Gen. Mattis claimed not to be influenced by Col. Ewers, even after Ewers admitted to attending 25 meetings in which Haditha was discussed.
According to this linked article,
Mattis testifies,
He said he also had a number of meetings about the cases and that the frequency and duration of the meetings ---- sometimes four times a week, and sometimes running five hours at a time ---- were unmatched by any other meetings he had, including meetings about intelligence, operations and logistics.
I have a question. If Col. Ewers was at these meetings, 4 times a week, sometimes running 5 hours, WHY was he there? Did he have nothing better to do? If he attended these meetings, there had to be an expectation of his input. Otherwise, why waste all that time?
None of it makes sense. On the other hand, if the judge ruled for the defense, he’d have to discount Gen Mattis’ testimony. What are the odds of that?