Posted on 01/02/2012 10:28:48 AM PST by smoothsailing
January 2, 2012
It certainly seems appropriate that the last defendant in the Haditha case is the squad leader, SSgt Frank Wuterich. Leaders take responsibility, and SSgt Wuterich has taken full responsibility for the actions of his squad in Haditha. His stance from the outset has remained clear:
As the last Marine originally charged in the deaths of Iraqis in Haditha, Iraq in 2005, SSgt Wuterich will be seated at the defense table in his general court-martial two days from now, Wednesday, January 4th. Barring last minute motions or outright dismissal of charges, jury selection will begin Wednesday or Thursday. SSgt. Wuterich will be tried by a jury of combat-experienced Marines, and the panel will include at least two Marines from the enlisted ranks.
Much has been written over the last six years about Haditha, and links to some of the most recent news articles and commentaries are included at the bottom of this post to help bring readers up to date. For older Free Republic postings, please use this link or enter the keyword Haditha in the Free Republic search engine.
The purpose of this Free Republic thread is to serve as a "Master Post" where trial news and updates can be brought together in one place for easy reference by those interested in following the proceedings as they unfold.
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Recent News and Commentary:
MILITARY TIMES-Haditha Marine Faces Trial
Count Down to the Last Haditha Trial
MILITARY: Two high-profile cases set for Pendleton courtrooms
Remember SSgt Frank D. Wuterich: The last Haditha Marine goes on trial
Don’t rewrite Murtha’s legacy (Haditha Marines)
MILITARY: Jury seated for Wuterich trial
An eight-member jury was seated at Camp Pendleton on Friday...
The jury of four officers and four enlisted men will hear opening statements on Monday in the trial of 31-year-old Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich.
Just got a report from Nat. A tedious day. Nothing much to report until the trial gets swinging on Monday. But I’ll post it on Defend Our Marines for the record and we can decide if it warrants its own thread.
Roger! Standing by...
Thanks for the ping and the news of the selection of the panel.
Bump.
Going back and forth between East Coast and West is slow work. I think let’s pack it in for the night, I’ll post on DOM when the story’s done, and post here tomorrow morning.
Things will pick on Monday when opening statements begin. So more tomorrow morning, EST!
Sounds right to me, Red. Doesn’t look to me like they accomplished anything today but the panel selection.
Makes sense to me.
Get some rest big guy, we'll slay some dragons tomorrow!
:o)
THE TRIAL OF SSGT. WUTERICH:Final Battle Of Haditha Set To Begin -Day Two: Jury selection complete
I always LOVED that graphic!
It’s one of your best, Red! And that’s saying alot, because you’ve got some great ones!
Red, that is absolutely outstanding!
Great piece, this will be excellent material for any wanting to follow this CM.
I agree!
Red, would you like to do the honors on a free standing thread?
Survivor Safah Yunis Salim Rasif – through an interpreter – claims a Marine threw a grenade into the room and closed the door. (snip) After the shooting she passed out and remembers pretending she was dead when some Marines came into the room. She heard a Marine say “they are all dead”. When the Marines left, she went to her uncle’s house.
She made claims "through an interpreter", but heard and apparently understood a Marine's alleged statement, “they are all dead”. So, did this Iraqi know English or didn't she?
SSgt Wuterich then went to the damaged 4th vehicle where he met 1stLt William Kallop, who arrived with the quick reaction force. While near the 4th vehicle the Marines received small arm fire from the South. Cpl. Hector Salinas identified a shooter in the vicinity of House 1 (as identified in the investigation). He alerted Kallop to seek cover and fired several M203 40mm grenade rounds at House 1. Wuterich then advised Kallop they should assault House 1. Kallop ordered Wuterich to “clear South” toward it.
A Marine Corps officer was on the scene pretty quickly, and he was giving orders. It's curious, and it may be that this fiasco has dragged on so long I'm forgetting things, but I don't remember why 1stLt. William Kallop was given immunity from prosecution right from the very beginning.
Sure, I'll post this as a thread and we can add links to it on new threads during the weeks to come.
Nat wants me to share to credit for the piece so I'll add my name to the byline. Other than that the only challenge is getting text to wrap around graphics. So I'm doing this as a test!
(Glad to see it works and I haven't forgotten my html tricks during my layoff!)
Why Lt Kallop wasn't charged is a mystery. The only explanation I ever heard is that his family is connected wealthy and politically connected. Word was his family lawyers pushed back very early on but I never could find any substantiation for that. So it may not be true. But his family's pushback was reported in Vanity Fair magazine.
Excellent...It's concise and will give anyone not familiar with the action a picture of what happened and what the prosecution is trying to prove with the very thin evidence they have, which is practically none.
Nat wants me to share to credit for the piece so I'll add my name to the byline. Other than that the only challenge is getting text to wrap around graphics.
Good for Nat, that's as it should be. I remember the threads with diagrams you posted on this some time back, you put many hours into them.
OK! It will be a valuable resource in the coming weeks, and the visual aids are a real bonus.
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