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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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January 25th,
2012 - Iraqi Town Says Justice Failed Victims of US Raid |
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Iraqi Town Says Justice
Failed Victims of US Raid By Barbara Surk & Faris Mohammed Associated Press January 25, 2012 Haditha, Iraq - In this town
where 24 unarmed civilians died in a U.S. raid seven years ago, residents
expressed disbelief and sadness that the Marine sergeant who told his troops
to "shoot first, ask questions later" reached a deal with
prosecutors to avoid jail time. They were outraged both at
the American military justice system and at the refusal of Iraq's Shiite-led
government to condemn the killings and at least try to bring those
responsible to face trial in this country. "We are deeply
disappointed by this unfair deal," said Khalid Salman Rasif, an Anbar
provincial council member from Haditha. "The U.S. soldier will receive a
punishment that is suitable for a traffic violation." Haditha, a town of about
85,000 people along the Euphrates River valley some 140 miles northwest of
Baghdad, is overwhelmingly made up of Sunni Muslims. Sunnis lost influence in
this country with the fall of Saddam Hussein and feel increasingly squeezed
out of their already limited political role. "We blame Iraqi
officials because they did not take any actions to make the criminals stand
trial," said Naji Fahmi, a 45-year-old government employee who was shot
in the stomach during what became known as the Haditha massacre. Iraq's Deputy Justice
Minister Busho Ibrahim said on the phone that "we have nothing to do
with this issue." Ali al-Moussawi, a spokesman
for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said "such issue needs to be studied
carefully before giving any statement." Sunni officials and Haditha
residents alike said no further study was required. "This deal is another
crime committed against the victims and their families," said Youssef
Ayid, who lost four brothers in the Haditha raid. "We are sad to see the
criminals escape justice," Ayid said. The raid took place on Nov.
19, 2005, at a time when Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida militants roamed
Haditha's streets, terrorizing the population and battling U.S. forces. Three months earlier in the
same town, six Marines were massacred and their bodies mutilated when
insurgents overran their observation post. Two days later, 14 Marines and an
interpreter were killed when their vehicle hit a land mine. The allegations against the
Marines were first brought forward in March 2006 when Time magazine reported
that it obtained a video of the attack's aftermath, taken by a Haditha
journalism student inside the houses and local morgue. The footage showed a
blood-smeared bedroom floor. Bits of what appeared to be human flesh and
bullet holes could be clearly seen on the walls. Other scenes showed bodies
of women and children in plastic bags on the floor of what appeared to be a
morgue. A week before the images
were broadcast, the U.S. military in Iraq said it was investigating potential
misconduct by the troops. A military statement issued just days after the
Haditha raid had described the incident as an ambush on a joint U.S.-Iraqi
patrol in the town that left 15 civilians, eight insurgents and a U.S. Marine
dead in the bombing and a subsequent firefight. The town's residents claimed
at the time that the only shooting done after the bombing was by U.S. forces. The subsequent revelations
further tainted America's reputation among Iraqis when it was already at a
low point after the release of photos of prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers at
Abu Ghraib prison. U.S. military prosecutors
worked for more than six years to bring Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich to
trial on manslaughter charges that could have sent him away to prison for
life. But only weeks after the
start of the long-awaited trial at Camp Pendelton, they offered Wuterich a
deal that stopped the proceedings and meant no jail time for the squad leader
who ordered his men to "shoot first, ask questions later,"
resulting in one of the Iraq War's worst attacks on civilians by U.S. troops. The 31-year-old Marine, who
was originally accused of unpremeditated murder, pleaded guilty Monday to
negligent dereliction of duty for leading the squad that killed 24 unarmed
Iraqi civilians during raids after a roadside bomb exploded, killing a fellow
Marine and wounding two others. Wuterich, who was indicted
in 19 of the 24 deaths, walked away with no jail time Tuesday after defending
his squad's storming of the homes of Haditha as a necessary act "to keep
the rest of my Marines alive." Legal experts said the case
was fraught with errors made by investigators and the prosecution that let it
drag on for years. The prosecution was also hampered by squad mates who
acknowledged they had lied to investigators initially and later testified in
exchange for having their cases dropped, bringing into question their
credibility. It was a stunning outcome
for the last defendant in the case once compared with the My Lai massacre in
Vietnam. The seven other Marines initially charged were exonerated or had
their cases dropped. Local Sunni leaders in Anbar
province blasted the plea deal and demanded that Baghdad authorities pressure
their U.S. backers not to let American soldiers get away with murder. Hamid al-Mutlaq, a Sunni
lawmaker from Anbar, echoed these remarks. "They were supposed to
protect the Iraqi people, not kill them," he said. Muhammad Muhsin, a
26-year-old owner of a grocery store in Haditha, said the plea deal was
shameful and a disgrace. "This is a scandal and
a shame for American justice," Muhsin said. "The Iraqi government
bears responsibility for letting those criminals get away with their heinous
crime. We demand the Iraqi government act quickly to ensure the rights of the
victims and to make sure that the murderers get what they deserve." Most Iraqi officials The
Associated Press contacted on Tuesday for comment did not respond or declined
to comment. The muted reaction of the
officials in the Shiite-dominated government highlights the sectarian
resentments that have deepened since the last U.S. forces withdrew late last
year. Some fear a return to the type of sectarian warfare that ravaged Iraq
during the height of the war. Surk reported from Baghdad.
Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub in Baghdad and Hadi Mizban in
Haditha contributed to this report. External link: http://tinyurl.com/777ol2g |