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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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April 19th,
2007 - Report: Attorneys want Haditha Marine Given Immunity |
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Report: Attorneys want
Haditha Marine Given Immunity By Mark Walker North County Times April 19, 2007 North County - Attorneys
representing enlisted men accused of murder in the deaths of 24 Iraqi
civilians in Haditha in 2005 have asked the Marine Corps to grant immunity to
an officer who was present that day and require that he testify at upcoming
court proceedings, the North County Times has learned. The officer, 1st Lt. William
Kallop, was part of a reaction force that responded to the first reports of a
firefight following a roadside bombing that destroyed a Humvee, killing a
lance corporal and injuring another Marine. Kallop was there when
members of a Camp Pendleton squad, led by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich,
assaulted nearby homes following the bombing, resulting in the deaths of 19
civilians, including several women and children. Wuterich and two other
enlisted men face homicide charges as a result of their actions. Kallop's specific actions
and any orders he may have issued are under increasing scrutiny from the
defense attorneys, according to several sources close to the case who spoke
with the newspaper this week on the condition of anonymity. The attorneys question why
he wasn't charged with any wrongdoing, and at least two have asked the
government to grant him immunity and mandate that he testify at upcoming
court hearings for their clients, according to the sources. Kallop's attorney, Richard
McNeil, refused to comment when asked Thursday about the report. Shortly after the incident
in Haditha, Kallop nominated Wuterich for a medal, saying that he had
effectively led a counterattack that resulted in the deaths of a large number
of insurgents. Wuterich is charged with 13 counts of murder, two counts of
soliciting another to commit murder and making a false official statement. The Marines charged with the
killing have directly or through their attorneys said that the civilian
deaths were an unfortunate consequence of a legitimate response to being
attacked. The men are all from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine
Regiment. In addition to the enlisted
men, four officers were charged with dereliction of duty for allegedly
failing to fully investigate and accurately report the events in Haditha that
took place on Nov. 19, 2005. Before the 19 people in the
homes were killed, five Iraqi men were shot to death shortly after emerging
from a car that drove up after the massive roadside bomb explosion claimed
the life of Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas. Kallop's specific role in
the Haditha incident has not been made public, but The Washington Post
reported in January that he directed the assault on the homes. According to the Post story,
Cpl. Hector Salinas reported seeing a man firing rifle shots at the Marines
shortly after the bombing. Salinas has not been accused of any wrongdoing. "Salinas then stated
that he could see the enemy so Kallop told them to 'take the house,'"
according to the Post story that quoted from a Naval Criminal Investigative
Service report the newspaper had obtained. McNeil also refused to comment on
the Post's account of his client's actions. A Camp Pendleton spokesman
refused to confirm that prosecutors have been asked to grant Kallop immunity. "As this is an ongoing
investigation, the government will not confirm the identity of potential
witnesses or discuss the conditions under which they may appear," Lt.
Col. Sean Gibson said. On Tuesday, the Marine Corps
disclosed that it had dropped five counts of unpremeditated murder and one
count of making a false official statement against Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz
in the Haditha killings. That move, reducing the
number of enlisted defendants from four to three, came after the military's
convening authority over the case, Lt. Gen. James Mattis, approved granting
the sergeant immunity in exchange for his testimony. The decision was based,
the Marine Corps said, on balancing what it said was Dela Cruz's "low
level of culpability in the alleged crimes against the potential value of his
testimony." Military law experts said
that it appears that Dela Cruz will be a key prosecution witness and that his
testimony could make it harder for the accused to win acquittals. The military's Haditha
investigation as a criminal case began in March 2006 following a Time
magazine report that quoted relatives of the Iraqis as claiming the Marines
went on a rampage. The Marine Corps had initially said that the civilian
deaths were the result of the roadside bomb. The accused were charged on
Dec. 21 and the now-seven defendants will appear before hearing officers
later this year for court sessions that will help determine if their cases
move ahead to court-martial. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/04/20/news/top_stories/1_03_454_19_07.txt |