of Haditha on Aug. 3, 2005. This picture was provided by Capt. Christopher Toland, 3rd platoon commander. (AP Photo/Christopher Toland) A Marine watches over the casket of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Timothy M. Bell Jr., 22, during public visitation at Lakota East High School in Liberty Township, Ohio, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2005. A slideshow plays pictures of Bell in the background. Bell, who was assigned to the Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, died Aug. 3, when his vehicle was hit by an explosive during combat operations south of Haditha, Iraq. (AP Photo/The Journal-News, E.L. Hubbard) Battalion Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Robert R. Kosid and Battalion Sgt. Maj. Sgt. Maj. Bryan P. Ward from 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion patrol through a palm grove near the market in Barwana, Iraq, on Tuesday Oct. 4 2005.The U.S. military is waging two major offensives in Anbar, one at the Syrian border, the other around the town of Haditha, about 225 kilometers (140 miles) northwest of Baghdad to drive out al-Qaida in Iraq militants. Commanders are promising to finish the assaults in time for the voting to allow residents to go to the polls. (AP Photo/ Lance Cpl. Shane S. Keller, US Army HO) Marines from 3rd Platoon, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and soldiers of the Iraqi Security Forces patrol the streets of Haditha, Iraq while in search of insurgents on Tuesday Oct. 4 2005.The U.S. military is waging two major offensives in Anbar, one at the Syrian border, the other around the town of Haditha, about 225 kilometers (140 miles) northwest of Baghdad to drive out al-Qaida in Iraq militants. Commanders are promising to finish the assaults in time for the voting to allow residents to go to the polls. (AP Photo/ Cpl Kevin N. McCall, US Army HO) U.S. Marines and soldiers uncover roadside bombs hidden underneath a pile of boulders in the courtyard of a large Sunni mosque in Haditha, Iraq, on Thursday Oct. 6, 2005. Marines said a roadside bomb had struck a humvee near the mosque and trigger wires from the blast site led to the mosque, which also contained dozens of grenades, explosives, and guns hidden near a shrine. No one was injured in the bombing. (AP Photo/Antonio Castaneda) U.S. Marines and soldiers look at a large weapons cache that was discovered buried in the courtyard of a large Sunni mosque in Haditha, Iraq, on Oct. 6, 2005. Marines said a roadside bomb had struck a humvee near the mosque and trigger wires from the blast site led to the mosque, which contained several roadside bombs ready for use and dozens of grenades, explosives, and guns hidden near a shrine. No one was injured in the bombing. (AP Photo/Antonio Castaneda) An Iraqi farmer tells a U.S. Marine, left, and an Iraqi soldier, right, that he has no illegal weapons caches on his land in Haditha, Iraq, on Oct. 6, 2005, as his family listens around him. U.S. Marines and Iraqi troops searched for illegal weapons through palm tree groves and miles of fields as part of the latest operation in western Iraq to uproot insurgents. (AP Photo/Antonio Castaneda) A U.S. Marine from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment monitors a grove of palm trees and fields near the Euphrates River in Haditha, Iraq, on Friday Oct. 7, 2005.(AP Photo/Antonio Castaneda) Here is a picture of my good friend Miguel "TJ" Terrazas. When my husband & I were just dating, we used to hang out at the barracks with TJ. He was definitely a genuinely good person to be around and he always made anyone smile. He will be greatly missed and always honorably remembered. Thank you for remembering him along with some other friends of mine & my husbands (ie: LCpl Tyler Troyer, etc.) Sincerely, Jessica Riemann Proud Wife of USMC Cpl. Nicholas Riemann Proud Daughter of USMC MGYSGT Anthony Ramirez (Retired) www.iraqwarheroes.com/terrazas.htm Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas' aunt, Elizabeth Hance-Terrazas sits in the room where he lived at his grandparent's El Paso, Texas, home Tuesday, May 30, 2006. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

[freema]

Guilty of being an ass.

[Sword_Svalbardt]

It shows the inferior quality of leadership derived in "college" from the officer community. I'd take the hit with my men, and let it ride.

SS

[Non-Sequitur]

Guilty of being an ass.

If that's what the charge was. There have been innocent men sent to prison and guilty men let free but for the most part the system works. If these marines are innocent of the charges then I expect that the court martial will exonerate them. If they did what they are accused of then I expect they'll be found guilty. Either way it's up to the court to decide and not the people on this forum.

[Just A Nobody]

"I spoke out and talked about the necessity for a timely and complete investigation. This investigation has led to the preferring of court martial charges against certain individuals and now the judicial process will move forward."

Funny, I do not recall murtha speaking out FOR a "timely and complete investigation" into the incident. What I recall is that he convicted them of murder in the court of public opinion from The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer which aired May 19, 2006, when he said, "they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."

Also from that program:
Murtha: When this thing's all over, you're going to see exactly what I've said to be true. That, there was an IED attack, it killed one marine, and then they overreacted and killed a number of civilians without anybody firing at them. That's what you're going to find out.

[Yep Johnny boy, it is turning out "exactly" the way YOU "said to be true." What a coincidence!]

BLITZER: The marines say they're still investigating. They don't know what happened yet. The pentagon says the same thing. How do you know what happened?

MURTHA: Wolf, you read the "Time" magazine articles. There are pictures, there are photos. You don't have to talk to the military about the proof. But you will see when the investigation is done that this was an overreaction by our troops

According to an article by the infamous Tim McGirk of Time on May 19, 2006:
In January, after Time presented military officials in Baghdad with the Iraqis' accounts of the Marines' actions, the U.S. opened its own investigation, interviewing 28 people, including the Marines, the families of the victims and local doctors. According to military officials, the inquiry acknowledged that, contrary to the military's initial report, the 15 civilians killed on Nov. 19 died at the hands of the Marines, not the insurgents. The military announced last week that the matter has been handed over to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (ncis), which will conduct a criminal investigation to determine whether the troops broke the laws of war by deliberately targeting civilians.

Also..... In early February, McGirk presented this evidence to, and asked for comment from, Lieut. Colonel Barry Johnson, U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad. Johnson viewed the VCD, listened to the accounts and responded straightforwardly, "I think there’s enough here for a full and formal investigation." Army Colonel Gregory Watt was dispatched to Haditha to conduct a three-week probe in which he interviewed Marines, survivors and doctors at the morgue.

So, show me where murtha had anything to do with the investigation.....other than convicting our Marines based on a Time article.

[jpsb]

Bull! More PC Bull Sh*t from a government that should know better. We are screwed as long as our leaders are liars and cowards.

[freema]

Thanksgiving with the Taliban
http://www.time.com/time/nation/printout/0,8816,185644,00.html
That was then.

This is now.
Christmas with murtha

[RaceBannon]

All officers are going to be allowed a chance to apoligize in writing and resign.

The enlisted will be hung from the yardarm.

[jazusamo]

Either way it's up to the court to decide and not the people on this forum.

That is a true statement. It is also true to say that a Congressman Jack Murtha was not in a position to say they were guilty of cold blooded murder on national TV on May 17, 2006. I might add a corrupt and lying Jack Murtha.

At the time he said he received the information from "unnamed" DOD sources at the Pentagon. When asked about his sources at a later date he implied he got the info from General Hagee at a briefing he got from him. Murtha did have a briefing with General Hagee, the only thing was that it happened about a week after his TV appearance with Chrissy Matthews.

Now what you have said on this thread is basically true but you keep saying how fair the military justice system is. If that system is so fair, why did a sitting US Congressman come out and publicly say these men were guilty of murder 4 or 5 months before the investigation was completed? I didn't see anyone from the Marine Corps or anyone else in an official capacity come out and criticize Murtha for that and it was plain he was using it for his political advantage.

I believe most people on these threads are aware that people that are guilty of cold blooded murder should be punished and that the legal procedures will determine that. It might be well for everyone if you give it a rest, you have made your point.

[Non-Sequitur]

If that system is so fair, why did a sitting US Congressman come out and publicly say these men were guilty of murder 4 or 5 months before the investigation was completed?

If you can't see the difference between a loud-mouthed congressman and the military justice system then I honestly don't know how to help you.

[jazusamo]

I really didn't expect a much different reply from you.

[freema]

Jaz, maybe you could introduce NS to that other poster who likes to disrupt. NS has stated not only that charges should be preferred, but a conviction would be in order, for a ham sandwich that was guilty of being an ass.

[jazusamo]

Yes, freema. The officiousness of some people is astounding. The loud-mouthed congressman the Naval officer referred to is also a retired ex-Marine officer, is it me or does that say something?

[RedRover]

You could make a highlowlight reel of all the times Murtha prejudged this case on national TV. For instance, see post 281.

"One woman…was bending over her child, pleading for mercy, and they shot her in cold blood. That's the thing that is so disturbing," Mr Murtha told ABC television at the time.

Was Murtha's source Time magazine's interviews with jihadists?