thedrifter
05-15-07, 07:52 AM
Marine incident ‘stained our honor’
Army officer’s rebuke is rapped by attorneys
By Trista Talton - ttalton@militarytimes.com
Posted : May 21, 2007
For the second time in a month, a senior Army officer has publicly condemned a handful of special operations Marines for a March shootout in Afghanistan that left as many as 19 locals dead.
Col. John Nicholson, commander of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, said the killing and wounding of “innocent Afghans at the hands of Americans is a stain on our honor,” despite the fact that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe into the incident has not been completed. He also made condolence payments to families.
His remarks drew fire from some of the attorneys representing at least seven of the eight spec-ops Marines sent home to Camp Lejeune, N.C., a month after the March 4 incident. Those attorneys have claimed that the Marines, after their convoy was attacked by a car bomb, defended themselves after taking small-arms fire at the scene.
“Since the investigation is not complete, the comment � is at best premature,” attorney Charles Gittins wrote in an e-mail responding to the colonel’s May 8 comments. “But especially because the investigation is incomplete, I believe his comments are criminal, and an intentional effort to subvert justice and employ unlawful command influence to influence the ongoing NCIS investigation.”
Gittins represents a sergeant who was in the 120-man company, which was expelled from Afghanistan days after the incident and resulted in the decision by Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command brass to relieve the company commander and senior enlisted adviser.
The incident in Nangarhar province left 19 civilians dead and 53 wounded, Nicholson said. That number of dead is well beyond previous reports, which ranged from 10 to 12.
“We came here to help the Afghan people and the Afghan government, not to hurt you,” Nicholson said, re-reading for Pentagon reporters via satellite May 8 the statement he gave to the families of the dead. “So I stand before you today deeply, deeply ashamed, and terribly sorry, that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people.
“We are filled with grief and sadness at the death of any Afghan,” Nicholson continued. “But the death and wounding of innocent Afghans at the hand of Americans is a stain on our honor, and on the deaths of the many Americans who have died defending Afghanistan and the Afghan people. This was a terrible, terrible mistake. And my nation grieves with you for your loss and suffering. We humbly and respectfully ask for your forgiveness.”
The “solatia” payments — so described because they were made to express condolences rather than a “legal claim per se,” Nicholson said — varied with the type of loss a family suffered. If a family member was killed, he said, the family was paid 100,000 Afghani — the equivalent of about $2,000.
Nicholson’s comments were made less than a month after Army Maj. Gen. Frank Kearney, the top special operations officer in the Middle East, told The Washington Post on April 14 that a preliminary investigation showed there was no evidence that Marines had taken small-arms fire from Afghans after the car bomb struck the Marine convoy.
Lawyers for several of the Marines under investigation have told Marine Corps Times that their clients’ retelling of events clashed with Kearney’s, and said they have evidence to back the claim that the Marines did indeed take small-arms fire from enemy fighters in the area and were forced to defend themselves after the initial ambush.
Knox Nunnally, an attorney representing another of the MarSOC Marines, characterized Nicholson’s comments as “an unfortunate and ill-advised choice of words.”
“His remarks in many ways violate that most fundamental rule of law that presumes the innocence of anyone until a court of law determines guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Such remarks do Col. Nicholson and our country a disservice,” Nunnally wrote in an e-mail.
Marine Maj. Cliff Gilmore, MarSOC spokesman, said his command is not characterizing the incident until the investigation has been completed.
“We regret the March 4 ambush of the Marine Special Operations Company in Afghanistan and offer our deepest sympathy to all of those involved,” Gilmore said. “The events related to that ambush are currently under investigation. In the interest of preserving the presumption of innocence that all U.S. service members deserve when facing allegations of misconduct, we will not characterize the incident until we have all the facts.”
Ed Buice, an NCIS spokesman, said agents continue with their investigation.
Victor Kelley, an attorney for a gunnery sergeant, said, “Based on my information of the facts, [the colonel] just got it wrong.”
“My client has done nothing wrong,” Kelley said. “When this case is tried outside of the court of public opinion, he will be found not guilty. I can say with confidence the colonel has it wrong.
He pointed out the different reports of casualties coming from the government. Nicholson said 19 civilians were killed. Kearney said that, according to a preliminary investigation, 10 civilians were killed.
“I don’t think the government knows what the heck has happened, especially when you’ve got senior officers making a blanket apology for these Marines before they’ve even been tried.”
Ellie
Army officer’s rebuke is rapped by attorneys
By Trista Talton - ttalton@militarytimes.com
Posted : May 21, 2007
For the second time in a month, a senior Army officer has publicly condemned a handful of special operations Marines for a March shootout in Afghanistan that left as many as 19 locals dead.
Col. John Nicholson, commander of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, said the killing and wounding of “innocent Afghans at the hands of Americans is a stain on our honor,” despite the fact that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe into the incident has not been completed. He also made condolence payments to families.
His remarks drew fire from some of the attorneys representing at least seven of the eight spec-ops Marines sent home to Camp Lejeune, N.C., a month after the March 4 incident. Those attorneys have claimed that the Marines, after their convoy was attacked by a car bomb, defended themselves after taking small-arms fire at the scene.
“Since the investigation is not complete, the comment � is at best premature,” attorney Charles Gittins wrote in an e-mail responding to the colonel’s May 8 comments. “But especially because the investigation is incomplete, I believe his comments are criminal, and an intentional effort to subvert justice and employ unlawful command influence to influence the ongoing NCIS investigation.”
Gittins represents a sergeant who was in the 120-man company, which was expelled from Afghanistan days after the incident and resulted in the decision by Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command brass to relieve the company commander and senior enlisted adviser.
The incident in Nangarhar province left 19 civilians dead and 53 wounded, Nicholson said. That number of dead is well beyond previous reports, which ranged from 10 to 12.
“We came here to help the Afghan people and the Afghan government, not to hurt you,” Nicholson said, re-reading for Pentagon reporters via satellite May 8 the statement he gave to the families of the dead. “So I stand before you today deeply, deeply ashamed, and terribly sorry, that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people.
“We are filled with grief and sadness at the death of any Afghan,” Nicholson continued. “But the death and wounding of innocent Afghans at the hand of Americans is a stain on our honor, and on the deaths of the many Americans who have died defending Afghanistan and the Afghan people. This was a terrible, terrible mistake. And my nation grieves with you for your loss and suffering. We humbly and respectfully ask for your forgiveness.”
The “solatia” payments — so described because they were made to express condolences rather than a “legal claim per se,” Nicholson said — varied with the type of loss a family suffered. If a family member was killed, he said, the family was paid 100,000 Afghani — the equivalent of about $2,000.
Nicholson’s comments were made less than a month after Army Maj. Gen. Frank Kearney, the top special operations officer in the Middle East, told The Washington Post on April 14 that a preliminary investigation showed there was no evidence that Marines had taken small-arms fire from Afghans after the car bomb struck the Marine convoy.
Lawyers for several of the Marines under investigation have told Marine Corps Times that their clients’ retelling of events clashed with Kearney’s, and said they have evidence to back the claim that the Marines did indeed take small-arms fire from enemy fighters in the area and were forced to defend themselves after the initial ambush.
Knox Nunnally, an attorney representing another of the MarSOC Marines, characterized Nicholson’s comments as “an unfortunate and ill-advised choice of words.”
“His remarks in many ways violate that most fundamental rule of law that presumes the innocence of anyone until a court of law determines guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Such remarks do Col. Nicholson and our country a disservice,” Nunnally wrote in an e-mail.
Marine Maj. Cliff Gilmore, MarSOC spokesman, said his command is not characterizing the incident until the investigation has been completed.
“We regret the March 4 ambush of the Marine Special Operations Company in Afghanistan and offer our deepest sympathy to all of those involved,” Gilmore said. “The events related to that ambush are currently under investigation. In the interest of preserving the presumption of innocence that all U.S. service members deserve when facing allegations of misconduct, we will not characterize the incident until we have all the facts.”
Ed Buice, an NCIS spokesman, said agents continue with their investigation.
Victor Kelley, an attorney for a gunnery sergeant, said, “Based on my information of the facts, [the colonel] just got it wrong.”
“My client has done nothing wrong,” Kelley said. “When this case is tried outside of the court of public opinion, he will be found not guilty. I can say with confidence the colonel has it wrong.
He pointed out the different reports of casualties coming from the government. Nicholson said 19 civilians were killed. Kearney said that, according to a preliminary investigation, 10 civilians were killed.
“I don’t think the government knows what the heck has happened, especially when you’ve got senior officers making a blanket apology for these Marines before they’ve even been tried.”
Ellie