Marine's plea deal for Haditha massacre sparks outrage

[DinarCowboy12]

Dubai: Many Iraqi politicians yesterday reacted with absolute shock to reports of a deal under which a US Marine squad leader facing trial over the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians in 2005 will get a few months in prison at the most.

American military prosecutors offered Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, 31, a deal according to which the proceedings against him will come to an end.

Wuterich was the leader of a squad that killed Iraqi civilians in Haditha during raids after a Marine was killed and two were injured in a roadside bomb attack.

Wuterich, who was originally accused of unpremeditated murder and was facing life imprisonment, now faces up to three months in confinement, after the deal. He could also lose two-thirds of his pay and be demoted when he is sentenced, the Associated Press reported. Seven other Marines initially charged with the killings were exonerated or had cases against them dropped.

Scathing criticism

The deal is "a sign that the US judiciary is belittling Iraq's blood", said Talal Al Zoubai, an Iraqi lawmaker from Anbar province, of which Haditha is part of.

"The ugly crime [Haditha massacre] contradicts human values and rights, and the principles of democracy which the US brought to Iraq, [but] left us with armies of widows and orphans, armed society and divided it along sectarian lines" Al Zoubai said in a statement to Gulf News.

"There should have been a strong sentence that is appropriate to the size of the tragedy for the relatives of the victims and martyrs' kins," Al Zoubai added.

Confession

Wuterich pleaded guilty on Monday to negligent dereliction of duty for leading the squad in the carnage.

In a report from Camp Pendleton in California, where the trial is taking place, AP said that "in the deal, Wuterich admitted that his orders misled his men to believe they could shoot without hesitation and not follow the rules of engagement that required troops to positively identify their targets before they raided the homes". He told the judge that his error caused "tragic events".

During the trial before a jury of combat Marines who served in Iraq, prosecutors argued Wuterich lost control after seeing his friend blown apart by the bomb and led his men on the rampage during which they stormed two nearby homes, blasting their way in with gunfire and grenades. Among the dead was a man in a wheelchair.

"This is genocide, and not just a murder," said Ra'ed Al Dahlaki, a member of the legal committee of the Iraqi parliament. "The culprit should receive severe punishment for the sake of justice for Arab blood and Iraqi blood." Reaching a deal with Wuterich is akin to "debasing Muslim and Iraqi blood," he told Gulf News.

However, many of the Marines involved in the killings testified that they "don't believe to this day that they did anything wrong because they feared insurgents were hiding inside".

The massacre, which is often described as one the major events in the War in Iraq, has further tarnished America's reputation after it reached abysmal levels with the release of photos of prisoner abuse at Baghdad's Abu Gharib prison by US soldiers.

Slaughter of innocents

On a quiet morning in 2005, Marines from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment - nicknamed the "Thundering Third" - participated in a supply convoy through Haditha, which was then an insurgent stronghold. A bomb erupted under one vehicle, killing Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 20, and injuring two others.

The surviving Marines turned their attention to a nearby residential area that some believed was the source of additional small-arms fire. While preparing their assault, five men pulled up in a white car. Wuterich shot them to death.

According to one Marine's testimony, Wuterich told his comrades that they should tell investigators the men had been running away from the bomb; in fact, the Marine testified, the men were "just standing around," some with their hands raised and fingers interlocked over their heads.

Wuterich and the others then attacked two homes with M-16s and fragmentation grenades. The situation degenerated into chaos; the homes filled with smoke and debris, and one Marine acknowledged shooting at "silhouettes." Others said their only indication that the homes were "hostile" was that their fellow Marines were shooting. A short time later, the Marine Corps released an official version of events: 15 Iraqis had been killed in the bombing, and the others had been killed in an ensuing firefight - none of which was true.

At the court-martial proceedings, much of the debate centered on Marines' rules of engagement. A former officer who gave Wuterich the order to "clear" the area testified that he believed the nearby houses could be deemed "hostile" and that he expected the squad to "kill or capture the enemy I thought was in that building."

The apparent end to the Haditha cases was hailed by many Marines, who noted that many of the people commenting on the case have never been in combat.

In an interview from his home in Pennsylvania, the father of then-Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, one of the Marines whose charges were dropped, called the entire case "political persecution." "It is a tragedy that occurred there," Darryl Sharratt said. "But those Marines were using their rules of engagement."

"The people making these decisions have been there," Siegel said. "And they know how it changes you." Other experts, however, expressed amazement at what they described as a flawed prosecution. For instance, the military issued $2,500 condolence payments to victims' relatives - and then said those payments had tainted witnesses' accounts. Military prosecutors also granted immunity to Marines in exchange for their testimony, but still failed to win convictions.

"From the perspective that 24 civilians, including women and children were killed ... and all that happens is one noncommissioned [officer] pleads guilty to what appears to be a very inconsequential offense, that makes us look bad," said David Glazier, a former Navy surface warfare officer who teaches international and national security law at Loyola Law School. The failure of the Haditha prosecution will reverberate for years in Iraq, Samer Muscati, Human Rights Watch's Iraq researcher, said in an interview from Baghdad. With the withdrawal of American troops, U.S. officials are trying to implement democratic reform and root out widespread human rights abuses among Iraqi security forces. That could prove difficult, Muscati said, if Americans can't demonstrate that they practice what they preach. "We're at a crossroads right now in Iraq," he said. "The impact of this is huge."

-Tony Perry,Carol J William and Scott Gold, LAT times

Link - http://gulfnews.com/news/region/iraq/marine-s-plea-deal-for-haditha-massacre-sparks-outrage-1.970776

[CrappieShark]

War is hell dished up on a platter filled with unthankfulness and misunderstanding. I think everyone who wants to be a judge and jury of these men should have to fight in a combat zone and be involved in multuple fire fights. Why are we not demanding that Iraqis who killed our young men and young ladies be tried and sentenced for the deaths of our people. They were told to comply and did not. When in a fire fight and you are preserving the lifes of your own anyone who looks like an enemy becomes one. Men with interlocked fingers who are cowards because they kill and maim with roadside bombs and then put their hands up because the American press will justify them and destroy their own. Get these people out of the media and out of government. This is a disgrace to our troops. Go fight for our country but if you make an error in the heat of battle you will be demoted, castigated, tried and victomized. Piss off you idiots.

[ronbo62]

War is hell dished up on a platter filled with unthankfulness and misunderstanding. I think everyone who wants to be a judge and jury of these men should have to fight in a combat zone and be involved in multuple fire fights. Why are we not demanding that Iraqis who killed our young men and young ladies be tried and sentenced for the deaths of our people. They were told to comply and did not. When in a fire fight and you are preserving the lifes of your own anyone who looks like an enemy becomes one. Men with interlocked fingers who are cowards because they kill and maim with roadside bombs and then put their hands up because the American press will justify them and destroy their own. Get these people out of the media and out of government. This is a disgrace to our troops. Go fight for our country but if you make an error in the heat of battle you will be demoted, castigated, tried and victomized. Piss off you idiots.

We had no business over there to begin with. How is it that hundreds of platoons were in there and none of them did such an act? have you ever heard of someone joining the service just so they can justify killing people?

well i have. My brother was one of them. And he got his chance in Nam. I was fortunate enough to go to Germany while he was in Nam. I can say that if i had to go I would have, but I'm glad I didn't. So now let me ask you.

If China invaded the U.S. and then killed your families would you like it if their court system gave them 3 months for killing innocent people? They could well say. How did we know they were innocent. I think they all should

get at least 5 years. Of course war is hell but haven't you ever heard of the Geneva convention? Go RV

[nick.powell52]

We had no business over there to begin with. How is it that hundreds of platoons were in there and none of them did such an act? have you ever heard of someone joining the service just so they can justify killing people?

well i have. My brother was one of them. And he got his chance in Nam. I was fortunate enough to go to Germany while he was in Nam. I can say that if i had to go I would have, but I'm glad I didn't. So now let me ask you.

If China invaded the U.S. and then killed your families would you like it if their court system gave them 3 months for killing innocent people? They could well say. How did we know they were innocent. I think they all should

get at least 5 years. Of course war is hell but haven't you ever heard of the Geneva convention? Go RV

Yes I forgot only America is expected to follow the Geneva convention. I guess beheading dozens of Americans on national Iraqi tv is a ok. Do people read what they write? What about the hundred thousands of japenese civilians that got incinerated by nuclear bombs, regardless of what you think war is war, and sometimes human emotion gets in the way.

[CrappieShark]

We had no business over there to begin with. How is it that hundreds of platoons were in there and none of them did such an act? have you ever heard of someone joining the service just so they can justify killing people?

well i have. My brother was one of them. And he got his chance in Nam. I was fortunate enough to go to Germany while he was in Nam. I can say that if i had to go I would have, but I'm glad I didn't. So now let me ask you.

If China invaded the U.S. and then killed your families would you like it if their court system gave them 3 months for killing innocent people? They could well say. How did we know they were innocent. I think they all should

get at least 5 years. Of course war is hell but haven't you ever heard of the Geneva convention? Go RV

Yes I have and I agree with it (the geneva convention). Too bad America is the only ones who observe it. If China invades America and there is fighting in America they will give their soldiers medals for killing any and all Americans. Iraqis beleive all Americans are infidels. By the way you have to alledge yourself to Islam to become a Muslim so you are no longer an American if you become a proselyte. Therein lies the flaw in this reasoning. We should hold ourselves above and beyond evil. The very people though who castigate these men fighting for our country are in most cases, not all, some of the most amoral people in the world. They don't mind killing innocent babies who never had a chance to even voice their opinion. I digress. If you have been in a firefight and had your own all around you and some were dead others dying and body parts of your closest friends on you then you have a right to say foul. But those who have been there chose out punishement because they know what it is like and others who have never experienced it want to second guess them. Get a life. You need one. Judgment has been made step down.

Edited January 25, 2012 by CrappieShark

[desimo]

Before any idiot judges can rule against a soldier in a combat situation he or she needs to have experienced combat. After they experience the emotions involved in a combat situation and watched his friends die, then and only then should they be allowed to judge a combat veteran.

[divemaster5734]

Before any idiot judges can rule against a soldier in a combat situation he or she needs to have experienced combat. After they experience the emotions involved in a combat situation and watched his friends die, then and only then should they be allowed to judge a combat veteran.

Amen Brother

[George Hayduke]

"This is genocide, and not just a murder," said Ra'ed Al Dahlaki, a member of the legal committee of the Iraqi parliament. "The culprit should receive severe punishment for the sake of justice for Arab blood and Iraqi blood." Reaching a deal with Wuterich is akin to "debasing Muslim and Iraqi blood," he told Gulf News.

Oh well, deal with it...

GH