Death Toll Rises in Haditha Attack, GOP Leader Says

[thedrifter]

Death Toll Rises in Haditha Attack, GOP Leader Says
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 20, 2006; A17

Forthcoming military investigations into alleged war crimes in Iraq will show that a squad of U.S. Marines killed about 24 Iraqi civilians, including women and children, while on a patrol in Haditha in November -- a higher number than first believed -- and then gave inaccurate reports on the incident to their commanders, a congressional Republican said yesterday.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) said his panel will hold oversight hearings on the two investigations -- a probe by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to be complete in June, and a second report by a two-star Army general expected next week -- to ensure they are "undertaken by the military with integrity."

In an indication of the gravity of the charges, Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the second highest-ranking U.S. commander in Iraq, talks almost daily with investigators and will recommend further action based on what they find, Hunter said after being briefed by Chiarelli.

"We took these allegations very, very seriously," Chiarelli said yesterday in a videoconference from Baghdad. Chiarelli launched an investigation four days after a Time magazine reporter brought the charges to the attention of his headquarters in February. Chiarelli declined to comment when asked whether the latest investigations turned up different information than the military originally released.

A preliminary military investigation completed in March found that on Nov. 19 insurgents attacked a Marine convoy near Haditha in Iraq's violent Anbar province with a roadside bomb, killing Marine Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 20, of El Paso. It said insurgents then opened fire on the Marines from several locations, and during the battle, eight insurgents and 15 civilians were killed, including women and children.

But earlier this week, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) said the incident was "much worse" and had involved no firefight or roadside bomb that killed civilians. "Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood," said Murtha, who seeks a rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Hunter also indicated yesterday that new facts had emerged on the number of civilian deaths and unfolding of events, but said he would not preempt the investigation and say that murders were committed. "I think we're going to see those [deaths] in the neighborhood of 20 or so people," he said. A statement from his committee put the number at "about 24."

"The initial reports, obviously, that came up through the command didn't . . . tell the story," he said. The military's original Nov. 20 statement said an insurgent bomb had killed the civilians and Marine.

The Marines agreed to allow a two-star Army general, Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell, to conduct an "outside investigation" rather than have the Marine chain of command investigate itself. Hunter likened it to an independent counsel who would scrutinize actions not only of the Marine infantry squad but also up to the level of Marine generals.

Three Marine officers -- a lieutenant colonel and two captains -- whose 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment was involved in the incident, were relieved of command in April as a result of questions about their leadership. None has been charged in the incident.

Hunter strongly disagreed with Murtha's statement that undue stress on the Marines contributed to the killings. "I totally reject that," he said, adding that the actions of a single squad should not reflect negatively on the rest of the troops engaged in Iraq or their mission. "There has been no war in our history in which you didn't have incidents in which people did the wrong thing at one time or another," he said. No one should "tar the honorable service of 922,000 brave Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan with the reported actions of one squad in one city on one morning," he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Iraq incident report due next week

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer

CAMP PENDLETON ---- The first report on a 2005 incident believed to involve up to a dozen Camp Pendleton Marines that left as many as 15 Iraqi civilians dead year will be delivered next week to the commander of the multinational forces in Iraq, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee announced Friday.

U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, said Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli will review the report and issue recommendations. It is unclear what those recommendations may involve.

Hunter also said Friday that he intends to conduct a hearing to review how the military has handled the investigation, but will not delve into the specifics of the allegations against the troops.

A concurrent criminal investigation being conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is expected to be complete sometime in June.

The Marines are under investigation for a firefight that led to the deaths of 15 Iraqis, eight insurgents and a Marine. A Time magazine report earlier this year based on statements from Iraqi civilians in the city of Haditha where the incident took place in November hinted that the Marines may have gone on a rampage after one of their own was killed.

A battalion leader and two of his company commanders were relieved of their duties in April, one week after they and troops from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division returned from Iraq.

Relieved of his duty as commanding officer of the battalion was Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani. Also relieved were Capt. James Kimber, who headed up the battalion's India Company, and Capt. Luke McConnell, who was in charge of Kilo Company, the company that was involved in the Haditha incident.

The dismissals came at the order of 1st Marine Division Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski. Each of the relieved officers was reassigned to staff positions within the division and Lt. Col. Phillip W. Chandler was appointed battalion commander.

The unit, known as the 3/1 and by the nickname the "Thundering Third," was in Iraq last year for its third deployment following the March 2003 U.S. invasion.

Seven women and three children were among those killed after Kilo Company troops searched for insurgents responsible for the death of Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas of Texas, according to the Time report.

Terrazas, also a member of Kilo Company, was killed when a roadside bomb detonated as he took part in a combat operation on Nov. 19.

Hunter told reporters in Washington on Friday that he hoped the incident would not become an iconic hallmark of the U.S. presence in Iraq.

"Don't define 1 million American troops by the actions of one squad," Hunter said. "That's unfair and hurtful."

He also urged fellow members of Congress and the news media not to tar honorable service members with the reported actions of "one squad in one city on one morning."

Hunter's comments came one day after U.S. Rep. John Murtha said the attack in Haditha was far worse than first reported, that as many as 30 civilians may have died and that women and children were killed "in cold blood."

At the headquarters of the Central Command in Florida, Lt. Col. Sean Gibson issued a statement in response to Murtha's and Hunter's comments saying that the public will get the facts of what happened when the investigation is complete.

"As soon as the facts are known and decisions on future actions are made, we will make that information available to the public to the fullest extent possible," the statement read.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.

Ellie