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June 13th,
2007 - U.S. Inquiry Hampered by Iraq Violence, Investigators Say News article by the New York Times News article by the San Diego
Union-Tribune |
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U.S. Inquiry Hampered by
Iraq Violence, Investigators Say By Paul von Zielbauer New York Times June 13, 2007 Camp Pendleton, Calif., June
12 - Two naval investigators testified at a military hearing here on Tuesday
that their inquiry into allegations that marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians in
Haditha in 2005 was hampered by insurgent bombs and gunfire as well as the
absence of basic equipment like tape recorders. Nayda Mannle, a special
agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, said she had conducted a
hurried group interview of six relatives of the men killed three months
earlier, rapidly jotting notes of the translation of their overlapping
responses as American troops stood outside, ready to fend off any attack by
enemy fighters. Another N.C.I.S. agent, Mark
Platt, said he could not complete one interview of Iraqi witnesses in Haditha
because the conversation was “cut short by small-arms fire.” The testimony came in a
hearing to weigh evidence against Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, one of three
enlisted men in Company K, Third Battalion, First Marines, who are charged
with murder in the killings of Iraqi civilians in Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005. Corporal Sharratt, 22, of
Canonsburg, Pa., was charged with unpremeditated murder in the shooting of
three of the four men that he and another marine encountered during a search
of a home, two hours after a roadside bomb killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas. The two agents were among
government investigators assigned to collect forensic evidence - like shell
casings and blood samples - and interview Iraqi relatives of the 24 people
killed in Haditha. Ms. Mannle, the special
agent, said her team arrived at the Marine base near Haditha in March 2006.
Marines who escorted the team members to the scene told them they would have
only about an hour to conduct interviews and collect evidence. When the convoy approached
the home where four men had been killed, Ms. Mannle recalled, she heard women
inside scream in fear. Because of time and security concerns, she said, she
had interviewed six family members at once, gathering testimony that would
form the case against Corporal Sharratt. James D. Culp, a civilian
lawyer defending Corporal Sharratt, suggested that group interviews had been
“contradictory to everything you have been taught.” Ms. Mannle said she did
not have time to conduct separate interviews or review her notes before the
marines said it was time to leave. She did not record the
interview, she said, because she could not find a recorder, but when pressed
by Mr. Culp, she said she never sought to buy one from the post exchange. An N.C.I.S. spokesman, Ed
Buice, said in an e-mail message that no federal law enforcement agency
regularly taped interviews. As the marines hustled
investigators from the home, a roadside bomb blew up nearby, Ms. Mannle said. External link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/us/13haditha.html Accounts differ on Haditha
slayings By Steve Liewer San Diego Union-Tribune June 13, 2007 Prosecutors and defense
attorneys yesterday sketched sharply contrasting versions of what happened
Nov. 19, 2005, the day Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt killed three brothers in
Haditha, Iraq. The accounts emerged during
the second day of a pretrial hearing at Camp Pendleton to help decide whether
Sharratt should face court-martial. “One scenario describes what
appears to be a proper application of force,” Lt. Col. Paul Ware, the Marine
lawyer presiding over the hearing, said during questioning of a witness. “The
other, taken at face value, amounts to an execution.” Sharratt is charged with
three counts of unpremeditated murder for shooting Jasib, Kahtan, and Jamal
Aiad Ahmed. The leader of his squad, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, allegedly
executed a fourth Ahmed brother. Wuterich attended
yesterday's hearing, as did Sharratt's parents, Darryl and Theresa Sharratt
of Canonsburg, Pa. The Ahmeds were among two
dozen Iraqis killed during the Haditha incident. In all, the deaths took place
over several hours after a roadside bomb struck a convoy carrying members of
Wuterich's platoon, killing one Marine and wounding two others. Sharratt, Wuterich and a
third enlisted Marine from Camp Pendleton could be sentenced to life in
prison for their actions that day. In addition, four officers are accused of
not properly investigating the killings. Yesterday's witnesses
included Mark Platt and Nayda Mannle, special agents for the Naval Criminal
Investigative Service. The agents interviewed the Ahmed brothers' wives and
children in late March and early April 2006. Through a translator, the
Iraqis told Platt and Mannle how several Marines came to their two-house
compound, separated four men from the women and children, marched the men
into a bedroom and killed them. Defense attorneys yesterday
pointed to statements from Sharratt and two other Marines indicating that
they had heard small-arms fire from one of the Ahmed houses. When the Marines
burst into the bedroom in question, according to the statements, they found
several men pointing rifles at them and had no choice but to shoot first. During his time on the
stand, Platt described finding blood stains in the doorway, on the walls and
on furniture inside the bedroom. He also testified about seeing bullet
fragments that seemed to come from U.S. military weapons. Mannle said the Ahmed family
members' accounts seemed consistent and truthful. Sharratt's attorneys
hammered at what they viewed as omissions and shortcomings by the naval
investigators. During cross-examination, Mannle acknowledged that Sharratt
had passed a polygraph exam concerning whether any of the Ahmed brothers
pointed a rifle at him. She also said time
constraints prompted by the extreme danger to foreigners in Haditha prevented
her from separating the Ahmed family members before questioning them, which
is standard procedure in crime investigations. In addition, Mannle
confirmed that Marines seized several AK-47 rifles and a suitcase allegedly
containing Jordanian passports from the Ahmed compound the day of the
killings. She said her agency wasn't able to track down these items, which
might have linked the Ahmed brothers to insurgent activity. External link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20070613-9999-1m13sharratt.html Accused Haditha Marine
passed polygraph By Mark Walker North County Times June 13, 2007 6:21 AM PDT Camp Pendleton - A lance
corporal charged with murder in the shooting deaths of three Iraqi brothers
in 2005 passed a polygraph examination in which he said the first man he shot
was holding an AK-47 assault rifle, according to testimony heard in a base
courtroom Tuesday. The test, administered in
Iraq in April 2006, showed there was no apparent deception in an account
provided by Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Special Agent Nayda Mannle testified. Sharratt is charged with
three counts of unpremeditated murder for his role in the deaths of two dozen
Iraqi civilians following a roadside bombing on the morning of Nov. 19, 2005.
The 22-year-old rifleman, who is from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st
Marine Regiment, could face life in prison if ordered to trial and convicted. Mannle eventually became the
lead agent for the Haditha investigation, which resulted in homicide charges
for Sharratt and two other enlisted men. Four officers have been charged with
dereliction of duty for failing to investigate the incident. Mannle also testified that
while the polygraph did not indicate that Sharratt was lying, the account the
Marines gave of the day they stormed four homes did not match the accounts of
some family members of the slain Iraqis. Results of polygraph tests
are not usually admissible at trial but can be raised in pretrial hearings. Sharratt is accused of
killing the three brothers inside the last of four homes that were assaulted
by Marines after a roadside bomb killed a lance corporal and injured two
others. Another man allegedly died from gunshot wounds at the hands of
another defendant, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich. The home was entered by the
Marines about three hours after the bombing as they continued to search for
insurgents they said attacked them with small-arms fire immediately following
the bombing. ‘Negative for insurgents’ Sharratt's attorneys strived
Tuesday to show inconsistencies in the government's investigation, focusing
many of their questions on why agents did not pursue full background reports
on the men who died inside the fourth home, particularly one man who worked
on the Jordanian border and may have had several Jordanian passports in his
possession. Mannle, who is a civilian
agent, said such checks probably should have been done and agreed that agents
can still try to piece that information together. But she also said that none
of the 24 victims who died in Haditha had any known ties to the insurgency. "We ran them through
the database and all came up as negative for insurgents," she said
during telephonic testimony from an office in the Pentagon. The defense also is trying
to show that forensic evidence from where the Iraqi men died is inconsistent
with an account given by their surviving family members, who told
investigators the men were herded into a room and executed in rapid
succession. Sharratt has disputed that account. Instead, the forensics from
the government investigation show that one of the slain men was apparently
hiding inside a closet and bullet holes are scattered on a wall throughout
that room. The defense contends that dispels the allegation of an
execution-style slaying. Also testifying Tuesday was
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. David Bolgiano, an instructor on the rules of
engagement. Bolgiano said there is a disparity when it comes to civilian
deaths resulting from ground combat compared to aerial assaults. Sharratt's lead attorney,
Gary Myers, asked Bolgiano what would happen if civilians died as a result of
an airstrike. "Solatia
payments," he said, a reference to the term that describes payments by
the U.S. to Iraqis whose property is damaged or to survivors of civilians inadvertently
killed as a result of military action. Bolgiano also said that even
though civilians died at Haditha, that alone does not mean the Marines did
anything wrong. "Bad results don't mean
bad decisions," he said. More hearings this summer The two other enlisted men
facing murder charges, Staff Sgt. Wuterich and Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum,
attended most of Tuesday's proceedings along with their attorneys. Wuterich was the squad
leader and led the assault on the homes at the direction of platoon Lt.
William Kallop, who has been granted immunity in exchange for his testimony. Hearings for Wuterich and
Tatum will take place this summer. Hearings for two accused officers, former
battalion commander Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani and Capt. Randy Stone, took
place in May and earlier this month. The hearing officer in
Stone's case has recommended that criminal charges be dropped in exchange for
handling his case administratively. A recommendation on whether Chessani
should be ordered to trial is expected later this month. The Haditha case is separate
from the case of eight men from another Camp Pendleton unit charged last year
with the abduction and shooting death of a retired policeman in the village
of Hamdania. Five of those men have pleaded guilty in deals reached with
prosecutors and been sentenced to terms ranging from 12 months to eight years
behind bars. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/13/news/top_stories/1_01_106_12_07.txt |