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The War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings,
Torture and Big Money |
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June 29th,
2007 - Pendleton Marines Investigated in Alleged Killings |
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Pendleton Marines
Investigated in Alleged Killings By Mark Walker North County Times June 29, 2007 10:47 PM PDT North County - A federal agency
is investigating whether Camp Pendleton Marines shot and killed a group of
prisoners in the city of Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004, according to several
military and legal sources. The sources told the North
County Times that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe centers on
whether five to 10 Marines violated the laws of war. "They have interviewed
about 20 people so far and some have been read their rights," a source
with direct knowledge of the probe said Friday. Under the Uniform Code of
Military Justice, the killing of a captured enemy combatant who does not
present a threat is considered murder. Some of those being
questioned are no longer in the Marine Corps, and at least one has hired a
private defense attorney who specializes in military law, sources said.
Because of the sensitivity of the matter, the five sources who spoke with the
newspaper agreed to do so on the condition that they not be named. The Marines are believed to
have been involved in the deaths of as many as eight people who were captured
during one of the largest battles of the Iraq war, according to the sources. Questions the sources said
that they could not immediately answer include whether the Iraqis had been
declared prisoners, whether any or all were bound in any way and where
specifically the slayings occurred. The incident reportedly took
place on or about Nov. 10, 2004, three days after the U.S. launched a major
assault in Fallujah, an Anbar province city in western Iraq that at the time
was under insurgent control. One of the Marines has said
that the troops believed they were carrying out the orders of their
commanders when the insurgents were shot, according to one source. A Marine Corps public affairs
officer referred questions to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in
Washington, D.C. Agency spokesman Ed Buice,
who was presented with questions reflecting the essence of what the newspaper
had been told, said Friday that no one would comment on the report. The
Department of the Navy law enforcement agency is composed of civilian
investigators who are not under Marine Corps control. The sources said the
Fallujah investigation arose as a result of the ongoing prosecution of three
Camp Pendleton enlisted Marines charged with murder in the deaths of 24 Iraqi
civilians in the city of Haditha on Nov 19, 2005. Four officers face charges
of dereliction of duty for failing to fully investigate the deaths at
Haditha. In another ongoing Iraqi
death case, five of eight Camp Pendleton troops have pleaded guilty for their
roles in the abduction and shooting of a retired Iraqi policeman in April
2006. Three defendants in that incident face trial this summer. None of the men being
prosecuted in the Haditha or Hamdania cases are subjects of the Fallujah
investigation, a source said. The battle for Fallujah was
one of the major fights of the Iraq war that came after the insurgency took
control of the city after U.S. forces left it in April of that year. On Nov. 6, 2004, a main
group of troops from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st and 5th Marine
Regiments, along with supporting Marine units and U.S. Army forces, massed
and launched an assault to take back the city the next day. Intense fighting took place
during the next week with the final resistance cleared by late December.
Several Camp Pendleton Marines were later honored with awards such as the
Navy Cross for valorous actions during the fighting. Ninety-five U.S. servicemen
were killed during the fight for the city and more than 600 were wounded. An
estimated 1,350 insurgents were killed and an additional 1,000 captured,
according to military authorities. A movie about the battle,
titled "No True Glory: The Battle for Fallujah," based on a book
written by Bing West is scheduled for release next year. Lt. Gen. James Mattis,
current commander of the I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton and
head of Marine forces throughout the Middle East, is portrayed in the movie
by actor Harrison Ford. Mattis helped lead the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and
was one of the top commanders at Fallujah. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/30/news/top_stories/21_36_446_29_07.txt |