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August, 30th, 2006 - Marine Who
Led Haditha Attack Was Recommended for a Medal |
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Marine Who Led Haditha
Attack Was Recommended for a Medal By Josh White Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, August 30, 2006; A05 The platoon commander for
the squad of Marines who killed as many as two dozen Iraqi civilians during
an attack in Haditha last year recommended later that the sergeant who led
the attack receive a medal for his heroism that day, according to military documents. Lt. William T. Kallop wrote
in a praise-filled memo that the incident on Nov. 19, 2005, was part of a
complex insurgent ambush that included a powerful roadside bomb followed by a
high volume of automatic-weapons fire from several houses in the neighborhood.
He lauded Sgt. Frank Wuterich for his leadership in the
"counterattack" on three houses while the unit received sporadic
enemy fire. The proposed citation indicates
that Kallop - the only Marine officer at the scene as the incident unfolded
-- believed the unit was under a coordinated insurgent attack when Marines
stormed civilian homes and opened fire, killing women and children. Whether
Marines felt threatened and believed the homes to be hostile is a central
element of their defense against potential criminal charges. The documents offer one of
the first public accounts of the incident from Kallop, 25, a University of
Virginia graduate and New York City native. Kallop does not explicitly
address the civilian deaths in his summary of the incident, which gives
detailed support for Wuterich's combat actions from September to December
2005. Representatives for Kallop,
who was promoted to first lieutenant in May, could not be reached for comment
yesterday. He is one of numerous Marines who are the subject of a Naval
Criminal Investigative Service investigation into civilian deaths in the
Haditha attack, which has alternately been characterized as a vengeful
massacre and as the unfortunate collateral damage of war. None has been
charged so far. Neal A. Puckett, an attorney
for Wuterich, provided the documents and the Marine's regular fitness report
dated Jan. 19 to The Washington Post, saying they support his client's
version of events, and show that officers in the unit believe Wuterich and
the other Marines did the right thing in the Haditha attack. Wuterich has
since been promoted to staff sergeant. The award was approved by the Kilo
Company commander and was sent to battalion and, later, regimental
headquarters before being put on hold at the division level, Puckett said. Lt. Col. Scott Fazekas, a
Marine Corps spokesman, said Marine officials found no record of the award.
Fazekas also declined to discuss the Haditha incident. While residents in the Iraqi
neighborhood have said the Marines went from house to house in a rage,
killing civilians in cold blood, Kallop complimented Wuterich on his calm
demeanor and suggested that the incident led the Marines to valuable
intelligence. Kallop arrived on the scene after the initial explosion. "Sgt. Wuterich ensured
that he had 360 degree security and led a counterattack on the buildings to
his south where his Marines were still receiving sporadic fire from,"
Kallop wrote in support of a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a
combat distinguishing device for Wuterich. "That counterattack turned
the tide of the ambush and killed a number of insurgents still attempting to
fight or attempting to flee the area." In a summary of the
incident, officials wrote that Wuterich's decisiveness "doubtlessly prevented
further injury or death to fellow Marines and innocent civilians." Puckett said Kallop approved
the assault in the midst of battle: "This was a planned and orchestrated
attack by insurgents, and the Marines were responding in accordance with
their rules." While it is possible that
the Marines concocted a story after the shootings, Kallop's recommendation
and the fitness report were completed in January, weeks after the incident
but months before a criminal investigation was launched in March. Senior
officials have said an investigation looking into command responsibility has
concluded that officers should have been more diligent in investigating the
shootings. John Sifton, a senior
researcher at Human Rights Watch, said there is no doubt that civilians were
killed in Haditha and that the real question is whether the shootings were
accidental or intentional. He said Kallop's account notably does not describe
the civilian deaths. "Our concern has been
that when a bunch of civilians get killed and there are a bunch of questions
about it, why didn't the military ask those questions at the beginning?"
Sifton said. "The issue is not solely Haditha; it's whether the military
has the ability to police itself." Kallop described the
response to the bomb attack as successful, largely because it led to the
arrest of 18 people, which in turn led to the capture of more insurgents who
were "complicit in the ambush." Researcher Julie Tate
contributed to this report. © 2006 The Washington Post
Company External link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR2006082901320.html |