ANOTHER U.S. Marine charged with murder... of unarmed Haditha civilians
moto...@daplace.net
Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:02 PM GMT
By Dan Whitcomb
CAMP PENDLETON, California (Reuters) - The U.S. military charged a
Marine squad leader with 13 counts of murder in the killings last year
of unarmed civilians in Haditha, Iraq, one of the man's defence
lawyers said on Thursday.
The charges handed down against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich carry a
maximum penalty of life in prison, but do not include premeditated
murder, said attorney Mark Zaid.
Wuterich led a squad at the centre of the probe into the November 19,
2005, shooting of 24 unarmed men, women and children in the western
Iraqi town. It is one of a series of cases in which U.S. service
members have been accused, and in some cases convicted, of involvement
in killing civilians.
Zaid said others investigated in the case had yet to receive word from
the military on any possible charges, but sources have said at least
four other Marines may be charged later on Thursday.
Wuterich was charged in 12 individual deaths, Zaid said, adding that a
13th count involves the deaths of six people.
"I presume these are part of the 12, but it's impossible for me to
tell from the charge sheet if that's the case," Zaid told Reuters as
he read from the document.
A Marine colonel was scheduled to discuss the case in a press briefing
at 1 p.m. (9 p.m. British time) at Camp Pendleton. Continued...
The military investigation has centred on a squad of Marines led by
Wuterich, who sued Democratic Rep. John Murtha in August after he said
U.S. troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood."
Capt. Lucas McConnell, who was monitoring fighting in and around
Haditha on the day of the incident, also expects to face charges, his
attorney has told Reuters. McConnell was not present for the shooting
but may be accused of dereliction of duty for his reports on the
incident.
Once charged, the defendants are entitled to an Article 32 hearing, in
which a military judge would decide if there is enough evidence to
convene a court-martial.
Iraqi witnesses say the Marines shot civilians in their homes to
retaliate for the death of their comrade, Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas,
who was ripped in half by a roadside bomb that exploded under a convoy
rolling through Haditha, some 60 miles (96 km) north of Baghdad.
Defence lawyers dispute that version of events and say the men from
Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
were engaged in a furious battle in Haditha after the bomb exploded
and the civilians may have died during the chaos.
Two probes were launched into Haditha, one centring on the shooting
and another into the Marines' procedures afterward.
Earlier this year, U.S. President George W. Bush vowed that any U.S.
Marine guilty of shooting Iraqi civilians would be punished. Iraqi
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called the Haditha killings a
"terrible crime."
--
They say love conquers all
You can't start it like a car
You can't stop it with a gun.
--Warren Zevon, 1947-2003
Hussein
Amanda Williams
$4c36...@roadrunner.com:
> Lets pray Pres. Bush pardons this hero Marine.
>
>
>
HAH!
Dream on EMU.
Little georgie doesn't give a FF about the troops.
Besides BUSH is the REAL criminal, he should be in the dock.
But I expect all you rightards will want to apologize to John Murtha, you
were all jumping up and down and screeching like the monkeys you are
calling him a liar and a traitor when he read the facts of the Haditha
Incident, since confirmed by the army's own investigators, into the
cogressional record.
I am sure John will accept your apology.
<snicker>
--
AW
<small but dangerous>
Suburbanaristic
tariq....@spamgourmet.com
are more interested in running their swords through dark-skinned locals
than in 'spreading democracy.' they have not progressed from the days
of practicing fascistic genocide against the natives of the American
West.
The Real Diddy Pop
tariq....@spamgourmet.com wrote:
> the haditha affair shows for the umpteenth time that American troops
> are more interested in running their swords through dark-skinned locals
This moron thinks he can extrapolate *8* Marines charged with murder
into that being the norm with the American troops. I can only infer
from his name that he is of Arab descent. Typical.
tariq....@spamgourmet.com
> into that being the norm with the American troops. I can only infer
> from his name that he is of Arab descent. Typical.
8 marines in this case. how many have not been caught?
Sanders Kaufman
I honestly believe this was an isolated incident.
So were the other dozen or so.... all isolated incidents.
moto...@daplace.net
wrote:
Sure. Obviously they weren't ordered from the top down to commit
torture...oh, no...America is so *different* under Bush...
tariq....@spamgourmet.com
>
> Sure. Obviously they weren't ordered from the top down to commit
> torture...oh, no...America is so *different* under Bush...
Bush = hitler.