Marine officer a "political casualty" of Haditha investigation

AP on Bakersfield Californian ^ | 6/1/06 | Thomas Watkins - ap

[NormsRevenge]

A Marine captain who was relieved of command after members of his battalion allegedly shot and killed civilians in Haditha, Iraq, said he became a "political casualty" as senior commanders at Camp Pendleton scrambled to defuse an explosive situation.

"It makes my blood boil to see my name lumped in with this massacre, when I was in a different city not playing any role in this incident," Capt. James Kimber told The Associated Press.

Kimber, 33, of Fountain Hills, Ariz., was one of three officers relieved of command last month and reassigned to new duties for what the Marines said was "a lack of confidence in their leadership abilities." The Marines did not specifically link the action to the Haditha shootings and none of the three has been charged with wrongdoing.

"I believe I was a political casualty as a result of the Haditha incident," Kimber said in a telephone interview Wednesday from his home in the northern San Diego suburb of San Marcos.

A Camp Pendleton spokesman did not immediately return a message left seeking comment.

Separate investigations seek to determine whether the Nov. 19 killings in the western Iraqi city of Haditha were criminal and whether the Marines involved and their commanding officers tried to hide the truth.

On Nov. 19, Kimber, the commander of 160 Marines in the battalion's India Company, was in the neighboring city of Haqlaniyah when he heard over military radio that a Marine convoy had hit a roadside bomb, killing one Marine. The Marine Corps had initially attributed 15 civilian deaths to the bombing and a firefight with insurgents, eight of whom the Marines reported had been killed.

"After it was all over, it seemed to be just another day," Kimber said.

During city council meetings and talks with local leaders in the following weeks, Kimber heard nothing about a civilian massacre.

"It would have been huge, there would have been no question it would have filtered down to us," he said. "We reported no significant atmospheric change as a result of that day."

He said he first learned in February about the shootings in Haditha when he heard that a Time Magazine reporter had visited the western Iraqi city and was asking questions about civilian deaths.

Two months later, Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, Pendleton's commanding officer, summoned Kimber to his office and relieved him of command. The reason Kimber was given was that his subordinates had used profanity and criticized the Iraqi security forces they were training during interviews with Britain's Sky News TV. The troops also violated Marine policy by appearing on screen without their protective eyewear.

"I was in shock when I walked out of the office," said Kimber. "When you get relieved of command, that's it, your upward mobility is finished."

[atomicpossum]

During city council meetings and talks with local leaders in the following weeks, Kimber heard nothing about a civilian massacre.

Hmm.

[in hoc signo vinces]

This is appearing more and more like a media fabricated farce...

[ladtx]

...he heard that a Time Magazine reporter had visited the western Iraqi city and was asking questions about civilian deaths.

Don't suppose the reporter was asking leading questions,- - naw they wouldn't do that.

[Parmy]

And, the 'high command' to a general or command officer is going to do what is politically expedient to safe his/her career.
Now, the troops are going to undergo sensitivity training.
I wonder is Patton, Pershing, Grant or Sherman would order that. It is a sad state of affairs.
Plus, Bush is wimping out trying to be compassionate. HA!

[GSlob]

"The reason Kimber was given was that his subordinates had used profanity..."
How come there's anybody left in the armed forces, then? Since time immemorial it has been known that blasphemy and profanity are indispensable in military life, and mighty helpful in civilian one.

[robowombat]

"Two months later, Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, Pendleton's commanding officer, summoned Kimber to his office and relieved him of command. The reason Kimber was given was that his subordinates had used profanity and criticized the Iraqi security forces they were training during interviews with Britain's Sky News TV. The troops also violated Marine policy by appearing on screen without their protective eyewear."

This reads like a Monty Python parody. Also, if true, it sounds very much like the USMC copy catting some of the worst examples of bureaucratic stupidity and deliciousness from the Army. The conflation of pomposity and silliness in the supposed reasons for relieving an officer (and destroying his career) are just ludicrous and belie some sort of shifty hidden agenda. If this is an accurate rendition of what happened my guess would be the division CG and his staff were panicked that 'revelations' about Haditha were going to hit and to try and appease the gods of higher headquarters some heads were immediately needing to role. The Captain happened to be in the next town over from Haditha so his head was added to the sacrifice count just for good measure and to make the numbers look more impressive. In this fashion the division commander could be seen to be 'taking decisive action' and not tolerating any 'abusive or disrespectful conduct towards the Iraqi people'.

[vpintheak]

Leave it to the politicians to turn our Marines into a bunch of pussies.

[Taxman]

Captain Kimber needs a junkyard-dog-mean lawyer, ASAP!

[geezerwheezer]

Looks to me as though Major General Natonski should have his butt handed to him for not supporting his troops in their time of need at all. Some fine General officer this pantywaist is, relieving a Captain because his men cussed and didn't wear proper eye wear while criticizing Iraqi security forces? What in hell is wrong with this idiot general, and whose butt is he trying to cover-other than his own sorry a$$? Where's a real general in the Corps when we need one? Natonski sounds like a Clinton general, not a real general. I say fire his a$$ now before he destroys anybody else's career. Seems as though his hero is Cong. Murtha, not his troops.

[OldArmy52]

What many people do not realize or forget, is that while the concern of the lower ranks of the military is with their military specialities (their assigned duties and jobs), the higher one goes in rank, particularly in the commissioned officer ranks, the more politics plays a role.

It's a logical and inevitable consequence of any military whose bosses are civilian politicians.

The grunts fight. The brass polishes their relations with their political (appointed generally) bosses.

[GOP_1900AD]

What no one in the MSM seems to want to discuss is the possibility that the "innocents" shot by the Marines were also insurgents. Insurgents need not be men. They might also be women and children. When you are first to break the traditions of war you may also find ugly things happening to you.

[sgtbono2002]

Several Journalists have been killed in Iraq. I havent shed a tear for one of them. Their stories suck, they dont portray this war as it is. They politicise every story.

[TheDon]

A terrorist fabricated farce, a cooperative media pass along.

[TXnMA]

This is appearing more and more like a media fabricated farce...

Yep. And with help and encouraging lies fron their terrorist friends.

Wonder why this triggers flashbacks to GWI and"news" video of signs saying, "Baby Milk Factory" -- and the same English-fluent woman appearing at three different scenes, wagging her finger at the camera, and shouting, "Mea Culpa! Mea Culpa!..."

This stinks as badly as Peter Arnette's coverage of GWI...

[kayak]

FYI

[MNJohnnie]

This is appearing more and more like an Al Qeda perpetrated farce. Remember the Civilians are dead. Sure is looking more and more like a Terrorists "Staged Atrocity". I hope someone is keeping a close on on the "Iraqi Civil Rights" group that is pushing this nonsense. Sounds like Al Qeda in Iraq is developing a political front group finally.

[Mrs. Darla Ruth Schwerin]

My thoughts exactly. They're bored and trying to make the military look bad so it gives that old, Murfa, and the rest of the demented gang some credibility...

[MNJohnnie]

Who went to the Times reporter and started screaming "Marine Atrocity"? This "Iraqi Civil Rights Group" that just happens to be able to operate in a Terrorist stronghold?

The source on this one stinks of a set up.