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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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November 14th,
2006 - Cleared of Wrongdoing in Haditha? |
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Cleared of Wrongdoing in
Haditha? By Sally B. Donelly Time Magazine Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006 Military sources say the two
top generals in Iraq at the time of the alleged massacre, almost exactly one
year ago, won't likely face any serious charges It's been almost a year
since the alleged massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians by U.S. troops in the town
of Haditha on November 19, 2005, which was first reported by TIME. Yet after
10 months of probes no one in the U.S. military has been formally punished,
criminally charged or even officially cleared. That, however, is soon about
to end. While unnamed Pentagon
sources and outsiders have speculated that senior Marine commanders knew - or
should have known - exactly what the Marines did on the ground that day,
military sources now say that both Marine two-star generals in Iraq at the
time will likely be cleared of any serious criminal wrongdoing. An initial administrative
investigation led by Army Major General Eldon Bargewell found several
failures by the top two Marine officers, Major General Steve Johnson and
Major General Richard Huck. The failures, or "red flags," that were
uncovered so troubled the Marine Corps that it took the unusual step of
ordering a special criminal inquiry by the Naval Criminal Investigative
Service (NCIS) to see if serious charges should be brought - a rare move to
consider against officers so far up the chain of command. That process was further
complicated by the fact that the Bargewell report was quite vague in parts,
says a source who has seen it. Under the doctrine of command responsibility,
superior officers can be considered responsible for war crimes committed by
their subordinates if they were in a position to prevent the crimes and
failed to do so. That NCIS investigation has now been completed and has not
found enough evidence to bring serious charges - such as criminal negligence
or obstruction of justice - against either Johnson or Huck because they did
not know the details of what happened in Haditha, say government sources. Still, the two generals will
likely face some kind of formal punishment. The senior Marine general in Iraq
at the time, Johnson, has already had a planned promotion to a three-star job
stalled and his career may be finished, according to military sources. Huck,
who had already left the Corps to prepare for retirement, has been ordered
back into uniform because of the investigation and is working for a senior
officer. As for the Marines who were
on the ground in Haditha that day, they too will soon learn what charges they
might face. Military sources say Lt. General James Mattis, the senior officer
responsible for deciding whether to press charges and the punishments if the
Marines are found guilty, will make his recommendations in mid-December.
Three Marines, including Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, may be charged with
murder for their actions in Haditha after their squadmate, Lance Corporal Miguel
Terrazas, was killed by an IED in the early morning of that fateful day. The
Marines on the ground are alleged to have retaliated by entering several
houses in the area and killing the civilians, including women and children.
Wuterich's attorney has challenged that version, instead arguing the Marines
came under enemy fire and acted in self defense. A Marine spokesman would not
comment about the invesitgations or when they might end. "The
investigation is on-going...as soon as the facts are known and decisions on
future actions are made, we will make that information available to the
public to the fullest extent allowable, says Lt. Col. Sean Gibson." The long delay in justice
hasn't stopped others from making their own judgments about Haditha. Many observers
and politicans have already decided those involved are guilty - Democratic
Congressman and former Marine John Murtha has claimed that the Marines
"killed in cold blood," comments for which Wuterich has filed a
defamation lawsuit against Murtha. Others have asserted that civilian
casualties are a tragic reality of a morally confusing battlefield. The
truth, as it always is in the fog of war, is likely somewhere in-between. Copyright © 2006 Time Inc.
All rights reserved. External link:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1559495,00.html |