Posted on 05/30/2008 4:19:30 PM PDT by freema
AMP PENDLETON – Seeing the corpses of 24 Iraqi men, women and children – all killed in a short span Nov. 19, 2005, in the city of Haditha – made a powerful impression on Marine Sgt. Justin Laughner.
A squad of fellow Marines had done the killing. Laughner, an intelligence analyst, took pictures of the bodies and stored them on his personal laptop computer.
Then one day in February 2006, he said, an intelligence officer told him to get rid of the images. In a Camp Pendleton courtroom yesterday, Laughner identified that officer at 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson.
“He told me I needed to delete them,” said Laughner, now a staff sergeant. “I knew I had done something wrong with those photographs.”
(Excerpt) Read more at signonsandiego.com ...
Thats quite a utopian attitude.. mistakes happen..
The war/battle/skirmish goes on.. You do the best you can..
Bleeding themselves over mistakes is the job of social workers..
When the going gets tough the tough get going, most of the time..
War is indeed hell.. you're there to kill, murder, maim thru attrition..
Unless your the cook... or wideeyed brain washed Ivy league lieutenant..
Haha! And Watt said what? At first he said they were innocent, then when pressured during 1st Lt Grayson’s hearings he seemed to indicate that he thought Grayson was less than truthful. Based on what? You got me. He never gave a good reason why, IMO. I think Col. Watt’s “chickens have come home to roost”.
Too bad the prosecutors are counting on their weakest links. An admitted liar who doesn’t know basic protocol in image handling (SSgt Laughner), and a dude who has been relieved due to his crazy text messaging.
yep
If that can be shown to be the case by forensic testing, the prosecution’s case is wrecked.
I thought they where not supposed to keep pictures of those killed period. If so the Lt. was correct in his orders.
LMAO!
Do I really need to read anything further from this simple p.o.s. Steve Liewer? Of course, what else should I expect from a toilet paper like the Union Tribune, a paper that's little more than training pants for goofball kids fresh out of the offices of the Daily Collegian?
Absolutely no doubt about it.
I wonder how long it took the scumbag prosecutors to get this punk Laughner to memorize THAT line?
There seems to be NOTHING out there about Watts’ being relieved of command.
What is ‘earlier this year’ with respect to being relieved, and did that have a connection to the Dec 13 charges against Grayson for being set up to be charged with a fraudulent discharge? Was Watt being pushed under the bus and this was an attempt to keep from being crushed?
WHY, in God’s name, would anyone make themselves look as feckless as to try to pin the tail on that fraudulent discharge donkey....
Another thing...and possibly moot: Why were these charges preferred out of Pendleton, when the discharge occurred at Lejeune.
http://warchronicle.com/TheyAreNotKillers/LtAndrewGrayson/Grayson_Ref_Ch_Sheet_28_Dec_07pg4.jpg
Hey, for that matter, WHY was Grayson AT Lejeune with charges at Pendleton?
It is the prosecution that does the testing.
Once NCIS gets your computer, they test it and destroy the hard drive
Very few combatants, with the possible exception of a sniper has the luxury of being able to pick his shot. When my crew found themselves on the incoming side of lethal fire we seldom had the luxury of huddling up and developing a firing solution that would guarantee not harming any possible non-combatants. Using your lofty standards I guess it would be more honorable to huddle-up and perform a self-fragging in order to prove how much more superior we are than those whom are trying to kill us. But then again, in the conflict I attended, we were not fortunate enough to have the JAG with us in order to assist us in determining how much our lives are worth.
Posing another few questions and/or points based on a review of Laughner’s testimony here
*Laughner was TAD Temporary Additional Duty at Pendleton, why wasn’t Grayson?
*”Almost half way down Laughner’s testimony: A. That is when I found out about the IED and asked them to have the second QRF slow down and then I left to go grab my interpreter and my gear.” Is it actually customary, much less SOP to have a QRF slow down? Laughner testifies the 2nd QRF was heading out at 0730 but they didn’t get on the road UNTIL 0745?????and they were moving SLOW???!!!!
*Laughner testifies (twice) they came under fire - not once but two separate times - had to zigzag their route, getting to the site, again, legitimatizes IMFO, actions taken that day
*MAM with the white flag stated 2 MAMs (one with a head wound and one with an abdominal wound) ran into his house. We have a head wound established here, so why the incredible focus on head wounds on the dead found in the houses as though it was an execution? (Don’t answer that, I know the answer, just citing it for general purposes.)
*Laughner contradicts himself in testimony re: his responsibility to collect evidence. Says the passports and money were under guard, so no big deal...then later really blows that point under cross examination when he says he would collect insurgent paraphernalia during interrogation.
Coming back for more in a minute....
*Laughner testifies that he heard AKs at 0845 enroute to OP2, “south of Chestnut” AND FIRED AT THEM HIMSELF.
*Medivac for the head wound wasn’t called for 45 minutes to an hour. Why? Because Cobras and a fix wing were engaged in combat. And DURING THAT TIME, 2 live children were brought out from under fire, Laughner could not only hear the Cobra and the fixed wing, he could see it.
*Laughner testifies he left at 0745 and didn’t arrive until 1300. How long would it take to traverse that distance under normal circumstances?
*Laughner testifies he made no statement until FEB 06. That’s twisted spin, because he HAD to file a report on the incident.
*Laughner testifies he didn’t photograph the pile of mixed spent shells and that this didn’t signify anything important b/c it wasn’t uncommon to find spent AK shells in Iraqi homes? WTF? And he photographed everything else but not this?
*He testifies he has no command of Arabic- and has lost his interpreter while encountering the woman, and apparently didn’t interview the children, either.
*The triggerman for the IED was found, and I guess I’ve just missed all the HUMINT.
I’m not done. IMHFO Laughner kept those photographs because this was a big deal, to him-a trophy in his mind-memories of his biggest in the sun not unlike the Battle of Fallujah and he intended to keep those memories to prove he’d been there (the most action he’d ever seen) AND/OR to refresh his memory in his own defense because he f’d up with SOP and lost the passports and money and needed CYA on his report.
Then, when he got caught....
shiite hit the fan.
I’m a fanatic just like the terrorists, only on the opposite side. That’s probably why the Marines were not comfortable with the idea of letting me into their ranks.
I’m not an idiot. I know the reality of war but that doesn’t mean that I will lower my standards for myself.
Sounds like Col Watt was found quilty of hiding the salami with said Staff Sergeant.
He was relieved of command. That is so devastating to his credibility.
If the photos were deleted, then Grayson was being truthful in responding that there were no photos. Nor were there supposed to be any.
Laughner was wrong to retain contraband photos.
Red, do we have anyone on the inside who can report other than the prosecution's point of view?
LMAO. Consider talking to the jihadis, they live to die.
Yes, I was on the phone until late last night and am groggily putting together notes now.
Also, I’m keeping an eye out for a Teri Figueroa piece at the NC Times. She was there for the best of the Watt testimony.
Watt does deny the allegations. But, reportedly, his XO discovered that Watt had sent eight thousand text messages over a three month period to the ssgt with whom Watt was dallying. That’s what prompted the investigation. Watt allegedly told his XO he’d end up with one in the heart and one in the head if the XO didn’t drop it.
I’m reserving judgment on the salami, just in case it was cooked.
Briones also was brought up on similar charges.
Accusations with sexual innuendo are a real good easy way to get rid of somebody that needed to disappear for one reason or another.
Paradoxically, it’s interesting that nothing like that happened to Cesar Laurean, eh?
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.