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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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August 28th,
2009 - Marines Will not Seek to Reinstate Charges Against Top Officer News article from the Los
Angeles Times |
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Marines Will
not Seek to Reinstate Charges Against Top Officer in Haditha Killings By Tony Perry Los Angeles Times August 28, 2009 The Marine Corps has decided
not to seek to reinstate criminal charges against a former battalion
commander at Camp Pendleton for a 2005 incident in which his troops killed 24
civilians in Haditha, Iraq. Chessani Instead, the Marine
Corps will convene a Board of Inquiry to hear testimony and recommend whether
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani should be demoted to major for purposes of
retirement. Even if such a
recommendation is made and then accepted by the Secretary of the Navy,
Chessani's retirement pay would still be based on being a lieutenant colonel. The Marine Corps had sought
to try Chessani for dereliction of duty for not ordering a war-crimes
investigation when his Marines killed the 24, including three women and seven
children. Chessani, who was not present when the killings occurred, reported
to his superiors that the deaths, while tragic, were the result of fighting
between Marines and insurgents. A court-martial judge threw
out the charges after ruling that it was improper for a Marine lawyer who investigated
the Haditha shootings to sit in on meetings with the general who decided to
bring the charges. The Navy-Marine Corps Court
of Appeals agreed with the judge's ruling and rejected prosecutors' requests
to reinstate the charges. The court, however, said the Marine Corps could
begin a new criminal investigation into Chessani's conduct and then bring new
charges. But Lt. Gen. George Flynn,
assigned by the commandant, Gen. James Conway, to decide what course the
Marine Corps should take, decided against a new investigation and a
resumption of a criminal case. He has ordered a Board of
Inquiry to recommend whether Chessani "committed substandard performance
of duty, misconduct and professional dereliction of duty" and deserves
to be demoted for retirement. Chessani, 43, a 22-year
veteran, has already applied for retirement. He was commander of the 3rd
Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in November 2005 when his troops swept through
a neighborhood looking for insurgents who had just detonated a roadside bomb
that killed a Marine and injured two others. Eight Marines were initially
charged in the case. With Flynn's decision, only
the squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, faces possible court-martial. Wuterich's
attorneys are seeking dismissal of the charges on the same grounds of
"undue command influence" that led to charges against Chessani
being thrown out. Six Marines, including
Chessani, have had charges dismissed. One was acquitted. Chessani, who was on his
third combat tour in Iraq, was a highly praised officer, possibly on a fast
track to becoming a general, when the Haditha incident occurred. Instead he
became the highest ranking Marine accused of a crime in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Marine Corps' decision
was announced today at Quantico, Va., where Flynn is commanding general,
Marine Corps Combat Development Command. The Board of Inquiry is set for Camp
Pendleton. External link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/my-entry-5.html No criminal charges in
Haditha deaths for Marine officer Case against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani will go before Board of Inquiry By Teri Figueroa & Mark Walker North County Times August 28, 2009 The Marine Corps has dropped
its pursuit of criminal charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the
highest-ranking officer accused of misconduct after 24 Iraqi civilians were
slain in the city of Haditha in 2005. Instead, Lt. Gen. George J.
Flynn has decided to handle the matter administratively by appointing a
three-member Board of Inquiry that will meet at Camp Pendleton this fall. The board of Marine Corps
officers will determine if Chessani should be reduced in rank if it finds he
engaged in substandard performance of duty, misconduct and professional
dereliction of duty. Its finding will serve as a
recommendation to the Secretary of the Navy, who will make the final
decision. At stake is Chessani's rank
after he retires from the Marine Corps, a retirement that has been on hold
pending a decision in the Haditha matter. Chessani's retirement pay will not
be affected by any decision to reduce his rank, Marine Corps spokesman Lt.
Col. Roger Galbraith said Friday. Chessani attorney Brian
Rooney said his client, who remains on duty at Camp Pendleton as a base
security officer, is happy the two charges of dereliction have been dropped. "Colonel Chessani is
relieved that the case is out of the criminal realm where it never belonged
because he never did anything wrong," Rooney said. "In order to
reduce him in rank, the board has to find there was misconduct and we don't
believe it will." Rooney said Chessani's other
attorneys plan to call several witnesses they believe will show he reported
the Haditha killings up the chain of command and was never directed by his
superiors to order a full-scale probe into the events of that day. "We expect to present a
very robust case to the board," Rooney said. Former Marine Corps judge
and attorney Gary Solis said convening a Board of Inquiry to decide
Chessani's fate is a rare step. "This is beyond
unusual," said Solis, who teaches military law at Washington's
Georgetown University. "I have never heard of a senior officer being
subjected to a Board of Inquiry. My guess is that at worst he will be found
to have exercised substandard judgment and be admonished." Chessani commanded Camp
Pendleton's 3rd Marine Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, at Haditha when the
civilians were slain after a roadside bombing that killed one Marine and
injured two others on the morning of Nov. 19, 2005. Several women and children
were among the slain when troops led by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich stormed
several homes where they believed the people responsible for the bombing were
hiding. Military investigators later
said none of the slain could be tied to the insurgency, prompting an
international outcry that led to criminal charges against eight Marines -
four triggermen and four officers accused of failing to investigate. Last year, a military judge
ordered the charges against Chessani dismissed, citing the appearance of
unlawful command influence. A military appeals court later upheld the
dismissal. Solis said recommendations
reached by a Board of Inquiry are generally followed by the Navy Secretary, a
civilian appointee. "I would be very
surprised if Colonel Chessani is reduced in rank," Solis said.
"This is a man who for 18 years has given great and good service to the
Marine Corps and risked his life. I don't think his reward for all that will
be anything too severe and he may even escape an admonishment." As for the remainder of the
men charged with criminal wrongdoing in Haditha, most of the cases were
dropped before trial. The only defendant to see his case go to trial was
found not guilty of lying to investigators and trying to destroy evidence. With Friday's announcement
regarding Chessani, the only remaining defendant is Wuterich, who led his
squad on a deadly chase through several homes near the bomb site. Wuterich's trial on multiple
counts of voluntary manslaughter and related charges remains on hold while a
military appeals court considers whether CBS News should be forced to turn
over outtakes of a "60 Minutes" interview with Wuterich. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/military/article_90435583-90f9-5d7d-93e4-06c8f11dcb99.html |