Posted on 05/27/2006 4:37:13 AM PDT by billorites
SAN DIEGO Marines from Camp Pendleton wantonly killed unarmed Iraqi civilians, including women and children, and then tried to cover up the slayings in the insurgent stronghold of Haditha, military investigations have found.
Officials who have seen the findings of the investigations said the filing of criminal charges, including some murder counts, was expected, which would make the Nov. 19 incident the most serious case of alleged U.S. war crimes in Iraq.
An administrative inquiry overseen by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell found that several infantry Marines fatally shot as many as 24 Iraqis and that other Marines either failed to stop them or filed misleading or blatantly false reports.
The report concludes that a dozen Marines acted improperly after a roadside bomb explosion killed a fellow Marine, Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas.
Looking for insurgents, the Marines entered several homes and began firing their weapons, according to the report.
In its initial statement to the media, the Marine Corps said the Iraqi civilians were killed either by an insurgent bomb or by crossfire between Marines and insurgents.
But after Time magazine obtained pictures showing dead women and children and quoted Iraqis who said the attack was unprovoked, the Marine Corps backtracked on its explanation and called for an investigation.
The Marines, many of whom were on their third deployment to Iraq, are part of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment of the 1st Marine Division.
The battalion commander and two company commanders were relieved of duty last month because, a spokesman said, Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, commanding general of the division, had lost confidence in their leadership.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducted a separate investigation, is expected to call for criminal charges, including murder, negligent homicide, dereliction of duty and filing a false report.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
1. There was an IED that hit the Marines.
2. There was an ambush.
3. A firefight ensued.
4. The accusers of the Marines are civilians from the area out of which the firing came.
5. The enemy combatants do not wear a uniform, but they violate the Geneva accord in that point. Geneva has this rule about combatants BECAUSE it makes it more likely that civilians will be killed when combatants masquerade as civilians.
A letter from a combat arms commander recently returned from exactly the same area said:
I'll bet the media WON'T report the final outcome
when these Marines are cleared of the media witch hunt!
I will NOT take that bet, but I will buy you a beer when your prediction comes true.
:>)
I don't drink, at all, and never bet!
Thank you for this additional information and insight!
They can take the "probe" and stick it where the sun don't shine. (Where it belongs)
They can take the "probe" and stick it where the sun don't shine. (Where it belongs)
In Nam, Charley tied explosives to 3 year olds and they walked into tents and blew up. I don't trust any of them, Period.
Yeah, and who are the eyewitnesses? Iraqis that's who. They could all be insurgents pretending to be innocent civilians and who would know the difference?
This may turn out to be a real massacre, but they're gonna have to prove it with something more than Iraqi "eyewitnesses" before I believe it.
Why were marine commanders relieved of duty over this incident?
They know something they haven't revealed yet, like there's more than just eyewitness testimony.
Good. One less future terrorist scum
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