Haditha Accusations Falter
The hearing officer recommended charges against one of the Marines accused of the "Haditha massacre", Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, be dropped for lack of evidence. "The government version is unsupported by independent evidence," Ware wrote in the 18-page report. "To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary." The Jawa Report thinks that there will be "an outcry among the MSM and other leftist traitors who are working for a humiliating American defeat in Iraq," which if true would indicate a terrible state of affairs. The Haditha case isn't over yet, but in some ways it already bears passing resemblance to the Duke Lacrosse case, in which an audience was actually eager to find a class of persons guilty, not because of any particular evidence, but because it suited their world view. Let's see how the rest of it plays out. " The recommendation to drop the murder charge is nonbinding. A final decision about whether Sharratt should stand trial will be made by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general overseeing the case." The hearing officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ware, wrote:
He said further prosecution of Sharratt could set a "dangerous precedent that ... may encourage others to bear false witness against Marines as a tactic to erode public support of the Marine Corps and its mission in Iraq." "Even more dangerous is the potential that a Marine may hesitate at the critical moment when facing the enemy," he said.
The sad thing is that may have been the whole point.
Nothing follows.
posted by wretchardthecat at 7/11/2007 06:54:00 PM
21 Comments:
I doubt a Marine would suffer such a flinch as to consider his courtmartial when under fire, I would not expect a Marine to hesitate in combat based on something some REMF might bring down later, after the battle.
Unlike a Marine, America as a country has flinched in the past, and half the voters are begging to flinch into their mother's arms again, but Mommy ain't on the battlefield and she can't make the bad guys disappear.
God Bless Our Troops.
Semper fi, it goes without saying, but it's so much fun do say it.
Semper fideles.
Last November, a group of US Marines apparently went on, quote, "the worst rampage by US service members in the Iraq war, killing as many as 24 civilians in cold blood." Remember what Jack Murtha, the architect of defeat in the House of Representatives, said after US officials learned of the alleged massacre a few days after it had happened?
He said it was an organized a cover-up.
Murtha said,
"This is what the Marine Corps told me at the highest level. The commandant of Marine Corps was in my office just last week, so you know, I know there was a cover-up someplace.
They knew about this a few days afterwards and there's no question the Cheney command tried to stifle the story. I can understand why but that doesn't excuse this, something like that has to be brought out to the public and the people have to be punished."
He went on to call these Marines "murderers," and he "just knew it."
-Limbaugh
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As in the Duke case, the accused were treated as guilty until proven innocent, thanks to the gutless up the chain of command, playing politics with people's lives.
Duke kids lost their reputations and their sport.
Marines their reputations, liberty, and freedom from abusive confinement.
This comment has been removed by the author.
SAN DIEGO — The leader of a battalion involved in the killing of 24 Iraqis in Haditha should face a court-martial for dereliction of duty, the investigating officer recommended in a report obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, 43, was charged in December with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order for failing to report and investigate the deaths of the men, women and children in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving civilian deaths to come out of the Iraq war.
The investigating officer, Col. Christopher Conlin, wrote that Chessani should face all charges.
"Lt. Col. Chessani failed to do his duty," Conlin wrote. "He failed to thoroughly and accurately report and investigate a combat engagement that clearly needed scrutiny."
The report was provided to the AP by a defense lawyer who asked to remain anonymous because other attorneys in the case had not seen it.
Chessani's defense attorney Brian Rooney did not immediately respond to a phone message.
Wretchard --
I think it is QUITE CLEAR that the MSM has been allied extensively with AQ. The MSM likes AQ, hates the Marines (in particular) and believes the worst about the Marines and won't believe anything about AQ.
The MSM agenda in Iraq and Afghanistan has been to paint AQ as a heroic resistance and the Marines as "war criminals" ala the Duke Case.
As I've long said, this is because the US Marine Corps presents a profound and complete challenge to the MSM and their allies in Politics, Hollywood, the Academy, and various other Talk Shops like the UN.
Like "greens" who want really just to take away ordinary people's possessions like cars but oppose wind farms off their seaside vacation mansions, the MSM hates/fears/loathes ordinary Americans and their defenders.
All Marines should shun Fat Jack Murtha actively 24/7. If he walks into a room, leave. If you cannot leave, turn your back. If he speaks, respond "Liar!"
I was in a major ad agency in New York City recently, and heard the staff sneering at some folks at a game who'd been cheering for the USA. "Can you believe it?" asked one, incredulously. "Yeah," replied the other, "they're the f***ing 'patriots.'" And all five people in the room laughed derisively. It was amazing.
Later, one of these creatures said something to the effect that "those people out in the Heartland must be even worse than I thought." She spoke as if they were the farm team for the Waffen SS. Unbelievable. They really do "think" this way in New York. And these are garden-variety Democrats.
Beverly --
When Bill Kristol was a guest at the Daily Show, John Stewart asked him why conservatives cared about 9/11 since the people who lived in NYC mostly did not (and opposed the WoT).
Kristol could not articulate a response. But the reason was, the people who died on 9/11 were the "bridge and tunnel" crowd, the people who made the city work but could not afford to live there. People from New Jersey, or Long Island, or Staten Island. Maybe even Queens. But certainly not the Upper East Side.
Working people know and recognize each other across regional boundaries. And the same for elites. Kofi Annan, Osama bin Laden, and John Stewart have more in common with each other than say a back office working in the Twin Towers or an Iowa cop.
Remarkable pictures of one of the most hellish places on earth.
Never seen before, these astonishing photographs bring to life the nightmare of Passchendaele, the battle that, between July and November 1917, claimed a staggering 2,121 lives a day and in total some quarter of a million Allied soldiers.
The question arises who pays for the civilian defense lawyers for our soldiers and Marines to level the playing field.
I haven't researched this organization fully, but the Military Combat Defense Fund raises money just for that purpose and has given money for the defense of L/Cpl Sharratt among others.
They say:
Mission Statement:
The "Military Combat Defense Fund" is a non-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We believe in the fundamental decency of our armed forces. We believe that our fighting men and woman deserve nothing less than our undying gratitude and unwavering support. If the need arises, we also believe that they deserve the best legal counsel available. We are raising funds to assist in the defense of U.S. Military Personnel, regardless of branch of service, charged with alleged crimes of violence arising from a combat situation while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. (Excluding crimes against fellow Americans or coalition forces.) We are raising funds through direct donations, annual appeals, and charitable events. See our Disbursals page to see where our funds are being spent.
Reason For incorporation:
We do not question the integrity of the Marine Corps or any other branch of the Military. Nor do we condone or encourage violence against civilians. We do know that politics is likely to play a part in these prosecutions. Anyone that has been in combat knows how confusing things can get. Decisions have to be made in a split second and the harshest judge of those decisions is the combat Marine or Soldier who has made them. Most of those decisions come to visit us every night. Those of you who know the Board Members, know our hearts. We need your help. Please join us.
I can't say who is guilty or not, but all deserve a fair trial.
http://frankwuterich.com/
http://justinsharratt.com/
google "defend our Marines" or "DefendourMarines" to find another good resource. I don't know how to do those long link things.
A guy over at FreeRepublic is running a ping list on this issue. His screen name is RedRover.
He should have a very comprehensive list of news links on and about the Betrayal of our Marines at Haditha.
If you log into FreeRep and search his name you can click on it (his name) to open up a contact page and send him a freepmail (internal private message) asking to be added to the ping.
If you want, you can tell him Grimmy sent you but he's liable to poke you in the eyeball with a hatpin if you do.
It started in November 2005. It became a political witch-hunt after Time’s Tim McGirk plastered the media with half-truths, suspect statements from “eyewitnesses” and a great deal of hearsay. It exploded into an anti-war talking point once John Murtha called it “cold blooded murder” and compared it to My Lai. The media and the anti-war crowd were salivating at the thought of US Marines convicted of murder. It did not occur to them that the Marines deserved the benefit of the doubt – you know, innocent until proven guilty.
The Article 32 Hearing for LCpl Justin Sharratt wrapped up Friday June 15. This was the third hearing for the seven Marines charged in the incident at Haditha in November 2005. Now that there is sworn testimony out in public (not just cherry picked leaked information), the media seems to have lost interest in the story. Other than the NC Times, most media outlets pick up abbreviated versions of the wire stories. Murtha is suddenly silent. Time does not have time for coverage. This means that a great deal of evidence has not been disseminated to the wide audience that was bombarded with premature claims of cold-blooded murder.
So doing the job the media fails to do, here are some of the facts from the Haditha cases.
Did you know that the Article 32 Hearing officer, Lt. Col. Paul Ware, stated "What the evidence points to is that the version of the Iraqis isn't really supported” during the closing of LCpl Justin Sharratt’s hearing?
Did you know that the wounds of the four “civilians” in the last house came from at least 2 feet away, which negates the claims of “execution style”?
Did you know that the witnesses who claimed the four young men were herded into a closet and shot were not even in the home during the firefight?
Did you know that the four “innocent civilians” attempted to kill the Marines with AK-47’s and were stopped only by the quick response of LCpl Sharratt and Sgt. Wuterich?
Did you know that aerial drones filmed the events that occurred on that fateful day in Haditha?
Did you know that footage from a drone shows an insurgent leaving a home carrying a child and attempting to blend in only to be discovered by the Marines due to a bloody ear?
Did you know that intelligence reports prior to November 19 2005 indicated an ambush was planned for that day and a white car would figure prominently in the attack?
Did you know that Lt. William Kallop ordered Sgt. Wuterich to “clear a group of building” south of the bomb crater after arriving on the scene in Haditha?
Did you know that the Armory Officer for Kilo Co received two AK-47s at the ambush site along with a suitcase that contained a million Iraqi dinars and Jordanian passports?
Did you know that Lt. Col Chessani has reported everything he knew about the incident o his superior officers and none called for an investigation?
Did you know that LCpl Justin Sharratt passed a polygraph exam, which was included in the NCIS report but not reported with any of the more lurid leaked information?
Did you know that the Battalion Intelligence Officer’s after action report included photographic evidence, logs of all the day’s radio transmissions and a narrative of the day’s events?
Did you know that the after-action report including a PowerPoint presentation were sent up the command ladder to all the higher officers and not one recommended further investigation?
Did you know that NCIS did no background research on any of the “civilians” killed in Haditha other than checking an insurgent database for the names?
Did you know that NCIS investigators spent approximately 1 hour interviewing the “witnesses” due to the extreme level of violence in Haditha?
Did you know that the “budding journalism student” responsible for the video at the root of the investigation was known to be part of the anti-government, anti-American Sunni insurgent sympathizers inhabiting Haditha a year prior to November 19, 2005?
Of course you didn’t know about any of the above facts. Instead, the media has focused on the Marine who testified that he urinated on the dead body of an Iraqi. They have reported the claims of photos showing powder burns without ever examining the bodies. The media would rather tell you about wounds to the head and equate them to execution style killings.
Seven Marines and their families have been subjected to poison arrows thrown by the media, blowhard politicians and the anti-war crowd. Their finances have been depleted & their lives a constant turmoil… All because of a political agenda that can only survive by plying the public with massive doses of propaganda. What did these Marines do to deserve such an injustice? They served their country in a time of war and defended their lives in a kill or be killed situation. The only thing cold-blooded and out of control in this whole Haditha incident has been the attempt to score political points by those pointing fingers at the Marines. But don’t count on any of that to be reported in the media. Chickenhawk Expres
Doug - Thanks for the photos. They sure weren't pretty, but they facilitated a brief period where I could imagine myself there. Amidst that death, stink, shattered fetid land...nicely summed as hell on earth.
That brief period was long enough.
The photos show it every bit as horrible as the historians, poets, and Vet's stories say it was.
*************
Beverly - I'm afraid that was close to my experience in NYC meetings. We were even briefed not to mention 9/11 or visiting the Pit in conversations with some powerful people. There is a Transnationalist cadre that openly sneers at people in "America the low class" that embrace love of nation, patriotism, their stupid sports and pathetic barbecues where hamburgers are served instead of grilled baby eggplant.
They are proudly post-national, post-patriotic, post-religion - and convinced law does not reflect culture, culture should not embody law - but instead are flexible social organs that can be manipulated to maximum advantage by the best educated.
The Soviets called them the unpatriotic post-communist "Cosmopolitans" that cared only for gathering wealth and power to themselves and others like them.
Those Transnationalists believe that while they should control much of how a nation behaves, that they only exist in that nation because it is now "the best deal" out there, and many boast of having multiple passports so they can move elsewhere if "fascism" or better financial opportunities arise. Scratch a Transnationalist and you will find they like America "for now" but better deals look like they may exist being middlemen for India and China's trade under a Spanish or Swiss passport. Or proudly talk about how South African Transnationalists "used their grip on the law and media" against the local whites and Apartheid...then of course all had to leave SA once it "unexpectedly" went into the toilet. Left for better economic opportunities in Australia, USA..
(And no, Transnationalists are not one of even of half a dozen ethnicities...)
***************
As for Haditha, obviously certain elites delighted in Marine-bashing, and I disagree with Tony that about "no Marine flinching" at the prospect of second-guessers or Corps rats getting them put in shackles with their lives ruined if they survive a battle or ambush where the enemy contacts the American "opposition" for another "shot" against our soldiers in US Courts.
Post-modernist progressive transnationalists are not true Americans IMO, but tell that to the Marines that see a pack of Americans out for their heads and to disghonor them after surviving Iraq.
Beverly,
Can you secretly videotape those buffoons?
Damn Cedarford, thats one heck of a post.
Right on the money.
Beverly:
And the interesting thing is that they don't mind those of other nations taking pride in their culture or athletes or countrymen.
I remember hearing the "No Foreigners" signs posted in local restaurants during the Nagano Olympics being dismissed as the natural reaction of an ancient indigenous culture to an onslaught of crass Westerners.
As I've commented before, just watch the media paper over all the nationalist and racial pride we'll see at the 1936 Munich, er, 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Cedarford, as the poster formerly known as TrangBang1968 posting under my wife's screen name, I agree your post is very cogent and on target. Maybe not Iraq but America will Balkanize into the treasonous vermin ridden coasts, the well armed manly heartland and the special frontier region of Mexico Norte. Tucson my current home while charming still is getting a little like the Sunni Triangle with a slaying or two a day. South to the border is a place only for the cautious outdoorsman.
As for Haditha, we can't expect much but lies from the media and the Dhimmicrats. The real culprits are the de- balled political military brass who have no esprit de corps but are tools for the leftist accusers who salivate for a My Lai to justify their anti military worldview.
Sadly Bush and his advisors who hung the troops out to dry in this mismanaged war now don't have their backs. While controversial because it involved a real war crime, Nixon's pardon of William Calley was a sop to the fact that the troops were screwed by bad faith politics and foolish rules of engagement in Viet Nam.
My dear Cedarford, I agree with all the earlier kudos for your insightful post. More on that in a sec.
As for our disagreement, as 2164th pointed out, this was a pre-planned interdiction of that ambush squad in the white vehicle. The fact that we had aerial intelligence assets over that particular speck of Iraq proves this was a pre-planned Op. I submit that a Marine in such pre-planned battle will not flinch based on our hyper-analysis or fear of lawyers.
More - the recent moves in this case would come as a huge relief to imaginary fretful troops who follow this story, also bringing frontline Marines reassurance that this bullshit is only going to go so far.
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I have close friends who travel in Europe pretending they are Canadians. If you mention "American Idol" they are scandalized. After 9/11, they not only wondered what we did to make them so mad at us, they were irritated by all their fellow Americans displaying the Flag on their houses and cars and persons, that was so gross and uncool.
You wrote about trans-nationals, a tiny Graham Greene minority. Most America-haters live in America and always will until America is able to re-establish equal stability somewhere else, ideally with palm trees and whorehouses similar to LA.
C-fudd:
"And no, Transnationalists are not one of even of half a dozen ethnicities..."
Yeah right. Now it's *transnational*-hook-nosed-cosmopolitan-trotskyist-neocon-zionist-wire-pullers. Did I leave anything out?
You're already back Jew-baiting in the "Seven Futures" thread. You've got less self-control than a junkie craving a fix.
Son of a gun, I *did* leave something out - "backstabbers".
The fun begins. Murtha running for cover on Haditha:
http://www.letfreedomringblog.com/2007/07/11/rep-murtha-running-for-cover/
H/T Instapundit.
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