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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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June 29th,
2007 - Dad of Two Marines Lends Support to Troops on Trial |
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Dad of Two Marines Lends Support
to Troops on Trial By Rick Rogers San Diego Union-Tribune June 29, 2007 Camp Pendleton – Don
Dinsmore spent six days driving his motorcycle from Seattle to Camp Pendleton
to make a simple statement to Marine leaders. “‘Chesty’ Puller would be
ashamed of what the Marine Corps is doing,” Dinsmore, 63, said in reference
to the legendary Marine general. Dinsmore is peeved that 10
rank-and-file Marines from Camp Pendleton have been charged with war crimes
stemming from two incidents in the Iraqi cities of Haditha and Hamdaniya. The
military is using these Marines as political scapegoats, he and other supporters
of the defendants contend. One of Dinsmore's sons,
Marine Capt. Jeffrey Dinsmore, is a witness in the Haditha case. The elder Dinsmore rode
1,422 miles to reach Camp Pendleton. He said various people joined him on
different parts of his journey, but he arrived alone yesterday. About 20 well-wishers met
Dinsmore outside the main gate. One of them was Lois Smith of Oceanside. “Killing, isn't that what
war is all about?” she asked. “Why are any of these men in jail?” Also present was another
member of the Dinsmore family – Sgt. Daniel Dinsmore, 31, an instructor at
Camp Pendleton. He said his father's trip was meant to spotlight the
defendants' plight and show support for all troops fighting in Iraq and
Afghanistan. A surprise guest was Lance
Cpl. Justin Sharratt, one of the Marines charged in the Haditha case. “I'm just here to thank the
people for showing their support for us,” Sharratt said. The Hamdaniya incident took
place April 26, 2006. Eight Marines are accused of kidnapping and executing an
Iraqi man as part of a plot to scare insurgents. Five of the defendants have
pleaded guilty to charges less than murder as part of their pretrial
agreements. The other three are awaiting court-martial. In the Haditha case,
Sharratt and two other Marines are charged with murdering 24 civilians on
Nov. 19, 2005, as revenge for a roadside bomb that claimed a member of their
unit. These defendants have said
the killings occurred as part of legitimate combat against insurgents. Don Dinsmore said facts gathered
by his son Jeffrey exonerate the Haditha defendants. Jeffrey Dinsmore was an
intelligence officer who viewed the Haditha incident through images taken by
an unmanned aircraft. He is now a company commander in Fallujah, Iraq. In a letter sent to his father
in December, Jeffrey Dinsmore took issue with how his superiors reacted to
accusations against the Haditha defendants. “The Marine Corps senior
leadership, through its initial inaction, and eventually its action to impugn
the reputations of serving Marines, has demonstrated its willingness to
betray the trust of its most junior Marines serving in combat,” he wrote. “Marines will usually
forgive a wide range of mistakes and missteps in their officers, but never a
betrayal of their trust. ... While I continue to firmly believe that all (the
Marines charged) will be acquitted, none of them will ever be truly exonerated.
Their Marine Corps leaders have seen to that.” External link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20070629-9999-1mi29haditha.html |