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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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July 28th,
2007 - Witness: Cult Movie Fueled Plan to Kill Iraqi |
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Witness: Cult Movie
Fueled Plan to Kill Iraqi Executing ‘bad guys’ was theme of 1999 film By Rick Rogers San Diego Union-Tribune July 28, 2007 Camp Pendleton – The
execution of an Iraqi man by Camp Pendleton servicemen began as fantasy
fueled by a low-budget movie, combat frustrations and the idea of bumping off
bad guys for the greater good, an officer testified yesterday. The fantasy ended with seven
Marines and a Navy corpsman snatching a grandfather from his bed, then
pumping bullets into him on the outskirts of Hamdaniya, Iraq, in April 2006. Yesterday, 2nd Lt. Nathan
Phan said he, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III and other Marines from Kilo
Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment talked regularly about killing
local Iraqi crime figures, who often are also insurgents or their proxies. Phan said their notion came
from the 1999 film “The Boondock Saints,” a minor cult classic about
vigilantes who take it upon themselves to rid Boston of the mob. He said his
unit saw parallels between the movie's organized-crime figures and the many
suspected insurgents they encountered almost daily in Hamdaniya. Phan testified in a Camp
Pendleton courtroom during the trial for Hutchins, who is accused of
concocting the Hamdaniya murder plot and then leading his squad in carrying
it out April 26, 2006. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison. Phan recalled that during
the 2006 deployment, he and his troops found it very appealing to think about
getting rid of “bad guys” instead of just arresting them. He said it was a “slap in
the face” for his men to risk death to turn over a criminal or insurgent to
Iraqi authorities, only to see those suspects out on the streets again soon
afterward. Sometimes, the Marines even had to drive the detainees back to
their homes, he said. Phan initially was charged
with assaulting several detainees in Hamdaniya, but the government dismissed
those counts partly in exchange for his testimony at Hutchins' trial. Yesterday, Phan acknowledged
that he once ordered Hutchins to choke a suspected insurgent during an
interrogation. Asked if his actions might have contributed to a lawless
attitude among junior Marines, Phan said, “Definitely, it did not prevent the
alleged kidnapping and shooting” incident in Hamdaniya. But Phan also testified that
Hutchins was an outstanding Marine. “Once I told him to do
something, I knew I didn't have to worry about it,” Phan said. Defense attorneys are trying
to prove that Hutchins and his squad suffered from the poor conduct of their
superiors. They are also emphasizing the exasperating nature of combat in
Iraq and contending that Hutchins suffered from post-traumatic stress
disorder. External link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20070728-9999-1m28hutchins.html |