|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
August 25th,
2007 - Wuterich Hearing to Address Haditha Issues |
|
Wuterich Hearing
to Address Haditha Issues By Mark Walker North County Times August 25, 2007 10:05 PM PDT Camp Pendleton - More
answers to questions arising from the largest civilian killing incident since
the start of the Iraq war are expected this week when the man at the center
of the case, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, makes his first court appearance since
being charged with murdering 18 people in the city of Haditha nearly two
years ago. "He has nothing to
hide," Wuterich's lead attorney, Neal Puckett, said last week. "We
have faith that the military justice system will support split-second
decisions made during combat," said Puckett. For Wuterich, a jail
sentence isn't the only thing at stake. Also in the balance are history
books, and whether they will record him as the only mass murderer in Marine
Corps history or as a relatively inexperienced squad leader carrying out
orders. The Haditha incident is the
watershed case among four murder allegations filed against Camp
Pendleton-based troops since the war began in March 2003, prompting the
Marine Corps to order increased battlefield ethics training throughout the
service. Wuterich's hearing starts in
a base courtroom Thursday morning before Lt. Col. Paul Ware, who is presiding
as the case's investigating officer. Ware will help decide whether Wuterich,
a 27-year-old Connecticut native and a married father of three daughters,
should be ordered to trial on some or all of the charges he faces. Ware did the same job
earlier this summer for two other men who had faced murder charges in
connection with the deaths in the city of Haditha, Lance Cpls. Justin Sharratt
and Stephen Tatum. Ware ruled last month that
Sharratt was acting within the rules of engagement because of his belief
those men were insurgents and that the charges against him should be dropped.
Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. James Mattis, who has the final word in the case,
upheld Ware's ruling. On Thursday, Ware
recommended to Mattis that the charges against Tatum also be dismissed,
citing insufficient evidence and suggesting that he was simply following his
squad leader, Wuterich. What happened The hearing will include
accounts of the morning and early afternoon of Nov. 19, 2005, when Wuterich
and his squad were on a resupply run to a traffic checkpoint in Haditha. During the short journey
from their base, a roadside bomb exploded, destroying a Humvee in the
four-vehicle convoy and killing a lance corporal. Moments later, a car that
drove up was stopped by the Marines. Five unarmed Iraqis who emerged from the
vehicle were shot by Wuterich and Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, according to
testimony from Wuterich and government accounts. Which man shot first and
whether the Iraqis were fleeing have been key points of contention. Dela Cruz was charged five
counts of murder, but saw those dismissed in exchange for his testimony. Within minutes, Wuterich and
several of his men attacked two nearby houses. The men have said they
believed the bomb's "triggerman" and other insurgents were hiding
in a house and using it as a base for a rifle attack on the Marines. During those attacks on the
houses, 12 people were killed, including several women and children. A few hours later, Wuterich
and Sharratt stormed another house where they have said they believed
insurgents were hiding. Inside that home, the facts and testimony show they
killed four brothers in a bedroom, resulting in one additional murder charge
against Wuterich and three against Sharratt. All the killings were
initially ruled by Marine commanders as "collateral" deaths - the
results of combat action. It wasn't until several weeks later, after a Time
magazine reporter began asking questions, that a full investigation was
ordered. The Marine Corps eventually
filed dereliction-of-duty charges against four officers and murder charges
against the four enlisted men, all from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st
Marine Regiment - known as the "Thundering Third." Wuterich has declined to
give any interviews beyond his explanation of the killings made during a
"60 Minutes" TV interview broadcast in March. He said during that
interview that while he regretted the civilian deaths, he believed he and his
men acted within the rules of engagement. Wuterich's interview is
scheduled to be rebroadcast next Sunday, airing over the Labor Day weekend
break in what is expected to be a five-day hearing for the Marine. Twists in the case When the Haditha killings
came to light, worldwide condemnation followed, fueled by words such as those
used by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who said the Marines "killed in cold in
blood." The exoneration of Sharratt
and one of the officers charged in the case, Capt. Randy Stone, as well as
the dropping of charges against Dela Cruz, have reduced the overall number of
defendants to five. A hearing officer has
recommended that the former battalion commander at Haditha, Lt. Col. Jeffrey
Chessani, face trial for dereliction of duty. Investigative hearings are
in the works for two other officers, Capt. Lucas McConnell and 1st Lt. Andrew
Grayson. Now it's Wuterich's turn in
court. At issue are not only the murder charges but also the expectations
placed on noncommissioned officers in combat, according to military law
authority Gary Solis. "Prosecutorial interest
has centered on him, and now we will see if the government can make the
charges it has brought against him stick," said Solis, a former Marine
attorney and judge and now a professor at Georgetown University. "The
Marine Corps expects more of its squad leaders, and you don't get a break-in
period in combat." Expected testimony The killing of the five men
who emerged from the car is expected to be a highly contested part of the
case. Dela Cruz has testified the
Iraqis were shot as their hands were raised. Wuterich fired first, according
to Dela Cruz, who says he also then began shooting. Wuterich's attorneys are
expected to argue that Dela Cruz fired first at those men. They point to a forensic
reconstruction by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which used aerial
surveillance tapes to reconstruct what happened near the car. A government investigator is
expected to testify that the Iraqis were running away, leading Wuterich to
believe they were insurgents involved in the attack. Attorneys for Wuterich
say the tapes show Dela Cruz is the more likely killer based on his position
and Wuterich's in relation to the slain men. "The forensic evidence
rules out to a scientific certainty Dela Cruz's version of events,"
attorney Puckett said. Wuterich's attorneys have
not decided if their client will make a statement during the hearing. If he
does, Puckett said it will come in the form of an unsworn statement, meaning
it will not be made under oath and that he cannot be questioned by
prosecutors. With the dismissal of
charges against Sharratt in the killing of three of four brothers inside the
last house that was attacked, it is likely that a count of murder against
Wuterich for the killing of a fourth brother could be dropped. That would leave charges
involving the killing of the five men from the car and the 12 Iraqis in the
first two homes that were attacked. ‘Momentum on his side’ Military jury members have
shown that they may be reluctant to punish one of their own for battlefield
incidents. Three military juries showed leniency to accused troops earlier
this summer in the unrelated killing of an Iraqi man in the village of
Hamdania last year. If Wuterich is ordered to
trial, it will be up to a jury of his peers to decide his guilt. Thad Coakley, a former
Marine Corps attorney and prosecutor who fought in Fallujah before leaving the
service, said the charges revolving around the men from the car boil down to
a "credibility contest" between Wuterich and Dela Cruz. Lt. William Kallop, who also
was granted immunity, was the man who ordered the assault, something he has
testified to repeatedly. In Coakley's view, at issue is whether Wuterich's
actions were proper based on the order he was given and whether he should
have done more to determine who was inside those homes. "The question will be
whether the techniques he used met the rules of engagement," Coakley
said. But in light of the recent
jury rulings and a subsequent decision by Mattis to grant clemency in
sentencing for some of the men who had pleaded guilty in the Hamdania case,
Wuterich has reason to be optimistic, Coakley said. "He has the momentum on
his side now," Coakley said. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/26/news/top_stories/21_30_258_25_07.txt |