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| Iraq | |
| Pendleton Marines Face Iraq Murder Charges on Thursday | |
| 2006-12-21 | |
What is undeniably true is: the terrorists are using human shields. I seem to recall that it was a pro-terrorist Iraqi doctor who scripted most of the complaints. In addition, as many as three officers might face charges for allegedly covering up or not fully investigating the incident. One of them is 31-year-old Capt. Lucas M. McConnell of Napa, who was commanding officer of Kilo Company but didn't travel with the unit at the time. McConnell heard from a superior that he will be charged with dereliction of duty, said Kevin McDermott, his civilian attorney. “My client has been trying all day to get the details of the charge against him,” McDermott said yesterday evening. “Is it failure to train his troops properly or failure to do an investigation? We are just really unsure.” Neal Puckett, who represents Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., said he learned yesterday that charges are coming against rank-and-file members of the squad. Puckett said Wuterich, 26, the senior Marine present during the alleged three-hour killing spree, was ordered to return early from leave to sign papers at Camp Pendleton on Thursday morning. “We both know that they want him to sign his charge sheets,” he said. The Marine Corps is not ready to confirm charges or indicate when they'll be filed, said Lt. Col. Sean Gibson, a spokesman at Camp Pendleton. Once the counts are lodged, Puckett said, it wouldn't make sense to lock up the suspects in Camp Pendleton's brig. “They are neither a flight risk nor a danger to themselves or others,” he said. Gary Myers, who represents Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, 22, from Carbondale, Pa., agreed that pretrial confinement would be inappropriate. The Marines being investigated “have been serving faithfully for 13 months,” Myers said. “I mean, what is the point?” Other suspects in the case include Cpl. Sanick Dela Cruz, 24, of Chicago; Cpl. Hector Salinas, 22, of Houston; and Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum, 25, of Edmund, Okla. All of the servicemen have insisted that they had no choice but to counter insurgents attacking them with small-arms fire from a nearby house. Some of their attorneys have said the civilians' deaths were the tragic result of a unit simply following the military's wartime rules of engagement... An IED, RPG and/or sniper incident puts troops in a pinned down situation from which they are trained to effect breakout ASAP. Suppression fire will cause civilian casualties. Arabs are pathological gawkers, which puts them in harm's way. | |
| Posted by:Sneaze Shaiting3550 |
| #9 Merry fucking Christmas ! |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-12-21 14:41 |
| #8 Ex-Jag: Have you read the military's "Counter-Insurgency Manual" that was released last week? One week after it was disclosed that US equipment is deteriorating at a rate of $2 billion per month, those bozos advocate putting 75% of COIN troops on patrol 24-7-365. The thinking is that troops can catch IED/RPG/sniper/mortar traps while on the run. Reality dictates: traps are set up on the run with both the element of surprise and easy escape routes. A COIN column hardly presents a surprise factor. Assuming that you are aware of SCOTUS decision ("Terry") on "investigative detention" in the US, what would you think of using short-term mass-arrests (say up to 200 per) in Baghdad, with the intent of using force and persuasion, to gather intelligence on the terror cells that set up the terror traps? My thinking is that while most won't talk, enough will and the terrorists wouldn't kill all arrestees in retaliation because that would cause more informants to spill. Terror cells probably operate in mosques, and originate operations out of well guarded residences where there is new ownership by persons with no obvious livelihood. If I am right, then these would be easy to identify. As for "Terry" many here have been subject to investigative detention without even being aware of same. I recall being asked to produce ID, while cops were on a Robbery dragnet. It only took a second, and I didn't feel violated in the slightest. Unfortunately, pro-active intelligence gathering has acquired a tabu status since the abu Ghraib incident. But, the Vietnam experience should have elicited a warning: NEVER impose unattainable objectives on soldiers. The editorialists are writing either "Pull Out" or "Send In More Troops." The latter is do-able, but unless we see better intelligence work, Iraq will be handed over to Iran's Ayatollahs. |
| Posted by: Sneaze Shaiting3550 2006-12-21 09:04 |
| #7 Does western civilization deserves to survive? |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-12-21 04:55 |
| #6 I've said this 100 times, and I'll say it again: JAG officers do not make the decision to prefer charges, commanders do. The decision to charge is often political; the decision to actually go to trial is based entirely on the evidence. Several times, I had no choice but to prosecute soldiers against whom there was flimsy evidence and who I believed were innocent. In such cases, I did everything possible to persuade the 32 IO to recommend dismissal. The prosecution represents the government, and it is not in the government's interest to convict innocent men, so I suspect that will occur here too. I say that because serious, heinous crimes are alleged, yet the government is not seeking pre-trial confinement. It strongly suggests that the prosecution doesn't believe these guys are guilty. Sometimes, JAG officers -- prosecutors and defense counsel alike -- are the only thing that comes between grandstanding commanders and egregious injustice, so cool your jets, eh? |
| Posted by: exJAG 2006-12-21 04:54 |
| #5 I thought they had some aerial footage corroborating their story. In any case, they have a chance for vindication. If the MSM will give it any coverage. And don't forget to put that guy who listened to that Iraqi doctor on a spit and roast him, right? Uh huh. That'll happen. Right after they're done with Murtha. |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-12-21 04:36 |
| #4 Get the Jags out of combat zones. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-12-21 02:45 |
| #3 as i recall one of them [corpsman] turned, unless they hearded civilians into a room and shot them, I sure hope they get off...they'll have a hard time rebuilding their lives/careers even if they are acquitted, or the charges are dropped. |
| Posted by: RD 2006-12-21 01:18 |
| #2 I recall a line from "Apocalypse Now" that reads: "Charging someone with murder in Vietnam, is like charging someone for speeding at Indianapolis." |
| Posted by: Sneaze Shaiting3550 2006-12-21 00:55 |
| #1 All Iraq is a war zone. Fighting for your life in a war zone entails killing anyone who's after you. If they convict these guys, good gawddamned luck on their recruiting efforts. |
| Posted by: SpecOp35 2006-12-21 00:22 |