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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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June 21st, 2006 - Military Charges
8 With Murder of Iraqi |
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Military Charges 8 With
Murder of Iraqi By John O'Neil New York Times June 21, 2006 Military prosecutors
announced today that seven marines and a Navy corpsman had been charged with
murder, kidnapping and conspiracy in connection with the shooting death of an
Iraqi civilian in April. The men have been confined since May, when a
preliminary inquiry concluded that there was sufficient evidence to warrant a
criminal investigation. The men, who belong to the
Third Battalion of the Fifth Marine Regiment, have been held in Camp
Pendleton in California. Col. Stewart Navarre, chief
of staff, Marine Corps Installations West, announced the charges this
afternoon at Camp Pendleton, saying that the "Marine Corps prides
itself" in holding its members accountable for their actions. Earlier this month, Marine
officials and members of Congress who have been briefed on the case said the
eight men appeared to have dragged a 52-year-old Iraqi man from his house in
the town of Hamdaniya, west of Baghdad, on April 26, and shot him without
provocation. They said the marines had
then placed a shovel and bomb components near the man's body to make it seem
that he had been digging a hole for a roadside explosive, and also placed an
AK-47 near his body. Marine officials said the
incident was reported by other Iraqis on May 1. The charges come amid
growing scrutiny of military personnel over the deaths of civilians and
detainees in Iraq. In probably the most controversial case, a squad of
marines is under investigation over the deaths of 24 civilians in the town of
Haditha last November. In addition, three solders
were charged with premeditated murder on Monday in the deaths of three
detainees in early May. A fourth soldier was also charged with murder today
in the case, according to military officials in Iraq. A lawyer for one of the men
charged in the Hamdaniya case , Jeremiah J. Sullivan III, has said the
investigation began when Iraqis asked military officials for compensation for
the death. The case is not related to
an incident in the town of Haditha, in which two dozen civilians were killed
last year. A group of marines is under investigation in that case. The marines and Navy
corpsman have not been named. But the parents of one of the marines, Pfc.
John Jodka III, told The Los Angeles Times earlier this month that they
thought their son was being punished out of a desire by Marine officials to
rebut criticism that they were slow to react to evidence in the Haditha case. "It appears to me that
this is the reaction of some senior people to show 'we're in charge, we're
cleaning up our act,' " John Jodka Jr. told the newspaper. He said he
believed that the generals figure, "If a few privates and corporals have
to take it, that's the price of keeping my stars." Eric Schmitt contributed
reporting for this article from Washington. External link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/21/world/middleeast/21cnd-abuse.html |