[athelass]

Ok, I see. I know the military justice system works differently. If this case were in a civilian court, with the charges dropped against one defendant for lack of evidence the charges would be dropped against all the defendants. It’s just tough to think that the rest of these guys are going to have to go through Article 26 hearings when it’s already been decided so conclusively that the incident never happened. Thanks for explaining. With two sons in the Marine Corps I am following this case with anxiety.

[RedRover]

The complexity in the Haditha case is that there were four seperate actions:

In the first, five Iraqis were killed beside a white taxi. SSgt Wuterich is charged with their murder.

The second and third action were inside two houses and involved SSgt Wuterich and LCpl Tatum as the shooters.

The final action that day involved Wuterich and LCpl Sharratt as the shooters (I made this diagram for the Sharratt Article 32).

Does that help get a better picture of what the Haditha case is all about?

As of this writing, LCpl Sharratt is cleared for his actions, and Capt Stone is cleared of dereliction for his actions.

But the hearings go on. LCpl Tatum and SSgt Wuterich may still face court martials. And so may the officers. Even if Tatum and Wuterich are cleared, there could still be a question of whether the officers did their duty given the facts available to them.

All that aside, thank you for your sons' service and your family's sacrifice while they are deployed. May they be home soon!