CLICK PACE TO KEEP PACE WITH HADITHA
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 ...
I wish you could hear me laughing.
Shoot. The water was boiling. 'Twas in Texas, you see : )
More, better, that they were able to say this, is knowing it must be seared, seared into his memory.
Agree. He's a scapegoat for his commanding officers and ultimately Rumsfeld and Bush.
How so? His commanding officers have also been charged. How would he be a scapegoat for President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld?
Here are the thread highlights for posts 351 to 505.
First, you MUST go to post 462 and read Just A Nobody's post about John Kerry's visit to Walter Reade!
Profiles and Articles of the Eight Accused
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, post 469
Captain Lucas McConnell, post 429
Captain Randy W. Stone, post 444
1st Lt. Andrew A. Grayson, post 442
SSgt. Frank D. Wuterich, post 454
Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz, post 430
Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, post 445 and post 449
Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, post 494
Additionally, there's a profile of General James Mattis, tough but fair, post 392
What’s Ahead
Stars and Stripes on the preliminary hearing process and when these trials are likely begin at post 383
“Haditha defense seen focused on battle chaos”, post 417
“Haditha case highlights legal questions”, post 472
Commentary
Uncle Jimbo comments on “Hadita Revisited” at Blackfive: post 386
Must reads--“Unraveling Haditha”, “The REAL Haditha”, and blog entries at post 383
Other threads
Viewpoint: Breaking Haditha [“Taliban Turkey” Tim McSquirt Finds the Marines GUILTY!]
Haditha Marine Home for Pa. Christmas
Meanwhile, in that wonderful place of Haditha…
Site Institute is reporting, “Ansar al-Sunnah Announces the Graduation of its Sniper Brigade in Haditha, and Claims Responsibility for Bombings Targeting Iraqi Forces”, post 440
Want highlights for posts 1-350? Click at the link for the First Summary Ping.
In other news, the Defend Our Marines web page is up-to-date! And lots more has been added to the Defend Our Marines Picture File.
Please keep the posts and bumps coming. The families know we’re here.
Thanks to pinkpanther111 and jazusamo!
Thanks for the pings, Phil! Informed Freepers make a powerful force for good.
Another excellent job on the summary, Red.
And a Merry Christmas to you and yours.
BTW, I see this thread is off the sidebar so we'll need to decide whether to start a second main thread the next time there's breaking news. These summary posts come in extra handy when there are new threads.
Taking a break from wrapping(that or fall asleep) ping to Post #506.
By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles
Lawyers for eight Marines charged with involvement in the massacre of Iraqi civilians in Haditha 13 months ago have warned that they will point the finger much further up the chain of command if it means preventing their clients from being scapegoated.
"We're going to drag every single, two-star and full-bird colonel and general into this thing," said Kevin McDermott, a California-based lawyer representing Captain Lucas McConnell, the commander of Kilo Company, which carried out the Haditha killings. The defence lawyers say their clients were following official policy on the rules of engagement.
In all, 24 Iraqis including six children, several women and an old man in a wheelchair, were killed in Haditha as the Marines responded to the death of a colleague in a roadside bombing in November 2005. Only five of the dead Iraqis have been identified as militants, while the rest appear to have been innocent civilians.
Four Marines were charged with unpremeditated murder last week, and face life imprisonment if convicted. The man who led a series of deadly house-to-house raids that day, Staff Sgt Frank Wuterich, is personally accused of murdering 12 people. Four others, including Capt McConnell, face an array of lesser charges, including failure to report the incident properly, failure to conduct an appropriate investigation and general dereliction of duty.
Many critics have argued that the Haditha incident might have been written off as business as usual, were it not for graphic Iraqi documentation of the massacre that made its way into Time magazine last spring. The military initially claimed, erroneously, that the roadside bomb killed 15 of the Iraqis, and nominated Staff Sgt Wuterich for a medal for bravery.
Responding to the charges against his client, Mr McDermott said the top brass was well aware of what had happened, but condemned it only after it became glaringly public. "A lot of lieutenant colonels and colonels and generals knew what happened that day, and nobody said, 'let's do a thorough investigation of what happened'," he said. "By the end of the day, [my client's] superiors recognised the situation was so significant that they brought in air support.
"There were Harriers dropping 500lb bombs on buildings. If they're dropping 500lb bombs without knocking on the door first, how can you argue the troops on the ground did anything wrong?"
He is charged first, so that they can pressure others in his team to testify against him.
A month later, only four of the five were charged. I'm guessing we'll see the fifth at the trial, as a witness for the prosecution.
ROE are written by JAG types, but with supervison by combat officers.
They do not, because they can not, antipate all situations. The trial will also be by combat types on the Jury, and with JAG officers as Judge.
The Executive pardon function is also both retained and delegated. His commander, or the various JAG proscecutors could have decided not to charge after the investigation. There are political pressures on them, but I am sure the commanders and JAG types each made their recommendation or decision based on what they thought was correct.
We have very good men (and women) in our services. That is also true of the NCOs, Officers, and Commanders. A miscarriage of justice is possible, but unlikely.
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