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Congressman makes apology to Haditha marines Tue Aug 15, 2006 2:14 PM ET Reuters By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. lawmaker apologized on Tuesday to U.S. Marines under investigation in the deaths of two dozen Iraqi civilians in Haditha in a statement his office said spared him from a libel lawsuit. Minnesota Republican Rep. John Kline, a retired Marine Corps colonel, issued a three-paragraph statement under a deal with lawyers for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, one of the Marines under investigation. Wuterich's lawyers filed a libel lawsuit against another congressman, Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, on August...

HADITHA, Iraq – A young Marine wonders if his superiors will support him if he shoots at perceived threats. An officer worries that civilians look at his Marines with more suspicion. The proud colonel acknowledges that his Corps has lost stature in the public's eyes. Allegations that Marines deliberately killed 24 civilians – including women and children – last November in this rebellious city have prompted reactions ranging from shame and anger to disbelief within the Marine Corps. In this intensely proud service, some say they're being prematurely judged. Others grasp for plausible explanations behind the alleged slaughter. A Pentagon...

CAMP PENDLETON The Marine Corps has postponed a hearing for a Marine charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian. The Article 32 hearing for Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate was rescheduled for Sept. 12 after the defense requested a delay, said his military attorney Capt. Patrick Callahan. It had initially been scheduled for Aug. 28. Shumate, along with six other Marines and a sailor, was charged with the April 26 kidnap and murder of a 52-year-old man in the rural Iraqi town of Hamdania. The men were being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton. Earlier this month, Shumate of...

HADITHA, Iraq - A young Marine wonders if his superiors will support him if he shoots at perceived threats. An officer worries that civilians look at his Marines with more suspicion. The proud colonel acknowledges that his Corps has lost stature in the public's eyes. Allegations that Marines deliberately killed 24 civilians — including women and children — last November in this rebellious city have prompted reactions ranging from shame and anger to disbelief within the Marine Corps. In this intensely proud service, some say they're being prematurely judged. Others grasp for plausible explanations behind the alleged slaughter. A Pentagon...

Here are some exclusive photos of the homecoming of some members of Kilo Company, Third Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment

NORTH COUNTY ---- The focus at Camp Pendleton is about to shift from teaching troops the latest warfare techniques to trying Marines for alleged war crimes in Iraq. Separate cases involving two Camp Pendleton units allege members of two platoons violated the Pentagon's rules of engagement and killed 25 Iraqis, many of whom authorities say were clearly noncombatants. One case, which arises out of the slaying of a 52-year-old Iraqi man in the village of Hamdania on April 26, has landed seven Marines and a Navy corpsman in the base brig on charges of premeditated murder and kidnapping. The other...

I'm getting a bad feeling about what I see happening to our troops in the field – at home and abroad. I'm referring to the growing number of serious charges against U.S. troops in Iraq and some recent prosecutions of Border Patrol agents right here in this country. First of all, I would like to remind everyone that we are at war. We can never afford to forget that – not for a minute. We are at war with people on foreign soil who want to destroy America. And we are at war with people invading this country – some...

SAN DIEGO The Marine Corps said Monday that it has set a provisional timetable to prosecute seven Marines and a sailor charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian. The charges against the eight, who are all held in the brig at Camp Pendleton, will be considered at an Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a grand jury proceeding. The first hearing has been set for Aug. 28 where only one Marine's case would be heard, said Marine Lt. Col. Sean Gibson. The other troops' cases would be presented at separate hearings on Sept. 25 and Oct. 18. "These...

SAN DIEGO ---- While eight U.S. servicemen sit in a military jail accused of war crimes and under an international spotlight, 10 young civilians, strangers to the defendants, are thumbing through legal books and organizing evidence to help the defense. It's nearly a full-time job for the civilians. And they are doing it as volunteers. The 10 are law students. Their professors are the attorneys tapped to represent Pfc. John Jodka, one of the eight men accused of kidnapping and killing an Iraqi man on April 26 in the village of Hamdania. It's the kind of case that seasoned professionals...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- As the leadership of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force changed hands, the departing and incoming commanders said they believe an investigation into accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot civilians in Haditha, Iraq, will ultimately strengthen the corps. Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder took command of the Camp Lejeune-based group on Wednesday from Lt. Gen. James Amos, who is headed to the Pentagon to become deputy commandant in charge of combat development. "We don't know the facts on Haditha, let alone what the facts mean at this point," said Stalder. "We do owe it to the American people...

SAN DIEGO Assault charges were filed against six Marines on Thursday as the result of an incident that occurred in April in the Iraqi village of Hamdania and was uncovered during an unrelated investigation into the slaying of an Iraqi civilian later that month, military officials said. Three of the Marines charged Thursday are currently in the brig at Camp Pendleton on kidnapping and murder charges in connection with the April 26 slaying of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania. The other three had not been charged in that case. Meanwhile, a seventh Marine, an officer, is expected to be...

Evidence collected on the deaths of 24 Iraqis in Haditha supports accusations that Marines from Camp Pendleton, Calif., deliberately shot the civilians, including unarmed women and children, a Pentagon official said Wednesday. Agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service have completed their initial work on the incident last November, but may be asked to probe further as Marine Corps and Navy prosecutors review the evidence and determine whether to recommend criminal charges, according to two Pentagon officials who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity. The decision on whether to press criminal charges ultimately will be made by the commander...

Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman charged in the April killing of an Iraqi man are refusing to testify against one another, attorneys for one of the men said Monday. Jane Siegel, who represents Pfc. John Jodka III, said the military was increasingly frustrated that none would agree to testify for the prosecution."The government is doing its damned best to try and provoke one of these Marines to testify against the others in accordance with its theory of the case," Siegel said. "None of these men are going to do that." Siegel's comments were made after the Marine Corps sent...

The Death of the Marine Corps. Is it the Old Corps anymore? Is our Corps dead now? Where is the Semper Fidelis that we were taught to uphold and believe in?

One is described as a patriot. Another is said to be a bookworm and budding poet. One loves the Red Sox; another loves animals. Ongoing Coverage: Hamdania One helped feed the homeless at a soup kitchen last Thanksgiving, and another had plans to leave the service and become an architect. Until this spring, their common bond was service as members of Kilo Company from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment based at Camp Pendleton. Now, each has a much different kind of bond: They are imprisoned in the base brig for allegedly conspiring to kidnap, bind and kill Hashim Ibrahim...

CAMP PENDLETON ---- Attorneys for two of seven Marines charged with premeditated murder in the shooting of an Iraqi civilian in April accused the military Thursday of refusing to provide basic information necessary to prepare their defenses. They also complained that the Marine Corps has denied a request that they be allowed to hire an independent investigator to travel to the scene of the incident.

A summary of a report said to fault the way Marine Corps brass responded upon learning 24 Iraqi civilians were killed by a Camp Pendleton unit should be released this week, a military spokesman said Monday. Meanwhile, an attorney for that unit's leader said he doesn't believe there is enough evidence to file criminal charges against the men responsible for the Nov. 19 shootings in the city of Haditha. "I know too much about what happened that day (in Haditha) to think that any of these kids are going to be placed in pretrial confinement," said Kevin McDermott, an attorney...

CAMP PENDLETON ---- For seven Marines and a Navy corpsman accused of premeditated murder in the death of an Iraqi man in April, conditions inside the Camp Pendleton brig are improving. The men are no longer shackled, as they were when they were first incarcerated in mid-May. They are no longer forced to take their meals by themselves in their individual, isolation cells, and they now have regular access to the brig's exercise and recreation facility. As they await hearings that will determine whether each moves on to face trial, they are experiencing a daily routine familiar to the brig's...

Seven Web sites set up by friends and families of eight Camp Pendleton troops accused of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian are getting thousands of page hits ---- and raising money for their defense. The supporters also are planning auctions and hosting barbecues in their attempts to raise money to pay the bills of the civilian attorneys the men have hired, bills that are expected to be as much as $100,000 or more per man. Seven Marines and one sailor are charged with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and related offenses in the April 26 death of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad....

CAMP PENDLETON -- On the eve of Independence Day, a person close to one of one of eight servicemen charged with murdering an Iraqi civilian released a letter signed by the men, asking Americans to spend today honoring troops who are fighting overseas. It was the first written communication that appeared to be signed by the men, who are being held in the Camp Pendleton brig on charges of murdering an Iraqi civilian in April and conspiring to cover up his death. Though no formal pleas have been made, family members and attorneys for the men have proclaimed their innocence....