Haditha: reasonable Doubt

Hawai`i Free Press ^ | 06-05-06 | Andrew Walden

[pinkpanther111]

OK;

Are there other details that we should add to this; like a fact sheet or something?

Would give one quick reference to all the important facts.

[RedRover]

Just got off the train and am looking at a hell of a wintry mix on the ground! Must be the same up by you. Gotta slog through it, so more in a bit!

[pinkpanther111]

Yeah it is... I thought we were done with this mess..

[RedRover]

Just got in the house. Ice on rain on five inches of snow. I'm going to fuel up with espresso before getting out the shovel.

[Girlene]

Okay, here's what I've got so far. I labeled the names from the Hammurabi rights group as A through W to differintitate from 1-20 from the USMC charge sheet.
Hammarabi Rights Group list:

House 1:

(J) Asmaa Salman Raseef, 32;
(K) Abdullah Waleed Abdul Hameed, child;
(L) Abdul Hameed Hasan Ali, late 70s;
(M) Waleed Abdul Hameed Hassan, 35;
(N) Rasheed Abdul Hameed Hassan, 30;
(O) Khameesa Toama Ali, 65.

House 2:

(P) Younis Salim Raseef, 41;
(Q) Aida Yaseen Ahmed, 35;
® Muhammad Younis Salim, child;
(S) Noor Younis Salim, 14;
(T) Sabaa Younis Salim, 9;
(U) Aisha Younis Salim, 2;
(V) Zainab Younis Salim, 3;
(W) Huda Yaseen Ahmed, 28.

Car:

(A) Ahmed Finer Muslih, 25;
(B) Khalid Oyada Abid, 27;
© Wajdi Oyada Abid, 22;
(D) Akram Hameed Flayeh, 21;
(E) Muhammad Fatal Ahmed, 21.

House 3:

(F) Jamal Ayed Ahmed, 41;
(G) Chassib Ayed Ahmed, 27;
(H) Marwan Ayed Ahmed, 28;
(I) Kahtan Ayed Ahmed, 24

I started with A through E for the taxi because they were easiest to identify. F through I were next easiest dealing with house 3 (or also called house 4 sometimes). After printing 2 side by sides of the USMC and Hammurabi lists for comparison, I came up with the following:

USMC
Sergeant Sanick P. Dela Cruz and Staff Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich

1. did murder Ahmed Khutar Musleh, also known as Ahmed Fenr Muselh. - A (Taxi)

2. did murder Wagdi Aida Alzawi, also known as Wgedi Aida Abd. C (Taxi)

3. did murder Kaled Aida Alzawi, also known as Kaled Aida Abd. B (Taxi)

4. did murder Mohmed Tabal Ahmed, also known as Mohmed Betel Ahmed. D (Taxi)

5. did murder Akram Hamid Flaeh, also known as Akram Hmid Fluih. E (Taxi)

Staff Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich and Lance Corporal Stephen B. Tatum

6. did murder Zainab Unes Salim. V (House #2)

Lance Corporal Justin L. Sharratt

7. did murder Jasib Aiad Ahmed. G (House 3 or 4)

8. did murder Kahtan Aiad Ahmed. I (House 3 or 4)

9. did murder Jamal Aiad Ahmed. F (House 3 or 4)

Lance Corporal Stephen B. Tatum

10. did murder Noor Salim Rasif. ? S or P (House #2)

11. did unlawfully kill Abdul Hameed Husin Ali. L (House #3)

12. did unlawfully kill Guhid Abdalhamid Hasan. ? M (House #1)

13. did unlawfully kill Asmaa Salman Rasif, also known as Asamaa Salman Rasif. J (House #1)

14. did unlawfully kill Abdullah Waleed Abdul Hameed, also known as Abdullah Waleed Abdul. K (House #1)

Staff Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich

15. did murder Huda Yasin Ahmed. W (House #2)

16. did murder Aida Yasin Ahmed. Q (House #2)

17. did murder Mohmed Yunis Salim. R (House #2)

18. did murder Aisha Unes Salim. U (House #2)

19. did murder Sebea Yunis Salim. T (House #2)

20. did murder Marwan Aiad Ahmed. H (House #3 or 4)

I wasn't sure if #10 was either S or P. Not sure if #12 was M. See if you concur with these designations so far.

N and O are definitely unaccounted for. M, P, and S aren't sure about who's charged with who.

[lilycicero]

Girlene you are Super Sonic...the S is for super the U is for unique....(I don't know the rest of the song) the P is for perfect...so for now you are SUP!

Break it down is what you did! Impressive.

[pinkpanther111]

I agree!!!!
My eyelids are gettin heavy I will study harder on it tomorrow!

[RedRover]

Of course, we need to remember that the Hammurabi Human Rights Group is really just this guy...

[RedRover]

I don't see any flaws in your designations.

So maybe it'll be instructive to look back at this timeline that you created earlier and see how it lines up.

Pieced Together Timeline (Work-in-Progress): November 19, 2005

[Note: This is a work-in-progress. Information has been drawn from the Washington Post story based the NCIS report and the Vanity Fair article, "Rules of Engagement".

6:00 am, Firm Base Sparta, Marines learn squad would be bringing fresh Iraqi troops to a traffic checkpoint in Haditha (Main road is River Road)

6:45 am The Marines leave in 4 Vehicle Convoy

7:00 am Switch out Iraqi troops at checkpoint, turn back, on River Road

Vanity Fair says took hot breakfast, radio-coding card to observation post, 3 miles away from base, return with Iraqis

7:15 Turn off River Road to Route Chestnut (wide thorough-fare through cluster of houses)

Convoy includes:

1st Humvee - Salinas, Rodriguez, and Sharratt

2nd Humvee - Mendoza, De La Cruz, and Tatum

3rd Humvee - Wuterich, Graviss, and a medic named Whitt Command Vehicle)

4th Humvee - Miguel Terrazas (at wheel), James Crossan, Salvador Guzman

Sharratt ( in turret of 1st Humvee) waves a white sedan over to side of "Route Chestnut."

As the sedan slides to the south shoulder, a blast rocks the neighborhood

The land mine is a sizable propane tank, stuffed with high explosives, buried directly in the road, and paved over that apparently no surface disturbance was visible. (assume a spotter used trigger ?)

Terrazas, (driving the fourth Humvee) killed instantly, Crossan is trapped and seriously wounded, Guzman who was standing in back is thrown clear, breaks foot

Marines rush to help, say they took enemy rifle fire from several locations on north and south sides of road Navy Hospitalman Brian D. Whitt saw
- bullet impacts near his feet;
- noticed men with rifles disappearing from atop a house to the north
- some of the fire appeared to be coming from behind white taxi

Taxi (5 Men Killed)

One Marine (Dela Cruz?) and two Iraqi soldiers (Sgt Asad Amer Mashoot, 26 is one) said the men who had been in the taxi were standing in a line outside it, some with their hands in the air, when Wuterich began to fire on them Dela Cruz said the men were standing in a line when they started to fall

Dela Cruz said
- as he crossed the median he saw one of the Iraqi civilians (standing in the center of the line) drop to the ground;
- another Iraqi standing by him raised hands to his head;
- then heard other small arms fire;
- looked to his left and saw Sgt. Wuterich kneeling on one knee, shooting his M16 in the direction of the Iraqi civilians (taxi occupants)
- he pumped bullets into the Iraqi mens’ bodies after they were on the ground; later urinated on one.

Wuterich said men got out of the car, and he shot them because he considered them a threat (Wuterich says more about incident in another article)

Dela Cruz told investigators that Wuterich asked him to back up claims that the men in the taxi were trying to flee before they were shot. Puckett, Wuterich's lawyer, "Staff Sergeant Wuterich adamantly denies asking anybody to lie or change their story."

Quick Reaction Force (QRF) arrives from the Marine base, minutes later

Lt. William T. Kallop, - first officer on the scene (from QRF)

Kallop says he began to receive enemy fire almost immediately

Cpl. Hector A. Salinas spots a man firing at squad from corner of a house on south side of road
Salinas says he could see the enemy so Kallop told them to 'take the house’ (first evidence that officer ordered attack)

(ROE card in effect at time in western Iraq instructed Marines to
- "ALWAYS minimize collateral damage,
- Targets must be positively identified as threats before a Marine can open fire
- Also told Marines that "nothing on this card prevents you from using all force necessary to defend yourself

First House (5 or 6 ? Killed)

Team formed – Wuterich, , Salinas, Tatum and Lance Cpl. Humberto M. Mendoza
-attack the house, launching grenades first and then bust through door
- Wuterich told them to treat it as hostile environment, told them to shoot first, ask questions later
- After entering through kitchen, Tatum thinks he hears AK-47 rifle being "racked" around a corner
- Tatum and Salinas toss grenades into room
- Waleed Hasan, 37, was killed. [No one is charged with the murder of someone of this name as spelled.]
- Khamisa Ali, 66, was shot dead in the hallway [No one is charged with the murder of someone of this name as spelled.]
- before four others were killed in a bedroom by grenades and rifle fire
- Eman Hamed (9 yrs) says grenade land near her grandfather's bed and explodes, sends shrapnel through room. Her mother and brother (4 yrs) were killed as she huddled, injured, with other brother, Abid, 6, who survived. Abid says Marines were shooting in all rooms [No one is charged with the murder of anyone with the last name of Hamed.]
- Several Marines said they quickly cleared the home by fire

Second House (? Killed)

- Wuterich, Tatum, and Mendoza move on to 2nd house (suspect insurgents may have escaped)
- Mendoza says they approach 2nd house same way – treat as hostile
- Mendoza shoots man, Yunis Rasif (43), through the house's glass kitchen door [No one is charged with his murder]
- Mendoza says his training is that all individuals in a hostile house are to be shot
- Marines enter the house, and toss grenades before firing into a back bedroom, (later found filled with women and children)

Another House(s) – Possible trigger house on North side of Road at same time as house 1 and 2

-Dela Cruz and other Marines enter possible trigger house, north side of road, search several houses, shoot no one, take prisoners

Man shot by Marines running along ridgeline

Several Hours later

Third and Fourth House (? Killed)

- Wuterich, Sharratt, and Salinas see men peering at them suspiciously, enter 3rd and 4th house
- Iraqi witnesses say 3 Marines separated men and women in 2 lines, marched men into 4th house, shot them
- 3 Marines say they were searching for the men they had seen, separated women into a safe area, Wuterich and Sharratt entered the house

[Girlene]

That guy is creepy looking. Is his other line of work being a used car salesman? Actually, it appears he turned over the video sometime in January, 2006 (only a two month delay).

Okay, what I think I have so far is

5 charges for taxi deaths (5 killed)
4 charges for House 1 (6 possibly killed)
7 charges for House 2 (8 possibly killed)
4 charges for House 3 (or 4) (4 killed)

20 charges out of 23 possibly killed; 2 charges missing from house 1, 1 charge missing from house 2.

I will put up my latest list connecting the USMC charges and hammurabi list in the next post.

[RedRover]

You realise we're digging into this in a way that the MSM has never done.

[RedRover]

While waiting for Girl's next post (and in between hacking icebergs out of my driveway) it occurs to me that we could talk about your blog notion here on an open thread. It's a lot easier than Freepmail--especially to get Girl in the discussion.

Frank's interview is the big upcoming event. And the big concern is that the interviewer says 24 civilians were killed.

Even using the gov't and terrorist-sympathizer tallies that we're collating here, the number of 24 won't be accurate. Also, it's extremely misleading for a news outlet to give the impression that no insurgents were killed in Haditha.

So you or I could do a blog entry today on the subject of whether 60 Minutes will be fair to our Marines.

Then you or I could do a follow up Sunday night after the interview.

Hopefully, Girlene's spade work will give us some solid numbers to use.

What do you think, pink?

[Girlene]

Here's the latest combined list of USMC and Hammurabi Rights group list (best guess). I've added ages and M for male when known:

USMC
Sergeant Sanick P. Dela Cruz and Staff Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich

1. did murder Ahmed Khutar Musleh, also known as Ahmed Fenr Muselh. - A (Taxi) (25) M

2. did murder Wagdi Aida Alzawi, also known as Wgedi Aida Abd. C (Taxi) (22) M

3. did murder Kaled Aida Alzawi, also known as Kaled Aida Abd. B (Taxi) (27) M

4. did murder Mohmed Tabal Ahmed, also known as Mohmed Betel Ahmed. D (Taxi) (21) M

5. did murder Akram Hamid Flaeh, also known as Akram Hmid Fluih. E (Taxi) (21) M

Staff Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich and Lance Corporal Stephen B. Tatum

6. did murder Zainab Unes Salim. V (House #2) (3)

Lance Corporal Justin L. Sharratt

7. did murder Jasib Aiad Ahmed. G (House 3 or 4) (27) M

8. did murder Kahtan Aiad Ahmed. I (House 3 or 4) (24) M

9. did murder Jamal Aiad Ahmed. F (House 3 or 4) (41) M

Lance Corporal Stephen B. Tatum

10. did murder Noor Salim Rasif. ? S (House #2) (14?)

11. did unlawfully kill Abdul Hameed Husin Ali. L (House #1) (Late 70's)

12. did unlawfully kill Guhid Abdalhamid Hasan. ? N (House #1) (30)

13. did unlawfully kill Asmaa Salman Rasif, also known as Asamaa Salman Rasif. J (House #1) (32)

14. did unlawfully kill Abdullah Waleed Abdul Hameed, also known as Abdullah Waleed Abdul. K (House #1) (child)

Staff Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich

15. did murder Huda Yasin Ahmed. W (House #2) (28)

16. did murder Aida Yasin Ahmed. Q (House #2) (35)

17. did murder Mohmed Yunis Salim. R (House #2) (child)

18. did murder Aisha Unes Salim. U (House #2) (2)

19. did murder Sebea Yunis Salim. T (House #2) (4)

20. did murder Marwan Aiad Ahmed. H (House #3 or 4) (28) M

I screwed up #11 on Tatums, changed #12 to N, changed #10 to S also on Tatums.

This leaves us with these allegations:

5 killed in Taxi - Wuterich & Dela Cruz
4 killed in House #1 - Tatum
7 killed in House #2 - Tatum gets 1, Wuterich gets 5, Tatum and Wuterich share 1
4 killed in House #3 (or 4) - Sharratt gets 3, Wuterich gets 1

Whose left?

House #2, (P) Younis Salim Raseef, 41. (From the Wash. Post article, Mendoza said he shot a man, 43-year-old Yunis Rasif, through the house's glass kitchen door, house #2)
So Mendoza is allegedely responsible for this 1 death which wasn't charged.

House #1 (M) Waleed Abdul Hameed Hassan, 35 and (O) Khameesa Toama Ali, 65. (From the Wash. Post article: Tatum and Salinas tossed grenades into the room: Waleed Hasan, 37, was killed. Khamisa Ali, 66, was shot dead in the hallway before four others were killed in a bedroom by grenades and rifle fire.)
So this makes it sound like Tatum and/or Salinas were responsible for these 2 deaths which weren't charged.

Clear as mud, yet?

[Girlene]

By my estimation, their were only 23 Iraqi deaths that day. The USMC is saying 22 were murdered. 20 specific murder charges were named between the four Marines. If you look at Specification 13 on Wuterich's charges, they throw some crazy thing in about house #1, that he was responsible for 6 murders in that house even though 2 weren't specifically named. I'm not sure Wuterich killed anyone in house 1 since he wasn't in the lead of the team, Tatum and Salinas seem to have been in the lead.

The only one left out is the one in house 2 that Mendoza admitted killing.

So it seems at this point, the USMC is calling everyone a civilian, except Mendoza's kill. Go figure.

I was right, it does appear that Mendoza and Salinas get off with no charges even though it appears they were involved in the killings. Hmmm?

[ReignOfError]

Let's calm down a bit here. The presumption of innocence is a legal concept; I don't think many folks here would conclude that OJ Simpson is innocent.

[RedRover]

Taking a break from shoveling. At a glance, one thing is obvious.

The media invariably reports that the deaths in Haditha "included women and children". By even unproven accusations, and taking the NCIS report based on terrorist sympathizer statements as fact, the MSM should at least occasionally say that the deaths "included insurgents".

Will 60 Minutes?

[RedRover]

Sorry, but that's a false comparison.

With Simpson, evidence was presented in a courtroom. The jury found him not guilty. The argument is about the verdict, based on evidence and testimony.

The only information we have in the Haditha case is from the MSM. The media is using two sources: insurgent-sympathizers in Haditha and anonymous leakers. No evidence has been presented and tested in a legal proceeding. The accusations are, at this point, unproven.

Many of the Haditha Marines had multiple tours in Iraq, and many fought through Hell House in Fallujah. Seems to me that we should reserve judgement until we hear their side of the story.

[Girlene]

It looks like USMC and NCIS have designated everyone civilians (don't know about the one Mendoza said he killed). The initial military payout was for 15 civilians, no money for 8 insurgents. Four of those insurgents were from house 3 (or 4). I'm 99% sure on those 4. I'm assuming the other 4 insurgents must have come from the taxi? Not sure why there weren't 5 from the taxi. I'm really not sure who the military thought the other 4 insurgents were.

Long story, short, the USMC and NCIS is now saying the four Marines killed civilians only, no insurgents.

I've got a question, who detonated the bomb? I don't think this has ever been answered.

[RedRover]

I noticed that as well. In Pantano's case, the list of charges went on for page after page. You would have thought he was Ted Bundy! It seems charges are sometimes added so that there's wiggle room in court if the case starts to go south.

[RedRover]

It's difficult to work with such sketchy information. But at least a couple things are coming clear.

Comparing apples to apples (the leaked NCIS report and the final charges), is it a reasonable inference that the gov't believes that at least two insurgents were killed in Haditha? (The two shot by Mendoza and Salinas?)

I'm not saying this means that two, and only two, insurgents were killed that day. What I'm getting at is that the media never reports a single insurgent death in Haditha. And that at least gives us something to work with. Especially if we want to blog in response to 60 Minutes claiming that 24 civilians were killed in Haditha.

What do you think?