I see you found it crawling out of its hole in the rock.
;^)
Hearing begins for Marine charged in Haditha killings
SAN DIEGO (AP) - The preliminary hearing for a Marine lance corporal charged with murdering two girls in a squad action that killed 24 Iraqis in Haditha began today in San Diego.
Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum has acknowledged killing several Iraqis on November 19th, 2005, but says he did so because he was responding to a legitimate threat.
Tatum's attorney made an opening statement at the start of the so-called Article 32 investigation. Speaking of his client, attorney Jack Zimmerman said: "He was taught that deadly force is the proper response to a threat."
Hearing officer Lieutenant Colonel Paul Ware will assess the evidence against Tatum and make a recommendation about whether he should stand trial.
The final decision rests with the general overseeing the case.
Tatum is also charged with the negligent homicide of 2 men, a woman and a child, and with assaulting two men. The Marine, wearing his desert camouflage uniform, spoke only to confirm his identity.
"Murdering two girls" does sound considerably more lurid than "2 males insurgents, suspected of triggering an IED during an ambush and then firing on marines from 3/1 Kilo while they tried to attend to the wounded, were killed during a firefight in one of the houses that small arm fire came from. 2 insurgents were wounded, and a woman, child, and 2 girls were found dead at the scene.
It is unknown whether they were alive before the ambush or not, as other townspeople claiming to be their relatives, thereby making themselves available for "Solatia" (Iraqi for blood) payments, refused to let the bodies be autopsied, or if they were used as human shields against the Marine's grenades, a common practice amongst Jihadis."
I see you found it crawling out of its hole in the rock.
;^)