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August 15th, 2006 - Lawmaker
Apologizes To Marines For Remarks |
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Lawmaker Apologizes To
Marines For Remarks By Josh White Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, August 15, 2006; A03 A Republican congressman
apologized yesterday to the Marines under investigation in the killings of
two dozen civilians in Haditha, Iraq, last November, saying that statements
he made about the case were taken out of context and that he did not mean to
imply the Marines were guilty of wrongdoing. Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.)
issued the apology as part of an agreement with lawyers for Marine Staff Sgt.
Frank D. Wuterich, who alleged that Kline had damaged Wuterich's reputation. Wuterich, through his
lawyers, has denied any wrongdoing in the Haditha case. None of the Marines
involved has been charged. Wuterich took the unusual
step earlier this month of filing a federal lawsuit against Rep. John P. Murtha
(D-Pa.), alleging that statements Murtha made about the Haditha deaths were
libelous. Murtha said after the lawsuit was filed that he did not mean to
prejudge Wuterich, but the representative has not responded to a settlement
offer that seeks a similar public apology, according to Wuterich's attorneys,
Mark S. Zaid and Neal A. Puckett. The lawyers set last Friday as a deadline
for Murtha's response. Wuterich had threatened to
sue Kline as well. But Zaid said yesterday that Kline responded to a
settlement request within an hour of its arrival Aug. 4. Kline wrote that
news outlets used incomplete statements that gave the false impression that
he had concluded the Marines broke the law. "I am, of course, very
concerned regarding any allegations surrounding misconduct by U.S. troops in
Iraq," Kline wrote in his statement. "Such allegations must be
taken seriously, but we should never rush to judgment before all the facts
are known and the military criminal justice process is completed." Kline, a member of the House
Armed Services Committee, said he was briefed on Haditha by Marine Brig. Gen.
John F. Kelly, the legislative assistant to the Marine commandant. At the
time of the briefings, the official investigations were not complete, and
Kline emphasized that "conclusions have not been reached." "As a retired Colonel
in the U.S. Marines, I am especially proud of the sacrifices our men and
women make day in and day out, especially in combat situations," Kline
wrote. "And as a Marine officer, I would never want to publicly
insinuate, implicitly or explicitly, that I have prejudged what took place
that day on the battlefield or afterwards." © 2006 The Washington Post
Company External link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/14/AR2006081401003.html Al Jazeera 8/15/2006 6:11:00 PM GMT Initial
findings of a probe into Haditha massacre supported what the U.S. military
first claimed were “allegations” that American Marines deliberately shot 24
civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha last November, a Pentagon official
announced earlier this month. When
the Nov. 19, 2005 massacre took place, the Marines claimed that 15 Iraqi
civilians had been killed by a makeshift roadside bomb and in crossfire
between the U.S. occupation forces and Iraqi “insurgents.” But
based on accounts from survivors and human rights groups, Time magazine
reported in March that the killings of 24 innocent civilians, including women
and children, were deliberate acts by the Marines. A
criminal investigation was then ordered by the top Marine commander in Iraq,
Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer. "It's
fair to say that the majority of the work has been done," said Ed Buice,
spokesman for the Naval Criminal Investigation Service that is leading the
probe into the crime. "But it's impossible to predict how much longer
the investigation will take. It is very much open and ongoing." Investigators
interviewed Marines in Iraq and Iraqis in Haditha; but they couldn’t get a
permission to exhume the bodies of the 24 civilians who were slaughtered
earlier this year in the Iraqi town by the Marines. The
Haditha massacre and initial findings of the military probe into the incident
sparked feelings of shame and anger as well as disbelief within the U.S.
Marine Corps, an editorial on UK's The Guardian said. If
the final results of the Haditha probe proved the criminal involvement of the
Marines, “it would call into question what Marines consider their strengths:
Discipline in the ranks and holding the high moral ground in wartime,” the
editorial said. Public
attention on the Haditha increased following remarks made by Rep. John
Murtha, D-Pa., a former Marine; on May 17 in which he said that he has
learned from Marine Corps officials that innocent Iraqis had been killed
"in cold blood." In
a lawsuit filed earlier in federal court, lawyers for Staff Sgt. Frank D.
Wuterich, one of the Marines under investigation, argued that Murtha
"falsely" accused Wuterich of murder and war crimes. According
to the lawsuit, Pentagon officials "who have briefed or leaked
information to Mr. Murtha deliberately provided him with inaccurate and false
information" and that the congressman subsequently "has made
repeated statements ... that are defamatory." Murtha
said Wednesday he does not blame Wuterich for "lashing out." "When
I spoke up about Haditha, my intention was to draw attention to the
horrendous pressure put on our troops in Iraq and to the cover-up of the
incident," he said. But
Senior Marine commanders argue that the investigation won’t damage the Corps
irrevocably. “We're
going to come out of this just fine,” boasted Lt. Gen. James Amos, the
outgoing commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force. “I
don't know what the investigation is going to say. The truth will come out
and the Marine Corps is going to do the right thing. The American people will
know the truth.” But
commanders raised concerns stemming from a number of challenges as a result
of the Haditha case. “The
Iraqi people are going to perceive that everybody does business this way, and
that's not the case,” said Capt. Andrew Del Gaudio, 30, a New Yorker who
leads a company of Marines in Ramadi. “We
inherently have a responsibility to apply our craft with humanity ... and to
apply a proportionate amount of force to a threat.” U.S.
commanders troubled by the probe’s initial findings, ordered U.S. troops in
Iraq to undergo refresher training in “core values,” including how to treat
Iraq civilians. “The
core values training that we just completed is one of those things that I
think we need to do from time to time again just to make sure we understand
the complexity of the environment that we are in, and how our training fits,
how our values fit into a different culture,” said Maj. Gen. Richard C.
Zilmer, the top Marine commander in Iraq. Some
Marines privately discuss the fact that the U.S. troops accused in Haditha
case might have unleashed their anger on civilians who likely knew who
planted the bomb that killed a young lance corporal. Usually
Iraqi civilians choose to remain silent even if they know the whereabouts of
those behind attacks. “We
are not tasked with doing something simple,” said Del Gaudio - just as a
suicide car bomb exploded down the street from his base, shattering windows
and wounding four soldiers. A few minutes later Del Gaudio continued. “I've
told my Marines since Day One: I will always stand beside any decision they
make. ... Anytime they shoot someone I want them to have a clear conscience,”
he said. “It is too dangerous to foster that type of (second-guessing)
environment. It's inherently a relationship of trust with me and my Marines.
I trust that we have trained them the right way.” External link: http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=12336 |