Posted on 06/16/2007 7:23:00 PM PDT by jazusamo
Clarice Feldman
The Haditha prosecution does not impress. The North County Times, a little paper, close to Camp Pendleton carries the best, most extensive coverage of the Haditha case, which was ginned up by Time Magazine and which has cost the charged Marines and their families endless heartache and certainly hurt morale of the troops. Quote:
CAMP PENDLETON ---- The officer in charge of a military hearing expressed serious doubts Friday about the government's prosecution of Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, one of three Marines charged in the November 2005 shooting deaths of Iraqi civilians in the city of Haditha.
Lt. Col. Paul Ware, who will recommend whether to send Sharratt to trial, challenged the prosecution, saying the government's theory of the case does not warrant the three counts of unpremeditated murder filed against Sharratt in December.
"The account you want me to believe does not support unpremeditated murder," Ware told the lead prosecutor, Maj. Daren Erickson. "Your theories don't match the reason you say we should go to trial."
Ware's comments came as the government and defense presented him with summations of the case on the fifth and final day of a hearing that will determine if the 22-year-old rifleman from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment will be ordered to stand trial.
Sharratt is accused of the civilian equivalent of second-degree murder for shooting three Iraqi brothers inside a home. A fourth man was shot by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who also faces murder charges.
Ware also suggested he is inclined to believe Sharratt, who maintains the first two men he shot were pointing AK-47 rifles at him, and that the killings were carried out in self-defense
Haditha Ping!
“Marine, go over there and kill the bastard’s.”
BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM...
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Killing the bastard’s sir.”
“Your under arrest (I have to CYA, so I can get promoted.”
Meadow Muffin
Thanks for posting. America’s finest! BTTT!
I gather that this goes back to a venemous press, including a Muslim photographer who works for Time Magazine, clintonoid lawyers in the judge advocate general’s office, and CYA superiors who bowed down to pressures rather than defend their men.
I also frankly think that Bush or others at the top should have intervened long before things got this far. There is a disturbing trend in this administration to punish their loyal subordinates while rewarding their political enemies.
Libby, Haditha, the Border Patrol agents, Pace, the list is long, and contrasts sharply with the lenient treatment and forgiveness meted out to Democrats.
Me Lie is turning into the Duke case.
Pray for W and Our Troops
"Your theories don't match the reason you say we should go to trial."
Ware also suggested he is inclined to believe Sharratt,
I'm no lawyer, nor the son of a lawyer, but this sounds really bad for the prosecution to me. It sounds like the deciding authority doesn't buy the prosecution version at all.
What do y'all think? Am I missing something?
Yes, it goes back over a year to Time, the MSM, Tim McGirk and the despicable Jack Murtha. They threw gasoline on the original smoldering fire to blow it out of proportion.
There’s many things that have and have not happened since but the truth is finally starting to come out in these Article 32 hearings.
I think the prosecution will continue to fail in its case until it gets down to one poor grunt they can place the blame on. Sombody has to hang to suit the NY Times.
The Marine lawyers are out Scapegoat hunting, and it isnt like snipe hunting. They intend to make an example out of some poor bastard. Sombody will get Nifonged.
You’re not missing a thing, Chaplin. The IO in LCpl Sharratt’s case is not buying the prosecutions charges. His recommendation will go to Lt. Gen. Mattis and he’ll have the final say but it looks very good for Sharratt.
BTTT
I agree with Sgt Bono. They’re gonna fry some poor SOB if they have to move heaven and hell to accomplish it.
They’ll probably get Fitzpatrick to go over testimony to see if they can get someone for lying about what he had for breakfast the morning of the encounter.
In the comment on my post I said this:
I know I should have posted this in blogs, so flame me, I don't mind the heat.
If anyone who doesn't know about Haditha and the raw deal that's been layed on U.S. Marines, by the American media, lead by a phonied up and despicable Time magazine story written by a cheap shot scribbler who calls himself Tim McGirk, and repugnant defeatist politicians who parade themselves around as America's defenders like John Murtha and his ilk, then learn more.
If you are seeing this for the first time, wherever you are in the world, then I can only hope you will defend our Marines, those good men who give freedom hope. If you love freedom, you can never have a better friend than a U.S. Marine.
1 posted on 06/16/2007 10:51:03 PM EDT by smoothsailing
It would certainly be nice if the general put a stop to the hearings but I doubt that’s going to happen.
The IO of Capt. Stone’s hearing recommended no charges and now this hearing looks good for LCpl Sharratt. No indication yet for the hearing just completed for LtCol Chessani.
I doubt the enemedia will have much to say about any of the Marines that charges are not filed against, like you say they’ll just let it quietly away. It’s really sad.
You can say that again. In fact, when you boil it all down, I think this is what bugs me most about this administration. It's a real character flaw.
Perhaps done to take the heat from any public or private source off of the General.
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