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September 5th,
2007 - Marines Disciplined in Haditha Case News article by the Associated Press |
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Marines Disciplined in
Haditha Case By Elliot Spagat Associated Press September 5, 2007, 2:36PM Camp Pendleton, Calif. - A
major general and two senior officers have been disciplined for their roles
in investigating the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha in
2005, the Marine Corps said Wednesday. Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck,
former commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division, has received a letter
of censure from the secretary of the Navy for the "actions he took and
failed to take" in response to the killings. The statement from the
Marine Corps does not elaborate. Col. Stephen W. Davis and
Col. Robert G. Sokoloski also received letters of censure. Davis was cited for failure
to take action when informed about the slayings. Sokoloski was cited for
unsatisfactory performance of his duties. In all, 24 civilians were
killed by a Marine squad in the aftermath of a bomb blast that killed one
Marine on Nov. 19, 2005. Among the dead were women and children who were
killed in their homes as Marines went on a house-to-house sweep. The disciplinary action came
as a preliminary hearing continued in the Haditha case for Staff. Sgt. Frank
Wuterich, 27, of Meriden, Conn., who is accused of unpremeditated murders in
the slayings of 17 of the Iraqis. Capt. Alfonso Capers told a
military court there were no textbook rules about shooting into crowds of
enemy combatants mixed with civilians. Wuterich has acknowledged
shooting five men who were at the scene of the bomb blast but claims he did
so because they were running away from the site of the explosion. Combat rules at the time
allowed Marines to shoot at people fleeing the scene of an attack. Wuterich reported to Capers
for about two years before the killings. Capers struggled for an
answer when Lt.. Col. Paul Ware, the investigating officer overseeing the
Haditha case, asked how Marines are trained to confront mixed crowds of
enemies and civilians. "Is there a schoolbook
answer?" Ware asked. "There's not," Capers
replied. Capers, a government
witness, acknowledged some limits on tactics in such situations. He told a
prosecutor, Marine Maj. Daren Erickson, that troops did not have license to
kill indiscriminately because it's "a bad stain" on the Marines. "Shoot first, ask
questions later means everyone's expendable," Capers said. "You
can't do that." Ware said the preliminary
hearing was set to conclude Thursday. He will eventually make a
recommendation on whether Wuterich should be court-martialed. © 2007 The Associated Press External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/5110065.html Wuterich described as calm,
competent By Mark Walker North County Times September 5, 2007 1:16 PM PDT Camp Pendleton - Staff Sgt.
Frank Wuterich was described Wednesday as a respected squad leader who
interacted well with Iraqi civilians and seemed to have a good grasp of the
Marine Corps' rules of engagement. That testimony came on the
third day of Wuterich's hearing, which will decide whether the 27-year-old
father of three will face trial in the deaths of 17 civilians killed in the
city of Haditha following a Nov. 19, 2005, roadside bombing that claimed the
life of one Marine and injured two others. "He was the least
aggressive," said Staff Sgt. Travis Fields, a member of the Kilo Company
platoon from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment involved in
the Haditha killings. "He was the calmest in the squad in interacting
with Iraqis." Wuterich is accused by
prosecutors of ignoring the rules of engagement in leading members of his
squad in a "house clearing" operation that led to 19 Iraqis being
killed, including six children and two women. Five other Iraqis killed on
a day of battles throughout the Anbar province city died when they emerged
from a white car that drove up immediately after the bombing. Fields said killing those
men would not have been proper if they had simply exited the car and did not
pose any threat. "If they are running,
if you believe there is a threat you can engage," Fields told the Marine
officer presiding over the hearing, Lt. Col. Paul J. Ware. Wuterich has told
investigators that those men were running and he interpreted that as a
threat, resulting in his decision to shoot. The assault on the homes
began with Marines shooting a man who came to the door of a house and was followed
by the shooting of a second man inside a room. The shooting continued as a
grenade was thrown inside a room, followed by a member of the squad entering
and shooting any person he encountered. That tactic was not endorsed
by Fields, who said some form of positive identification of a person as an
enemy combatant was required before shooting. Asked about a statement
Wuterich made to investigators saying he had told his men to "shoot
first and ask questions later," Fields said such a command is improper. "It goes directly
against what the rules of engagement say," he said. The first witness to testify
this morning was Capt. Alfonso Capers, Jr., an instructor who teaches Marines
about the rules of engagement. Under sharp questioning from
Ware and Wuterich's attorneys, Capers said there was no standard instruction
given on how to clear rooms in homes where Marines believe insurgents are
hiding. A Marine who took part in the assault on the first home has testified
he heard the sound of what he believed was an AK-47 assault rifle being
prepared to fire from inside the room where the women and children died. "If there's a threat in
there, your first job to eliminate the threat," Capers said. Three men besides Wuterich
initially faced murder charges in the Haditha incident. One has since had his
charges withdrawn in exchange for his testimony, charges were dismissed
against second and charges against the third have been recommended for
dismissal. Four officers were charged
with dereliction of duty for failing to fully investigate the Haditha deaths.
Charges against one of those men have since been dropped. Wuterich's hearing continues
this afternoon and is expected to conclude on Thursday. See tomorrow's North
County Times for a full report on today's testimony. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/09/05/news/top_stories/1_01_169_4_07.txt |