|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
May 14th,
2007 - Haditha Case Involving 24 Killed Iraqis Resumes Monday News article by the Associated Press |
|
Haditha Case Involving 24 Killed
Iraqis Resumes Monday By Thomas Watkins Associated Press May 14, 2007 01:59:22 AM PDT Camp Pendleton, Calif.- The
criminal case is against Capt. Randy W. Stone, a Marine officer charged in
the killings of 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha, but his actions
received scant mention in the first five days of testimony at his preliminary
hearing. Instead, defense lawyers
called a string of witnesses to the stand, including a two-star general, who
have testified that they too saw no need for an investigation into the
deaths. Stone, 34, a battalion
lawyer, is one of four officers charged with dereliction of duty for failing
to probe the killings. Testimony was scheduled to continue Monday. On Saturday, Maj. Dana
Hyatt, a civil affairs officer for the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines at the
time, testified that he inspected the homes where several civilians had died
and the gore left even 10 days after the gruesome sweep stamped searing
images in his mind. "That's the most blood
I have ever seen," Hyatt said. Despite that visceral
reaction, Hyatt said he did not think the deaths warranted further investigation. Hyatt said a corporal from
the squad involved in the killings told him that he had heard someone in the
house loading a machine gun and that is why they cleared rooms with such
aggression. "It made sense. It
sounded OK," said Hyatt, who was given immunity to testify. The Marine Corps asserts
that the 24 slain were civilians, but Hyatt testified eight of the dead were
insurgents, a claim that has not been verified. Marines cleaning up the
remains - including those of women, children and the elderly - ran out of
body bags and put some corpses in trash bags, said Hyatt, who visited the
morgue the night after the killings. More than a week later, and at the
request of the town council, Hyatt examined the rooms where the bodies had
been and saw blood-spattered beds and hair stuck in the ceiling. Based on what he saw, Hyatt
said he was authorized to distribute more than $40,000 in compensation to
relatives of the dead. Still, Hyatt testified that
his understanding of Marine rules was that when civilians died in combat
operations, no follow-up investigation was necessary. The hearing is part of an
Article 32 investigation, the military's equivalent to a grand jury
proceeding. Maj. Thomas McCann, the investigating officer, will hear evidence
and recommend whether the charges should go to trial. External link: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5891965 Battalion
commander said ‘men aren’t murderers’ when confronted with Haditha
allegations By Mark Walker North County Times May 14, 2007 1:04 PM PDT Camp Pendleton - A Marine
colonel in charge of troops involved in the 2005 slaying of Iraqi civilians
in Haditha reacted with anger when confronted two months after the incident
with allegations the deaths may have resulted from a violation of the
military's rule of engagement. "My Marines are not
murderers," Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani responded when the allegations
were brought to him, according to testimony Monday morning from Maj. Samuel
Carrasco, the operations officer for the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment
when the killings took place on Nov. 19, 2005. Carrasco's testimony came on
the sixth day of a hearing to determine if Capt. Randy Stone, the battalion's
legal officer, should stand trial on dereliction of duty charges for failing
to initiate an investigation of the killings. Carrasco described Nov. 19
as a day of numerous engagements in and around the city of Haditha, saying it
was the busiest combat day throughout the battalion's entire deployment. The allegations that two
dozen civilians who died at the hands of the battalion's Kilo Company on Nov.
19 were killed in violation of the rules of engagement did not emerge until a
Time magazine reporter began asking questions in January, Carrasco said. Immediately after receiving
an e-mail listing of the reporter's questions, Carrasco said he took the
information to Chessani. Until then, Carrasco said no
one throughout the battalion or from higher headquarters asked any questions
that would suggest the killings were anything other than a result of combat
action. The civilians were killed
after a roadside bomb destroyed a Humvee, killing a lance corporal and two
other Marines. Five men who drove up in a car immediately after the bombing
were shot and 19 civilians in three nearby homes died afterword when troops
from the battalion's Kilo Company stormed them, suspecting insurgents were
inside. The Marine Corps initially
said that 15 civilians died in crossfire and that eight insurgents had been
killed. Despite that first report,
when the service charged four officers including Stone and Chessani with
dereliction of duty and four enlisted men with murder, it said that 24
civilians were killed and did not identify any of the victims as suspected
insurgents. In the end, the Marine Corps
made death benefit payments to survivors of all 24, Stone's attorney Charles
Gittins said Monday. The testimony continues this
afternoon and could last through Wednesday. See Tuesday's North County
Times for a full report on Monday's proceedings. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/14/news/top_stories/41307182113.txt |