The Haditha Marines-The Squad Leader-A Final Chapter (SSgt Wuterich-Master Thread)

1-2-2012

[smoothsailing]

January 2, 2012

The Haditha Marines-The Squad Leader-A Final Chapter

It certainly seems appropriate that the last defendant in the Haditha case is the squad leader, SSgt Frank Wuterich. Leaders take responsibility, and SSgt Wuterich has taken full responsibility for the actions of his squad in Haditha. His stance from the outset has remained clear:

"My Marines responded to the threats they faced in the manner that we all had been trained", he has steadfastly maintained. "I will bear the memory of the events of that day forever, and will always mourn the unfortunate deaths of the innocent Iraqis who were killed during our response to the attack."

As the last Marine originally charged in the deaths of Iraqis in Haditha, Iraq in 2005, SSgt Wuterich will be seated at the defense table in his general court-martial two days from now, Wednesday, January 4th. Barring last minute motions or outright dismissal of charges, jury selection will begin Wednesday or Thursday. SSgt. Wuterich will be tried by a jury of combat-experienced Marines, and the panel will include at least two Marines from the enlisted ranks.

Much has been written over the last six years about Haditha, and links to some of the most recent news articles and commentaries are included at the bottom of this post to help bring readers up to date. For older Free Republic postings, please use this link or enter the keyword Haditha in the Free Republic search engine.

The purpose of this Free Republic thread is to serve as a "Master Post" where trial news and updates can be brought together in one place for easy reference by those interested in following the proceedings as they unfold.

Freepers Smoothsailing, Red Rover, and Jazusamo will monitor the thread, post updates, and attempt to answer questions or direct readers to information sources. Jazusamo maintains the Haditha Marine Ping List. Please ask Jazusamo to be added to the ping list if you wish to be alerted to updates.

Recent News and Commentary:

MILITARY TIMES-Haditha Marine Faces Trial

Count Down to the Last Haditha Trial

MILITARY: Two high-profile cases set for Pendleton courtrooms

Remember SSgt Frank D. Wuterich: The last Haditha Marine goes on trial

Don’t rewrite Murtha’s legacy (Haditha Marines)

[RedRover]

We will see. Justin may be on the stand as well which would be a good contrast.

[smoothsailing]

This is a strange little blurb...

Top a.m. stories, 01/11
Associated Press
Posted January 11, 2012 at 9:32 a.m
... Cpl. Stephen Tatum testified Tuesday in the trial of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the last defendant in one of the biggest criminal cases against U.S. troops to emerge from the war. By Julie Watson. Eds: We are not staffing the trial Wednesday.

http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/jan/11/no-headline-—ap_news_digest_7_am1387/

Not staffing the trial Wednesday???

[jazusamo]

Strange indeed. Supposedly one of the biggest criminal cases of the war but they’re not covering Wednesday.

AP makes their money selling the big stories, seems Julie kinda contradicted herself.

[1010RD]

I cannot wait for the not guilty verdict as this vulgar stain on American values comes to an end. What these guys went through is mind boggling. We’ve fallen far.

[smoothsailing]

By Julie Watson. Eds: We are not staffing the trial Wednesday.

I read Eds: as meaning the Editors are saying the story will not be staffed, but it's still strange. Like you say, covering big stories is what they do.

[smoothsailing]

Tony Perry has a LA Times piece on Dela Cruz testimony today...

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/11/4181224/marine-testifies-his-squad-leader.html

[Girlene]

Well, Lancey, you're probably not far off the mark. Here' what I could find about Dela Cruz's testimony today. Ohhhhboy....

Squad mate says Marine planned Iraq killings

"Sgt. Frank Wuterich and a couple Marines in his squad were gathered around the smoke pit at the Haditha dam in 2005, in Al Anbar province of Iraq where a violent insurgency was on the rise.

A Marine from another unit had been blasted outside their base by a roadside bomb. “If we ever get hit again, we should kill everyone in that vicinity,” Sgt. Frank Wuterich allegedly told his men, according to testimony Wednesday by one of his former squad mates, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, who was a corporal at the time.

Whether or not Wuterich spoke those words, he had the chance to put them into action when their supply convoy was attacked by a roadside bomb. Dela Cruz and Wuterich were among the first to jump out of the trucks on Nov. 19, 2005.

When Dela Cruz exited his vehicle he saw a group of Iraqi men standing in front of a white car parked on the road. A couple had their hands up in the air or locked behind their heads, he told the court. Then one dropped to the ground.

Wuterich had taken a knee and was pointing his gun at the men, Dela Cruz said. He assumed his squad leader had seen something threatening and was shooting, so Dela Cruz opened fire. "............................[read more at the site]

[smoothsailing]

Dela Cruz’s credibility as a witness was impaired by his admission that he lied in his initial sworn statements...

I'll say. I expect Puckett and Faraj will shred Dela Cruz at some point.

[jazusamo]

Thanks to you both.

It’s pretty easy to see why Dela Cruz’s testimony wasn’t taken seriously in the hearings.

[Girlene]

From the article that you just posted Sacramento Bee.

.................."The trial was halted briefly when a juror told the judge, Lt. Col. David Jones, that he just remembered that he had served with Dela Cruz.

While Dela Cruz and other jurors were sent outside the courtroom, the juror explained that he remembered Dela Cruz as an average Marine who had appointments to get help for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.

The prosecutors asked that the juror be taken off the panel. Jones declined. "


Hmmmmm

[smoothsailing]

That Dela Cruz was called as a witness shows the desperation of the prosecution, IMO. Nothing he says can be believed. It's hard to imagine the Marines on that jury buying his BS.

[Girlene]

The story that Dela Cruz tells is just becoming pathetic in my opinion. He tries to provide pre-meditation with this story from Squad mate says Marine planned Iraq killings

"“If we ever get hit again, we should kill everyone in that vicinity,” Sgt. Frank Wuterich allegedly told his men, according to testimony Wednesday by one of his former squad mates, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, who was a corporal at the time.

okay......then, he says this

When Dela Cruz exited his vehicle he saw a group of Iraqi men standing in front of a white car parked on the road. A couple had their hands up in the air or locked behind their heads, he told the court. Then one dropped to the ground.

Wuterich had taken a knee and was pointing his gun at the men, Dela Cruz said. He assumed his squad leader had seen something threatening and was shooting, so Dela Cruz opened fire.

Later, Dela Cruz performs a dead check and admits to urinating on one of the deceased.

And SSgt Wuterich is going down for the deaths of these five? mmmm...mmmm.mmmm.

THe original charges also included Dela Cruz saying that Wuterich tried to get Dela Cruz to lie about what went down that day (obstruction).....So Dela Cruz tries to provide premeditation, the actual murder/manslaughter, then the coverup or obstruction (even thought that's been thrown out at this point because of procedural errors). All Dela Cruz needed was a tidy bow to wrap this package up real purty.

THese prosecutors, Gannon and THE Sean Sullivan, just aren't that smart, IMO.

[Lancey Howard]

Dela Cruz promised to say anything the prosecutors wanted him to say in exchange for his “deal”.
I suspect the defense will tear him to shreds.

[jazusamo]

That Dela Cruz was called as a witness shows the desperation of the prosecution

THese prosecutors, Gannon and THE Sean Sullivan, just aren't that smart

Well said by the both of you, absolutely agree. Puckett and Faraj are going to decimate Dela Cruz and the panel members probably already know it.

[smoothsailing]

“It was all a made-up story, sir,” he said. “It was lies.”

Right, but it was a story made up by Dela Cruz, and no one else.

[Lancey Howard]

...the juror explained that he remembered Dela Cruz as an average Marine who had appointments to get help for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues. The prosecutors asked that the juror be taken off the panel. Jones declined.

Laughing my ass off!

[xzins]

Dela Cruz, an E-4 at the time, blames an E-5 for saying he wants to clean up an area if they get hit there again. He claims a “verbatim memory” of what was said word-for-word. I don’t believe him. I’ve had classes on doing case-study verbatims, and I never get it right. Ever.

Just speaking for myself, if I were continually being hit in a particular location, I’d probably at some point ponder about it a bit and say we need to take action to clean the place up.

The corporal goes on to indicate he was the main trigger in killing the men around the white car. But he lays that on his E-5, too.

Then this corporal urinates on a dead man. ??? From the get-go that indicates some kind of problem to this retired chaplain.

[Girlene]

Right, but it was a story made up by Dela Cruz, and no one else.

That would be my theory.

[Girlene]

I’ve had classes on doing case-study verbatims, and I never get it right. Ever.

Good point, xzins.

The whole point of the "memory" of Wuterich saying they should kill other Iraqis if they ever got hit was to provide "pre-meditation". Pre-meditation was needed by NCIS/Prosecution to show intent to murder. If Dela Cruz, himself, was responsible for one or all five of the deaths at the white taxi, guiding him to a story of premeditaion/murder/then obstruction by SSgt Wuterich, probably wasn't all that difficult.

Granted, I do not know SSgt Wuterich, but his demeanor from what has been seen on TV does not come across as a hot-head. He told Col. Watts several times during his investigation that his men did as they were supposed to do, given the circumstances. He just does not come across as a murdering, premeditated, hothead.

[Velveeta]

Placemark