Posted on 03/22/2010 11:19:36 AM PDT by jazusamo
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Eight Marines were charged in the biggest criminal case against U.S. troops to arise from the Iraq war. Six have had charges dismissed, and one was acquitted.
Whether the only remaining and perhaps highest-profile defendant stands trial may hinge on what happens this week in a military courtroom.
Lawyers for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich will ask a judge to dismiss charges against the former squad leader in a case involving the deaths of 24 Iraqi men, women and children in Haditha in November 2005, arguing that a general who oversaw the case was improperly influenced by an aide.
Wuterich, 30, is charged with voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice. He is currently assigned to administrative work at 1st Marine Division headquarters at Camp Pendleton.
Gen. James Mattis is expected to testify at the pretrial hearing Monday about his role in the case, which included bringing charges against Wuterich when he was commander of the Marine Corps Forces Central Command and 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.
The four-star general was later promoted to commander of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and U.S. Joint Forces Command. He left the NATO post last year but still commands U.S. Joint Forces in Norfolk, Va.
A courtroom appearance is rare for such a high-ranking officer but Mattis has done it before in the Haditha case.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Some further information on the hearing at Camp Pendleton this week.
I can’t imagine being ‘wronged’ over this long of a period. September is not an option..end it now.
Absolutely, Lily! Charges were brought 3 years 3 months ago and they were under investigation before that.
The continued persecution of Frank is an abomination.
Will general Mattis come through for this Marine. Over three years put on hold. What a screwed up mess. And all because of a botched job by the Navy Crime Scene Investigators.
Outstanding article on Unlawful Command Influence. It makes it clear why UCI applies to the Haditha cases.
Judge, Lt. Col. David Jones is the one to come through for SSgt. Wuterich. I doubt Gen. Mattis will testify any differently than he did on the UCI matter for Lt. Col. Chessani.
Thanks for the ping.
Oh, I think those scumbags were just tools of the pantywaist Pentagon and its perfumed princes.
excerpt:
"I"m obligated to do my duty," Mattis testified. "I intended to have a better grasp (of the cases) than anyone before I subject Marines to situations like we are in today."
Mattis acknowledged that Ewers was the senior legal officer in the room whenever the general met with prosecutors and defense attorneys.
MILITARY: Mattis says no one influenced his Haditha decisions
And there you have it, if this isn't a slamdunk for dismissal, I don't know what is.
Wuterich's attorneys are arguing that a finding of unlawful command influence in the case against the battalion commander at Haditha, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, also applies to the case against their client.
A military judge who presided over Chessani's case ruled in 2008 that the participation of Mattis' legal adviser in talks with the general and other prosecution officials constituted the appearance of unlawful influence because the adviser's opinion of guilt was already established.
The adviser, Col. John Ewers, had taken part in the initial investigation into the Haditha killings and was considered a potential prosecution witness.
My exact thoughts, Smooth.
If I'm not mistaken in my memory of Chessani's charges being dismissed, it was because of this very thing and now Mattis has testified to the same thing.
"I don't recall..."
"...tried to influence me unlawfully."
Wow... Those are weasel words.
Yes they are. But it really doesn't matter whether he recalls it or not, the key word here is the appearance of UCI and no one can say with a straight face that there isn't an appearance of it, even Gen. Mattis.
It's interesting that Mark Walker is now closing his reports with that line.
My question is, is this true? Without digging through the archives, I thought I read that there were several AKs in at least one of the houses. And that about ten of the bodies could not be identified and were never claimed. And that the "five men who drove up in a car immediately after the bombing" fit the profile of a flash intelligence report the Marines had received.
In any event, everybody there probably got what they deserved:
___________________________________________________
Haditha
There were no "innocent" civilians in those houses at Haditha. The occupants were either insurgents or collaborators. They were either "with us or against us". Clearly, they were against us:
A 12-year old survivor of the alleged massacre of innocent civilians by U.S. Marines patrolling Haditha has admitted she had prior knowledge of the plot to detonate an IED as their convoy was passing by her house on the morning of Nov. 19, 2005.
In a CNN interview broadcast Wednesday, Safa Younis - who says eight members of her family were killed by U.S. troops - recalled that she was getting ready for school as the Marine Humvee approached.
"I was planning to go to school. I was about to go out of bed. I knew the bomb would explode so I covered my ears," the youngster said, according to a CNN translator. "The bomb [then] exploded," she explained. "The bomb struck an armored vehicle. I don't know if it was a Humvee or an armored vehicle. When the bomb exploded, they came straight to my house."
The "innocent" occupants of those houses knew about the impending deadly ambush and watched it happen. They chose to collaborate with terrorist insurgents, and those insurgents used them as human shields. Now look at them.... Que sera sera.
Good post, Lancey.
I get so tired of Mark Walker repeating the same untrue supposed facts over and over.
There were armed terrorists in the house Justin Sharratt was in. One of them would have shot Sharratt with an AK-47 had it not misfired.
The terrorist retreated to the bedroom where Sharratt shot him.
Mark Walker
Thanks again for posting!
Lance Corporal Terrazas should be remembered by all.
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.