Criminal probe ordered into alleged killing of Iraqi civilian by US marines

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Criminal probe ordered into alleged killing of Iraqi civilian by US marines <br />
by Jim Mannion <br />
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A US commander ordered a criminal investigation into allegations marines killed an Iraqi man in April...

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May 24, 2006 <br />
A dozen Marines may face courts-martial for alleged Iraq massacre <br />
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By Gayle S. Putrich <br />
Times staff writer <br />
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A key member of Congress said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if a dozen...

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Iraq
Pentagon Focuses on Two NCOs in Haditha Inquiry
by Tom Bowman

All Things Considered, May 24, 2006 · The Pentagon has narrowed its investigation into allegations that U.S. Marines killed 24 civilians, including 11 women and children, in the Iraqi city of Haditha last November. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other senior military leaders received an update on the probe this week.

A government official familiar with the criminal investigation tells NPR it is centering on a Marine sergeant and a corporal. And there is a possibility that three other Marines, all lance corporals, could be implicated in the killings.

The Marines were members of a 12-man squad from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, based at Camp Pendleton in California.

Gary Solis, a retired Marine officer and law professor, says Iraq poses a difficult problem for U.S. forces. Insurgents operate among civilians, who sometimes can be used as shields. But American troops are trained not to overreact and to be precise when they shoot.

"You have to distinguish between the shooter and the non-shooter, the combatant and the non-combatant," says Solis. And you may not lawfully target a non-combatant; for example, a woman or a child without a weapon.

On Nov. 19, the Marine squad rolled into Haditha, a town northwest of Baghdad, in a four-Humvee convoy. The convoy struck a roadside bomb, which killed one Marine and injured two others.

During the chaos, a taxi suddenly pulled up, carrying five Iraqi men. The government official says investigators will report that the Marine sergeant quickly ordered the unarmed Iraqis from the taxi and shot and killed them.

Solis says non-commissioned officers, like sergeants, and officers have a special role in combat operations.

The sergeant then led some of the Marines on a search of four houses. There were initial reports that shots were being fired. Additional civilians in the houses were killed by Marine gunfire.

The government official says it's uncertain whether any firefight with insurgents took place. Only in the fourth and final house was there evidence of a firefight with Marines. One Iraqi male fired his AK-47 assault rifle. He was cut down by the Marines.

The day of the incident, the Marines put out a statement saying 15 Iraqi civilians were killed, all by the roadside bomb. And they reported another eight insurgents were killed in a battle with Marines. Now, investigators realize that report was untrue.

Investigators have also learned that two separate groups of Marines showed up at the four houses shortly after the attack. One was a team collecting intelligence information. The other was a foot patrol.

The government official says the Marine intelligence team took digital photos of the scene and then deleted them; he says that's because the team found no intelligence information of value. Marines from the foot patrol also took pictures. They are now in the hands of investigators. The government official describes them as "gruesome."

But why didn't these two separate groups of Marines, aware of a large civilian death toll, realize something was wrong? Should they have reported it? Those are questions investigators are still trying to answer.

Rumsfeld and the joint chiefs of staff were briefed on the investigations earlier this week. And Pentagon sources say Rumsfeld had a question for the senior military officers: Are commanders are doing all they can to make sure American troops behave professionally?

Before heading to Iraq, the Marines are instructed on when they can shoot. And they also spend weeks training in mock Iraqi villages.

Gary Anderson, a retired Marine colonel who advises the Pentagon on the Iraqi insurgency, says Marines and soldiers work with Iraqi-American role players to get a sense of what it will be like in Iraq. And they stage practice runs on houses where there are both armed combatants and unarmed civilians.

The Pentagon is now bracing for the completion of the investigation. Any wrongdoing by Marines or the release of gruesome pictures could intensify an already explosive situation in Iraq.

Anderson says the key question is how this is resolved in the minds of the Iraqis themselves.

"If they think it was fairly resolved and fairly investigated that's important," he says.

The investigation into how the Haditha attack was reported up the chain could be finished as early as this week. The criminal investigation is expected to wrap up next month.

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US to check Iraq charge of a killing by Marines <br />
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By Robert H. Reid, Associated Press | May 25, 2006 <br />
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BAGHDAD -- The US military has opened a criminal investigation into allegations that Marines...

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Top Marine to ‘reinforce’ Corps values
Allegations of misconduct in Iraq highlight need for refresher course
The Associated Press
Updated: 12:01 a.m. ET May 25, 2006

WASHINGTON - To highlight his concern over recent allegations that Marines in Iraq killed civilians, including women and children, the service commandant said Thursday he will go there to reinforce the values and standards of behavior that Marines are trained to uphold in combat.

“To a Marine, honor is more than just honesty; it means having uncompromising personal integrity and being accountable for all actions,” Marine Gen. Michael W. Hagee wrote in a lengthy statement issued by his office.

He referred to “recent serious allegations about actions of Marines in combat,” but he did not specifically cite the two cases — one from last November and the other in April — of alleged killings of civilians.

On Wednesday, the Marine’s operating base in Fallujah, Iraq, announced the opening of a criminal investigation into allegations that an unspecified number of Marines killed an Iraqi civilian west of Baghdad on April 26. Iraqi civilians made the allegation during a meeting with Marine officers on May 1, five days after the alleged incident, the statement said.

A preliminary investigation by Multinational Force-West, headed by Marine Maj. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer, found enough information to recommend an investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigation Service, the statement added.

The statement provided no details about the alleged killing, including either the gender or age of the victim. It said “several service members” from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which is based in the Fallujah area about 40 miles west of Baghdad, were suspected of involvement. They were “removed from operations” and sent back to the United States pending the results of the criminal investigation, it said.

Investigation into Haditha incident
A criminal investigation also is under way in connection with Marines from another battalion who are accused of killing at least 15 civilians, including women and children, last November in Haditha, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad.

The military initially described the Haditha encounter as an ambush during a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol that involved a roadside bombing in which a Marine died, followed by a firefight. However, residents of the neighborhood maintained that only U.S. forces were shooting after the explosion.

Videotape aired by an Arab television station showed images purportedly taken in the aftermath of the encounter: a bloody bedroom floor, bullet holes in walls and bodies of women and children. An Iraqi human rights group called for an investigation of what it described as another deadly mistake that had harmed civilians.

The military began its administrative investigation to review whether the Marines involved had lied about what happened. A House committee will review the military’s investigation next month.

On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine, said the toll in the Haditha attack was far worse than originally reported and that U.S. troops killed innocent women and children “in cold blood.” He said that nearly twice as many people were killed than first reported, maintaining that U.S. forces are “overstretched and overstressed” by the war in Iraq.

Last August, the Marine Corps announced a criminal investigation into the death of the cousin of Iraq’s ambassador to Washington, Samir al-Sumaidaie, who was shot and killed during a search of his home in Haditha on June 25.

No announcement has been made about the findings of the investigation.

Ellie

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May 25, 2006 <br />
Investigations to uncover ‘terrible truth’ in alleged Iraq massacre <br />
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By Gayle S. Putrich <br />
Times staff writer <br />
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Marine Corps leaders are preparing Congress for what is expected to be...

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General to Marines: kill only when justified
Thu May 25, 2006 4:35 PM ET



By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Marine Corps general flew to Iraq on Thursday to tell his troops they should kill "only when justified," as the U.S. military investigated whether Marines killed civilians in two incidents.

The trip by Gen. Michael Hagee, the Marine Corps commandant, to meet with Marines at bases in Iraq showed his personal concern over recent allegations about the actions of Marines in combat, the Marines said in a statement.

"We do not employ force just for the sake of employing force. We use lethal force only when justified, proportional and, most importantly, lawful," Hagee said in remarks intended for Marines in Iraq and released by the military.

"To most Marines, the most difficult part of courage is not the raw physical courage that we have seen so often on today's battlefield. It is rather the moral courage to do the right thing in the face of danger or pressure from other Marines."

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. John Kelly, an aide to Hagee, briefed the Senate Armed Services Committee in a closed session about criminal investigations into the role of Marines in Iraqi civilian deaths in separate incidents in November and April.

The first investigation involves a November 19 incident in Haditha, about 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, in which Marines are suspected of killing civilians. The military has said 15 civilians were killed, while a senior Republican lawmaker last week put the number at about 24.

The second probe involves an April 26 incident, disclosed by the Marines on Wednesday, in which "several" troops are suspected in the death of a civilian in the area of Hamandiyah, west of Baghdad.

'VERY SERIOUS'

"I can say that there are established facts that incidents of a very serious nature did take place," said Virginia Republican Sen. John Warner, the committee chairman.

Asked if he considered them battlefield atrocities, Warner said he would "reserve any judgment" until reviewing all the facts and seeing pictures held by investigators.

There are 21,000 Marines serving in Iraq, and 717 Marines have died since the war began in 2003. Marines are serving in Anbar province, one of the most violent parts of Iraq and the heart of the Sunni Muslim insurgency.

Hagee will emphasize a need to follow the laws of war, the Geneva Conventions and rules of engagement set by the military, the Marines said.

"We must regulate force and violence, we only damage property that must be damaged, and we protect the noncombatants we find on the battlefield," Hagee added.

"Many of our Marines have been involved in life or death combat or have witnessed the loss of their fellow Marines, and the effects of these events can be numbing. There is the risk of becoming indifferent to the loss of a human life, as well as bringing dishonor upon ourselves," Hagee added.

The Marines said Hagee will address officers and enlisted troops in events over the next several weeks inside and outside the United States.

In Haditha, one Marine was killed by a roadside bomb. The military initially stated the blast also killed 15 civilians, then later said they had been shot. Time magazine has reported Marines entered houses after the blast and killed civilians in retaliation.

Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said last week military reports will show "our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood," including women and children.

(Additional reporting by Vicki Allen)

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Sent to me from hubby....fontman <br />
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Probe Finds Marines Killed Unarmed Iraqi Civilians <br />
By Tony Perry, LA Times Staff Writer <br />
May 26, 2006 <br />
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SAN DIEGO - Marines from Camp Pendleton wantonly killed...

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from hubby...fontman <br />
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Photos Indicate Civilians Slain Execution-Style <br />
An official involved in an investigation of Camp Pendleton Marines' <br />
actions in an Iraqi town cites `a total breakdown in...

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sent from hubby...fontman <br />
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In Haditha, Memories of a Massacre <br />
By Ellen Knickmeyer <br />
Washington Post Foreign Service <br />
Saturday, May 27, 2006; A01 <br />
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BAGHDAD, May 26 -- Witnesses to the slaying of 24...