thedrifter
06-17-06, 06:59 AM
General completes probe into Haditha deaths
by Jim Mannion
Fri Jun 16, 4:53 PM ET
A US general completed an investigation into command and training issues arising from allegations that US Marines deliberately killed 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, the US military said.
The report by Major General Eldon Bargewell comes amid a flurry of other civilian death investigations in Iraq, including a new one into suspicions about the deaths of three Iraqi men in US military custody May 9.
Bargewell, an army officer, was brought in to investigate how the Haditha killings were reported up the chain of command and whether there was a cover-up, as well as questions about training and procedures.
A US military statement said Bargewell submitted his report on Friday to Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, the commander of the multi-national force in Iraq.
"Lieutenant General Chiarelli has no time limit for taking action, but he will thoroughly review the voluminous report, as quickly as possible," the statement said.
Chiarelli can approve Bargewell's findings in whole, draw his own conclusions from the evidence, ask Bargewell to gather additional information, or pass his report on to higher headquarters with his recommendations.
Bargewell "was tasked to examine official reporting and communication flow surrounding the operations, type of training the forces received prior to and after their arrival in theater and command climate within the unit," the statement said.
The US Marine Corps initially reported that 15 civilians and a marine were killed by a roadside explosion in Haditha.
But the military opened an investigation after Time magazine reported in March that witnesses, backed by a videotape of the scene, said the marines went on a rampage after a roadside explosion killed one of their comrades.
The marines allegedly went house to house deliberately killing men, women and children. Five unarmed men in a taxi near the site of the bombing also were killed, according to accounts leaked to the press.
Representative John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), a Democrat, denounced the killings as cold-blooded murders and disclosed that 24 men, women and children were killed, not 15.
The Navy Criminal Investigative Service is conducting a separate criminal probe into the allegations.
A battalion commander and two company commanders whose troops were involved in the incident were relieved of command in April "due to lack of confidence in their leadership abilities."
Chiarelli, meanwhile, has ordered another criminal investigation into the deaths May 9 of three Iraqi men while in US military custody near Balad.
The military said the investigation was ordered because of suspicions raised by other soldiers.
No information was provided on the identity of the Iraqis, how they died or why they were being detained.
Investigators also have been probing allegations that US marines shot to death an Iraqi man in the town of Hamandiyah, and left a shovel by his body to make it appear he was planting a roadside bomb.
Ellie
by Jim Mannion
Fri Jun 16, 4:53 PM ET
A US general completed an investigation into command and training issues arising from allegations that US Marines deliberately killed 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, the US military said.
The report by Major General Eldon Bargewell comes amid a flurry of other civilian death investigations in Iraq, including a new one into suspicions about the deaths of three Iraqi men in US military custody May 9.
Bargewell, an army officer, was brought in to investigate how the Haditha killings were reported up the chain of command and whether there was a cover-up, as well as questions about training and procedures.
A US military statement said Bargewell submitted his report on Friday to Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, the commander of the multi-national force in Iraq.
"Lieutenant General Chiarelli has no time limit for taking action, but he will thoroughly review the voluminous report, as quickly as possible," the statement said.
Chiarelli can approve Bargewell's findings in whole, draw his own conclusions from the evidence, ask Bargewell to gather additional information, or pass his report on to higher headquarters with his recommendations.
Bargewell "was tasked to examine official reporting and communication flow surrounding the operations, type of training the forces received prior to and after their arrival in theater and command climate within the unit," the statement said.
The US Marine Corps initially reported that 15 civilians and a marine were killed by a roadside explosion in Haditha.
But the military opened an investigation after Time magazine reported in March that witnesses, backed by a videotape of the scene, said the marines went on a rampage after a roadside explosion killed one of their comrades.
The marines allegedly went house to house deliberately killing men, women and children. Five unarmed men in a taxi near the site of the bombing also were killed, according to accounts leaked to the press.
Representative John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), a Democrat, denounced the killings as cold-blooded murders and disclosed that 24 men, women and children were killed, not 15.
The Navy Criminal Investigative Service is conducting a separate criminal probe into the allegations.
A battalion commander and two company commanders whose troops were involved in the incident were relieved of command in April "due to lack of confidence in their leadership abilities."
Chiarelli, meanwhile, has ordered another criminal investigation into the deaths May 9 of three Iraqi men while in US military custody near Balad.
The military said the investigation was ordered because of suspicions raised by other soldiers.
No information was provided on the identity of the Iraqis, how they died or why they were being detained.
Investigators also have been probing allegations that US marines shot to death an Iraqi man in the town of Hamandiyah, and left a shovel by his body to make it appear he was planting a roadside bomb.
Ellie