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The War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings,
Torture and Big Money |
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August 8th,
2007 - Haditha Officer Fights New Charges |
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Haditha Officer Fights New Charges By Teri Figueroa North County Times August 8, 2007 10:04 PM PDT Camp Pendleton - A Marine
battalion commander whose troops killed 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha
following a 2005 roadside bombing was in a military courtroom Wednesday,
fighting two new criminal allegations that he failed to properly report the
incident to military brass. Prosecutors are pushing to
add two more counts of dereliction of duty against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani
for allegedly allowing an inaccurate initial report to be sent up the chain
of command, and then failing to update it when details of what happened
during the Nov. 19, 2005, incident became clearer. Chessani's attorney, Robert
Muise, argued in court Wednesday that, as Chessani learned more details of
what happened, he provided the correct information - by phone - up the chain
of command on the same day of the incident. While Chessani's battalion
didn't update the written report, Muise argued that military rules say phone,
e-mail and other forms of communication are viable alternatives to written
reports. "There was no intention
to falsely report information," Muise argued. "There was no
criminal act committed." Investigating officer Col.
Christopher Conlin will make a recommendation in the coming weeks about
whether Chessani should face court-martial on the two new counts. Last month, Conlin
recommended Chessani face court-martial on three criminal allegations - two
counts of dereliction of duty and one count of violation of a lawful order -
for his handling of the aftermath of the incident, including the failure to
launch a full investigation into why so many civilians died. Conlin reopened the pretrial
investigation hearing Wednesday to hear evidence from Chessani's defense
lawyers, who are fighting the two additional dereliction-of-duty charges. Whether Chessani stands
trial on any of the five allegations is up to Lt. Gen. James Mattis, a
commander at Camp Pendleton who is head of Marine Corps forces in the Middle
East. Many of the 24 victims were
in homes raided by a squad of Camp Pendleton Marines after their convoy was
hit by a roadside bomb. The squad members said they were taking gunfire after
the explosion and stormed the homes in pursuit of their attackers. The area of Haditha had been
a hotbed of insurgent activity at the time, according to testimony at other
proceedings arising from investigations into the deaths. The civilian deaths
came on a chaotic day of battle. Chessani has maintained that
he reported what he knew to his superiors and never ordered a full-scale
probe because he believed the Iraqi deaths stemmed from combat action. In
June, he told Conlin that he had operated in "good faith." Chessani was stripped of his
command when his unit returned from Iraq in April 2006, essentially ending
his once-bright military career. With the criminal case,
Chessani could face more than two years behind bars and dismissal from the
service if he is tried and convicted. Chessani is the
highest-ranking Marine officer to be charged in connection with the deaths.
Three other officers and three enlisted men are also fighting charges related
to the case. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/09/news/top_stories/1_04_338_8_07.txt |