U.S. Marines charged with murder in Haditha
Source: Reuters
(Adds quotes, details) By Dan Whitcomb CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Dec 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Thursday charged four Marines with murder and four others with dereliction of duty in the 2005 killing of 24 unarmed civilians in Haditha, Iraq, scene of what Iraqi witnesses say was a massacre by American troops. The charges cap a military investigation into the deaths of the two dozen men, women and children on Nov. 19, 2005, which along with the widely publicized abuses of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, have damaged U.S. prestige and led to international condemnation. The incident at Haditha has already been called a "terrible crime" by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. In announcing the charges at Camp Pendleton, California, Marine Col. Stewart Navarre said: "The Marine Corps is a close-knit brotherhood so it is difficult for any Marine to countenance the fact that other Marines might have done something wrong." Iraqi witnesses say enraged Marines shot the civilians in their homes to retaliate for the death of a popular comrade, Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, who was ripped in half by a bomb that exploded under a convoy rolling through Haditha, some 60 miles (96 km) north of Baghdad. Navarre said a press release issued the day after the killings was wrong in reporting that 15 Iraqi civilians were killed by a roadside bomb and that Marines and Iraqi army soldiers killed eight insurgents in a subsequent firefight. "We now know with certainty the press release was incorrect and that none of the civilians were killed by the IED (improvised explosive device) explosion," Navarre said. Marine Corps squad leader Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, 26, who led the squad investigated in connection with the incident, was charged with the unpremeditated murder, soliciting another to commit and offense and making a false official statement. "HAIR TRIGGER' The charges against Wuterich cover the deaths of 12 individual victims and the deaths of six people in a single house. Others charged with murder are Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, 24, Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, 22, and Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, 25. The remaining Marines are charged with dereliction of duty in failing to properly report and/or investigate the deaths. Wuterich's attorney, Neal Puckett, told reporters his client denied that civilians were killed unlawfully. "We've seen death sneak up on our Marines ... without any notice. That puts people on a hair trigger as far as protecting themselves," Puckett said. "Everything (Wuterich) did that day was to protect his Marines from any further harm after the IED went off." John Sifton, senior researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch, welcomed the charges but said accountability for the killings needed to run further up the chain of command. "If the military really wants to stop future abuses it shouldn't just focus on low-level offenders, it needs to focus on the systemic issues that lead to war crimes," he said. Once charged, the defendants are entitled to an Article 32 hearing, in which a military judge would decide if there is enough evidence to convene a court-martial. Those hearings have not yet been set. Defense lawyers dispute the Iraqi witnesses' version of events and say the men from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division were engaged in a furious battle in Haditha after the bomb exploded and the civilians may have been killed during the chaos. Sharratt's sister, Jaclyn Sharratt, said her brother was "following orders and following the rules of engagement." Earlier this year, U.S. President George W. Bush vowed any U.S. Marine guilty of shooting Iraqi civilians would be punished, but Navarre said there was no pressure from Congress or higher-ups in the chain of command. "The Marine Corps takes allegations of wrongdoing by Marines very seriously and is committed to thoroughly investigating such allegations. The Marine Corps also prides itself on holding its members accountable for their actions," he said. (Additional reporting by Marty Graham at Camp Pendleton and David Morgan in Washington)
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