murtha speaks:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06356/748222-82.stm
Marine with ties to area accused in Iraq killings
Friday, December 22, 2006
By Cindi Lash, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A U.S. Marine with ties to Western Pennsylvania has been charged with fatally shooting three Iraqi men during an incident last year in which 24 civilians were killed in the Iraqi town of Haditha.
Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, 22, was charged with three counts of unpremeditated murder in the slayings, which occurred after a Marine in his convoy was killed by an improvised explosive device on Nov. 19, 2005. He was one of eight Marines to be charged yesterday in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving civilian deaths in the Iraq war.
Cpl. Sharratt, of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, was one of four Marines charged with unpremeditated murder of civilians following the ambush. His squad leader was charged with 12 counts of murder and a separate count of ordering other civilians killed. Four officers who were not there were charged with failing to investigate and report the slayings.
Cpl. Sharratt, who lived as a child in North Huntingdon and whose parents are natives of Washington County, was accused of shooting three men with an M-9 service pistol, according to the charge sheet served to him. He could face up to life in prison if found guilty; the Marines Corps is not seeking the death penalty for any of those charged.
The locations and circumstances of the shootings with which Cpl. Sharratt was charged were not clear, but the victims' names indicated they were related. Military investigators refer to them as Numbers 21, 22 and 23 and identify them as Jasib Aiad Ahmed, Kahtan Aiad Ahmed and Jamal Aiad Ahmed.
Cpl. Sharratt returned from Iraq in the spring and remains at Camp Pendleton, Calif., where the charges were announced yesterday.
His attorney, Gary Myers of Washington, D.C., said a date will be set for an Article 32 hearing to determine whether sufficient evidence exists for him to be court-martialed.
Mr. Myers said Cpl. Sharratt is not confined and his activities are not restricted. His parents, Darryl and Theresa Sharratt of Canonsburg, have joined him in California for the holidays, Mr. Myers said.
"We take the view, as we've always taken the view, that these deaths are combat-related,'' said Mr. Myers, adding that he advised Cpl. Sharratt to decline comment
"He is distressed that he's been charged with very egregious crimes, but he has faith in the system. The simple truth is that we will get to the end of this and the system will work.''
Cpl. Sharratt was born in Washington, Pa., and lived in North Huntingdon with his parents and older sister, Jaclyn, until he was in the sixth grade. His family then moved to Granger, Ind., where he graduated from high school and joined the Marines in 2003. He saw combat in Fallujah during his first tour in 2004.
His parents, who moved to Canonsburg two years ago, did not return calls yesterday. But in an interview last month, Mrs. Sharratt said her son told them he "followed the rules of engagement'' in Haditha and that her family believes he did nothing wrong.
The Marine Corps initially reported that 15 Iraqi civilians died in the IED explosion and that Marines killed eight insurgents in an ensuing firefight. But at a news conference yesterday, officials with the Marine Corps Central Command said that report was false and that no civilians were killed by the IED blast.
An investigation of the incident became public this year when Time magazine, after conducting interviews in Iraq, reported that the killings were deliberate attacks, not unintended casualties as the Marines had contended.
It gained further attention when U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, said Marines in Haditha killed the civilians "in cold blood" and tried to cover up the incident.
"From the very start I said that the pressure on these young people is tremendous, but that doesn't excuse what happened,'' Mr. Murtha, a former Marine who advocates the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, said in a statement yesterday.
"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.''
Facing the most serious charges was Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the squad leader, who was charged with murdering 12 civilians. He also is charged with participating in the murders of six others in which he disregarded standard military procedures while his squad was clearing a house. He was accused of telling his men to "shoot first and ask questions later," according to court papers released by his attorney.
Sgt. Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., also is charged with making a false statement and with soliciting another Marine to make a false statement about the shootings.
The highest-ranking defendant was Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, 42, of Rangely, Colo. He was accused of failing to obey an order or regulation, encompassing dereliction of duty.
Also charged was Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz, 24, of Chicago, who was accused of unpremeditated murders of five people and making a false statement. Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, 25, of Edmond, Okla., was accused of unpremeditated murders of two Iraqis, negligent homicide of four Iraqis and assault.
The other officers charged were 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, 25, hometown not available; Capt. Lucas McConnell, 31, of Napa, Calif.; and Capt. Randy Stone, 34, a military attorney.
Military officials at the news conference would not discuss what they believe prompted the killings. But investigators have raised the possibility that the men went on a rampage after the ambush and bombing that killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas of El Paso, Texas, and wounded two other Marines.
Defense attorneys have disputed that, saying their clients were doing what they were trained to do: responding to a perceived threat with legitimate force. Cpl. Terrazas' father denounced the charges, saying his son was murdered by insurgents.
"What they are doing to our troops ... it's just wrong," Martin Terrazas said in Texas. "I feel for their families. They are in my prayers."
I'll try e-mailing the lawyers today to see if I can find anything else out. Anyone else, naturally, is welcome to do the same. Just be sure to report back!
PS to ma: Mrs Red didn't really hit me with a lamp, but if I brought home a leg lamp--you can bet there'd be a first time.
That's NOT all you talked about, Jack, you called them murderers, flat out!!!
You said they "killed innocent civilians in cold blood" !!!
Just listen to yourself say it!! Here!
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.