Posted on 07/07/2007 3:57:49 PM PDT by RedRover
NORTH COUNTY ---- An Ohio attorney representing a former Marine who has alleged that members of his platoon shot and killed eight Iraqi prisoners of war in 2004 declined to discuss specifics of the incident Friday, but did describe his client as a hero.
The attorney, former Marine Paul Hackett of Cincinnati, said that former Cpl. Ryan Weemer from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment did nothing wrong during the fight for the insurgent-riddled city of Fallujah, where the prisoners were allegedly killed.
"He's an American hero who demonstrated incredible valor at the request of his country in Iraq while protecting the lives of his fellow Marines," Hackett said during a telephone interview. "He did it with honor, without complaint and he literally shed blood for his country."
Weemer, who has refused requests for interviews, was shot and wounded by insurgents in Fallujah two days after the alleged POW incident that took place on Nov. 10, 2004.
Weemer was linked to an ongoing investigation of the incident earlier this week when Nat Helms, the author of a book on the Fallujah battle, said the 24-year-old Kentucky resident described the shooting during an interview last year.
According to Helms, Weemer first disclosed the alleged slayings during a routine polygraph examination as part of a job application for the Secret Service, which in turn notified the Naval Criminal Investigative Service of what Weemer had said.
Hackett said Weemer has yet to speak with agents from the civilian law enforcement agency. He also said he does not believe any criminal charges will result because of the lack of forensic evidence or any complaining witnesses.
"I don't think it should be further investigated," said Hackett, who served in Iraq in 2004 and ran an unsuccessful campaign as a Democrat for an Ohio congressional seat in 2005.
Hackett would not speak about the veracity of the story attributed to Weemer, but spoke at length about the difficulties and split-second choices that front-line troops are often forced to make.
"There are some decisions made in battle that are not perfect and are not right," he said. "But ultimately, I would ask every American who wants to second-guess the decisions of their young men fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan if they would rather have their sons come home in a body bag.
"There is a textbook answer for right and wrong that doesn't always translate to the real world."
'Credible allegations'
Hackett also said Weemer is "appropriately concerned" about the story he has told being made public.
Helms' version of the story was posted on the Web site, DefendOurMarines.com on Monday, three days after the investigation was first reported in a North County Times story.
The newspaper's story was confirmed Monday by a spokesman for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service who said that agents had been investigating the matter based upon "credible allegations of wrongdoing."
According to Helms' account of interviews with Weemer and other Marines who were in Fallujah, the suspected insurgents were being held in an abandoned house after being captured during combat. The house was subsequently destroyed by U.S. bombs after the Iraqis had been shot.
About 20 current and former Marines have been interviewed. Several have been read their rights and some have hired attorneys, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation.
Lt. Col. Willard A. Buhl, commander of the battalion at the time of the alleged killings, declined to comment on the investigation Friday.
"I like to let the justice (system) work itself through procedurally," Buhl told The Associated Press.
Dilemma for Marine Corps
Gary Solis, a Washington-based military law expert who spent more than two decades as a Marine Corps lawyer, including stints at Camp Pendleton, said the case presents a dilemma for the Marine Corps.
"First of all, there is no statute of limitations on war crimes or murder, so a prosecution is always possible," Solis said during a telephone interview. "But the further away in time from the event, the more difficult a prosecution becomes because recollections are no longer fresh and you won't have any physical evidence."
Solis, who teaches military law at Georgetown University and gives lectures around the world on the subject, said the Marine Corps has two choices to make at the end of the investigation should there be sufficient reason to believe that a crime was, in fact, committed.
"There apparently is evidence that it occurred, which calls for a prosecution," he said, adding that "any prosecutor would know going in that it would be a very difficult case to prove.
"On the other hand, the Marines could be accused of a cover-up if they don't pursue the case," he said.
The Fallujah probe is one of three Iraqi death cases involving Camp Pendleton troops. Eight men from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were charged in June 2006 with the abduction and slaying of a retired Iraqi policeman in Hamdania.
In December of last year, eight men from the same battalion involved in the Fallujah probe were charged with crimes arising from the deaths of 24 civilians in the city of Haditha. Four officers were charged with dereliction of duty and four enlisted men were charged with murder. Charges were later dropped against one of the enlisted men in exchange for his testimony during ongoing court hearings at Camp Pendleton.
The biggest loser in all this will probably be Cpl. Ryan Weemer. He's a good man who served his country and made the mistake of trusting NCIS agents. The result is broken bonds with his brothers from the worst fighting the Corps has known since Hue City.
BTW, Nat Helms' story, mentioned above, was posted on Free Republic about five minutes after I posted it on DefendOurMarines.com. The thread is at the link: New charges arising from action in Fallujah!: Deja vu all over again.
Paul Hackett, by the by, was the attorney for Capt. James Kimber who was part of the Haditha investigation but was not charged.
Here’s a bump.
Be wary of Hackett. He is a liberal Democrat who ran for office in my congressional district. I had the privilege of voting against him. As a Marine, he acted not as a lawyer but as a civil affairs officer, so I’ve no reason to question his service.
You might not know that he ran against Jean Schmidt, famous for calling Murtha a coward as a very, very freshman congresswoman shortly after her victory over Hackett. Running against her again, Hackett would be sure to use that, and it would endear him to Murtha.
Hackett’s been mentioned as both a candidate for either House or Senate.
I just know that association with liberals corrupts people.
Thanks for that reminder. As I read the story, I kept thinking why is that name Hackett so familiar.
Your post jogged my memory.
Maybe the rino’s will recruit him and further ruin the nation.
Hackett and Puckett -
I always need to look them up to see which is which.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=neal+puckett&btnG=Google+Search
Ping
Me Lie 2 is falling apart like a puptent. The only liars are Turda and his felonious reporters. If they hadn’t tried to Nam this incident it would have been dropped months ago.
Pray for W and Our Troops
Great to see you, fatima, and congrats on your news!
You know, I spoke with Hackett a while back and must say I was pleasantly surprised.
He is his own guy and isn’t easy to pigeon hole. For instance, he was a Iraq vet who spoke out against the war, but he also spoke out against Murtha. Which did not endear Hackett to the Democrat party leaders.
I’m not saying I’d ever vote for the guy. But I think the Democrat party in Ohio is finished with him.
Thanks RedRover.
Be wary in any case.
We already know it's the 3/1, and they've already tied 2 to the incident, so we know it's a when, not an if.
This sucks.
That is the solid bottom line here. Those who cannot find the 'Reason' to agree with this truth are fooling themselves into imagining they are searching for Justice.
They should look again - at their own motives. But of course, they will not.
You’re right that they won’t look at their own motives.
So the burden’s on us to keep exposing them until it’s clear to everyone.
Yes, and the reminder is appreciated.
BTW, the USMC Iraq Investigations site has just confirmed that the court martial for Cpl. Trent Thomas will be on Monday, July 9th.
Still not word confirming the LCpl. Tatum Article 32.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.