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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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December 11th,
2009 - Mixed Ruling for Marine in Civilian Slayings in Iraq |
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Mixed Ruling
for Marine in Civilian Slayings in Iraq Board: Officer’s performance ‘substandard,’ but Chessani should retain
his rank By Mark Walker North County Times December 11, 2009 The highest-ranked Marine
accused of bungling the military's response to the slayings of two dozen
Iraqi civilians after a lethal 2005 roadside bombing displayed substandard
performance, but he should not be demoted, a three-member Board of Inquiry
ruled Friday. The military board said it
will recommend to the secretary of the Navy that Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani,
with 22 years of service and three tours of duty in Iraq, be allowed to
retain his rank and not be demoted to major. "It's been a long four
years, but it hasn't been a miserable four years," Chessani told the
North County Times after the decision was announced inside a Camp Pendleton
courtroom. "A lot of good has come out of it, and I praise God and am
thankful for all the people that have stood by us." During the administrative
hearing, which began Dec. 2, the board heard witnesses describe what happened
in the city of Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005, and how Chessani responded to
the civilian deaths. The incident drew
international condemnation and prompted a harsh critique of U.S. troop
conduct in the Iraq war. The Iraqis were slain by a
Camp Pendleton squad as the troops hunted for the people responsible for the
bombing that killed one Marine and injured two others. Chessani and his
subordinates deemed the deaths regrettable, but the result of a legitimate
combat action. Prosecutors argued that
Chessani was derelict by failing to accurately report the number of deaths
and not ordering an investigation after learning several women and children
were among the dead. That failure resulted in a
propaganda coup for the Iraqi insurgency, Lt. Col. Sean Sullivan argued in
closing statements Friday morning. "The reporting of this
event was the largest strategic breakdown in the history of the Iraq
war," Sullivan said. "There was a willful refusal on the part of
this commander because the need for an investigation was brought to him on
multiple occasions." But defense attorney Robert
Muise told the board, composed of a general and two colonels, that Chessani
immediately reported what he knew up the chain of command, including a
detailed briefing for a general. Muise argued the 43-year-old
Chessani was unfairly subjected to an inquiry board because prosecutors have
not been able to convict any of the eight men charged with crimes at Haditha. The board was ordered to
convene after the Marine Corps dropped criminal dereliction of duty charges
against Chessani when a military judge found unlawful command influence
tainted the government's case. "Here's your
scapegoat," Muise said, pointing at Chessani, who sat silently at the
defense table. "There's your fall guy. Don't make him vicariously liable
for what the Marines did that day if in fact you believe the shooters did
something wrong." Rather than being a poor
leader, Muise said Chessani was credited with helping tame the Anbar province
city that was overrun with insurgents in 2004 and 2005. "We want warriors and
that's what he is," Muise said. "He's a guy who was beating the
enemy - he kicked the enemy's ass. We were there to fight and win a war and
that's what he was doing." Chessani commanded Camp
Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment when the Iraqis were killed.
Five men who emerged from a car were shot to death; 19 others died inside
homes from grenade and gunshot wounds. The killings came to light
in a Time magazine report. The Marine Corps subsequently instituted a
requirement that all civilian deaths be formally investigated. In announcing the panel's
unanimous findings, Brig. Gen. Lewis Craparota said Chessani's response to
the killings was substandard because he "failed to provide as detailed
and accurate a report as possible." But Craparota also said the
panel found that Chessani, whom numerous witnesses testified was an
outstanding commander with a strong moral compass, was not so deficient as to
warrant a reduction in rank. If it had made that recommendation, the father
of six children with a seventh on the way stood to lose more than $400,000 in
retirement pay based upon his life expectancy. Muise said the board's
decision essentially mirrors what happened to Chessani when he was relieved
of command in early 2006. "Someone then found
that his performance was substandard, even though we disagree with
that," Muise said. "It's kind of amazing that here we are four
years later having been through all this and the finding is the same." Chessani testified Thursday
that losing his command was the most devastating day of his military career. Besides Chessani, who has
filed for retirement, three other officers were charged with crimes for
allegedly mishandling the Haditha incident. One was acquitted at trial and
charges against the other two were eventually dropped. Of four enlisted men
originally charged with murder at Haditha, three had charges withdrawn. The
sole remaining defendant is the squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich. He has pleaded not guilty
and remains on duty at the base pending resolution of his case. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/military/article_d914b355-57ca-5c00-8c46-7fd6b8a47524.html |