Marine Cleared in Haditha Investigation

Posted By Grim

Red State has the story. 

A hearing officer recommended Tuesday that murder charges be dropped against Marine Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt in the fatal shooting of Iraqi civilians in the western town of Haditha in late November 2005.

Lt. Col. Paul Ware said conflicting statements by Iraqis, inconclusive forensic evidence and questionable legal theories used by the prosecution were inadequate to send Sharratt to a court-martial on charges of killing three Iraqi brothers.

Ware's recommendation goes to Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, commanding general of the Marine Forces Central Command.

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Comments

[twolaneflash]

Tried and convicted by the media; freed by truth. Too bad these much maligned American heroes can't seek redress of grievances against the media in a court of law, where the libelous cowards could be slow roasted with a basting of verity.

[Lands’nGrooves (aka tim)]

Great news!

Commence apologizing Murtha, trolls. Yea right.

[vet66]

Justice prevails against political bias, agenda driven media, and terrorist propagandists subverting our system.

As for Murtha and others of his ilk? Pathetic bordering on sedition!

[red river]

Murtha is not immune from a Libel and Defamation suit. In this case, the economic damage is quite clear.

The Marines need to go for it.

I'd love to see Murtha testifying and be deposed.

[jordan]

Sanity rears it's ugly head.

There should be an investigation into why this case was pursued in the first place, and whether mollifying the press had anything to do with. I'd also like an admission of how much money taxpayers had to shell out for this unjustifiable investigation.

I hope Mattis also recognizes a horrid combat situation that was properly handled when he sees one.

As for libel and personal slander, I'd start with the reporters who presented the "evidence" as ground truth, and go from there.

[arch]

Here's my email to Jack Murtha

Congressman Murtha:

After making public charges that the U.S. Marines were guilty of war crimes at Haditha, the USMC has cleared them of these false charges according to a report in the LA Times. Apparently, an intelligence officer had turned over exculpatory evidence during pre-hearing interviews to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) who withheld the information from the defense, Nifong style.

As an ex Marine yourself , when do you plan to make a public apology for your erroneous public statements? Were your charges politically motivated or were you merely duped by the press? Does Congress intend to investigate this rush to judgment or should American Bar Association investigate?
.

[arch]

BTW:

To get through Murtha's email page, use this address & Zip code

101 Main St
Johnstown, PA
15901-1506

[Peter Theune]

Quote: Ware's recommendation goes to Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, commanding general of the Marine Forces Central Command.

It doesn't appear that they are cleared yet... I know nothing about this General, but he could still decide to go forward with the CM, right?

[Caleb]

To PT - Gen Mattis is the closest thing that we have to Gen Patton today. He is a warrior through and through. Almost to a man, his Marines say that they would be honored to follow him into combat any time. He is not a saint, but he is the modern version of "Old School".

[arch]

Not after the NCIS withheld evidence during discovery.

[FbL]

As I understand it, he's just one of a number of Marines being investigated regarding Haditha. But still, wonderful news!!

And Peter, General Mattis is regarded as a straight-shooter and a "Marine's Marine." A true warrior, by most accounts.

[Grim]

General Mattis is outstanding.

[Ymarsakar]

Ware's recommendation goes to Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, commanding general of the Marine Forces Central Command.

In a sense truth is no longer factual anymore, given our situation, foreign and domestic. Truth is now based upon who we trust, who we see as the individuals that can make the right decisions upon information that we are either blocked from hearing or has been distorted through Leftist deception camapigns.

If Mattis does not accept this recommendation, then we shall know that there is truth to the claims, however engrossed. But if he does, then we will know the opposite truth. In a sort of quantum mechanics world of uncertainty, reality is what we make of it.

Unfortunately, that means what we see as truth is only as strong as the people we give power to, and if they should buckle and waver as Bush, then problems will develop. And then someone else must step into the gap.

Truth is still not multi-culti-relative though, since the people we trust confirm our stance on issues much as an opinion would.

The true nature of the campaign against the United States by the Left is murky, and perhaps even Mattis does not have the power to unravel the illusion. The problem with illusions is always that you never know what is true or false. You can be surprised by what you believed to be illusion, when it was the truth, and surprised again when what you believed was reality, was in fact illusion. It is the surprise factor that truly hurts the efforts of the United States and its people, because our enemies certainly cannot stop the US Marine Corps via regular, honorable, or fair means.

[Grumpy]

Grim,

It is GREAT news! I would dare say this General has a few questions about this incident and process that have been raised to him. Generals tend not to like these types of questions. But everything I've read about General Mattis, it appears he has the right brass in the right places. I'll leave that last sentence for the rest of you to figure out.

It is my prayer for all of them, insight with wisdom on the path forward.

GodSpeed,
Grumpy

[jordan]

Ware's line of thinking was cogent and reasonable. Hope Mattis follows suit.

[Jim]

I'm glad to see the recommendation that LCpl. Sharret be cleared. I hope and pray that Gen Mattis accepts the recommendation.

My prayers go out to the others who are still living through this Hell.

- Jim

[davod]

Ymarsakar:

Stop eating those mushrooms.

The legal part of this is over. If Mattis proceeds he will have disregarded his own investigators evidentiary finding.

[Kevin]

This is great news.

But the Pendleton Eight still sit in jail courtmartialed.

[Kevin]

Here is a good webpage to go to about the Haditha Marines.

http://warchronicle.com/TheyAreNotKillers/DefendOurMarines.htm

Here is another good link about what is going on.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1850967/posts

The names of the real villains here seem to be a Capt Hurr and a Major Ericksson. They should be sent to a front line position very soon.

[Steve]

We must step back in time and ask why the NCIS withheld the evidence presented by Capt Jeffrey Dinsmore.

These NCIS investigators will go back to their jobs with NO repercussions, the JAG lawyers will move on to the next case as if it were just another day (because for them it will be). But what about these brave Marines? Even if they wanted to stay in the Corps, they’ll never feel the same about it again, they’d never be able to go into battle without hesitating, and there will be people who (especially with a movie coming out) will NEVER believe things happened the way they did.

Let us not forget to hold TIME Magazine personally responsible for what happened here.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1174682,00.html

I believe they can be sued civilly.

[Steve]

http://sweetness-light.com/archive/behold-the-student-journalist-of-haditha

That guy needs to be looked into as well.

[Max]

Here is an article about the Time magazine guy in Iraq. It is kind of sickening because it is pro-him, but at least it kind of lets you know who the creep is.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041212/asp/look/story_4107114.asp

It looks like Time magazine has outsourced it's Iraq coverage and this is the result.AMY GOODMAN: We are joined right now by one of the reporters for Time magazine who broke this story. Aparisim Ghosh is the chief international correspondent for Time magazine. He spent the last three-and-a-half years in Iraq and joins us today in our Firehouse studio. We called the Pentagon and invited them on the program, but the Pentagon's spokesperson Lt. Col. Barry Venable declined to join us, saying it would be “inappropriate to comment while an investigation is underway.” Aparisim Ghosh, we thank you for joining us.

APARISIM GHOSH: Hi, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: Tell us the story. Your story in Time is called “One Morning in Haditha."

APARISIM GHOSH: Haditha is a small town northwest of Baghdad, a very, very dangerous place. It’s in the heart of what’s known as the Sunni Triangle, and Marines and soldiers who operate in that area are under constant threat. On the morning of the 19th of November, a four-Humvee patrol going through town was hit by an I.E.D., an improvised explosive device, which sheered off the front of one of the Humvees, killed one of the soldiers inside. What happens next is a matter of some debate, as you pointed out. Initially the Marines claimed that a total of 23 people were killed on the spot, 15 of them innocent civilians, all of whom the Marines said were killed by the I.E.D., and eight of them, enemy combatants who were shot by the Marines.

AMY GOODMAN: In addition to the 15?

APARISIM GHOSH: In addition to the 15. We looked into this case, and the more we dug, the more we thought that something didn't quite add up. And when we finally got our hands on this videotape, it became very clear to us that these people could not have been killed outdoors by an explosive device. They were killed in their homes in their night clothes. The night clothes are significant, because Iraqi women and children, especially, are very, very unlikely to go outdoors wearing their night clothes. It is a very conservative society.

When we first approached the Marines with this evidence, they responded in quite a hostile fashion. They accused us of buying into enemy propaganda. That aroused our suspicions even further, because it seemed to be excessively hostile on their part. And we dug even more. We spoke to witnesses. We spoke to survivors of this incident. And then we became quite convinced that these people were killed by the Marines. What is left to be seen is whether they were killed in the course of the Marine operation as collateral damage or by accident, or whether the Marines went on a rampage after one of their own had been killed and killed these people in revenge.

AMY GOODMAN: You are very graphic in the piece, “One Morning in Haditha.” Describe what the survivors say happened when the U.S. military went into the nearby houses around where the roadside bomb had exploded.

APARISIM GHOSH: Well, the survivors claimed -- let me back up a little bit. The Marines claim that they received small arms fire from nearby homes and that they responded to this fire, they shot back, and then they went into the homes to try and flush out the bad guys, the terrorists who were in there. It’s clear from the video that those homes don't have any bullet marks outside, which would suggest that there was very little, if any, shooting by the Marines at the facades of these homes. But there are lots of signs of bullets inside.

The victims told us that the Marines came in and they killed everybody inside. In one house they threw a grenade into a kitchen. That set off a propane tank and nearly destroyed the kitchen and killed several people in that home. The scenes that were described by the survivors and the witnesses were incredibly bloody and very graphic. But they are, unfortunately, very commonplace in Iraq.

AMY GOODMAN: Inside, you talked to -- you have the description of a nine-year-old girl.

APARISIM GHOSH: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: Tell us about her and her family and what she says happened.

APARISIM GHOSH: Well, she was indoors with her family when the explosion took place. The explosion was loud enough to wake everybody up in the neighborhood.

AMY GOODMAN: The bomb that killed the Marine.

APARISIM GHOSH: The first explosion, yes. And she says when she heard gunshots – of course, she's a child, she was frightened. When the Marines stormed towards their home, her grandfather slipped into the next room, as is, apparently, was his custom to pray, to reach out for the family Koran and pray to God that this crisis would pass. On this occasion, the Marines came into the home. They entered the room where the grandfather was, and other members of the family, and killed him.

AMY GOODMAN: And she was left alive.

APARISIM GHOSH: She survived, yes.

AMY GOODMAN: And her little brother.

APARISIM GHOSH: And her brother was injured by a piece of -- either by a bullet or a piece of shrapnel, we're not sure.

AMY GOODMAN: But her parents, her mother, her father, her grandparents --

APARISIM GHOSH: Her parents, her grandparents, I believe her uncle, were also killed.

AMY GOODMAN: And then, another house.

APARISIM GHOSH: Four houses in all, involving a total of -- indoors, total of 19 people, and four people outside.

AMY GOODMAN: And what, once you had more details like this, did the military respond, outside of saying that you were just buying the enemy propaganda?

APARISIM GHOSH: Well, once we had all these details and we were not getting any way with the Marines, we took the videotape and the evidence that we had to the senior-most military public affairs officer in Baghdad and showed him what we had. He then took that evidence and passed it on to his superior officers, recommending that they conduct a full and thorough inquiry. That inquiry is a two-step process. The first step has been completed.

AMY GOODMAN: And then, this Haditha journalism student, who is this student?

APARISIM GHOSH: We’d rather not say, for his own protection, but he’s a young local man. It’s not uncommon in Iraq for young people to have video cameras and cameras, and there's so much going on in their lives that they have plenty to shoot.

AMY GOODMAN: And you got a hold of this, or Hammurabi Human Rights got a hold of this.

APARISIM GHOSH: He brought the tape to Hammurabi Human Rights, which is a local human rights group, and they brought it to us once they found out that we were inquiring about this.

AMY GOODMAN: There have been many allegations from Iraqis that similar behavior by U.S. troops has caused numerous civilian deaths during the occupation, especially during the offensive in Fallujah and elsewhere. Just this week it was reported that Iraqi police have accused U.S. soldiers of executing 11 Iraqi civilians, including four children and a six-month-old baby, in a raid last Wednesday near the city of Balad.

APARISIM GHOSH: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: Were you in Baghdad at the time that this started to come out?

APARISIM GHOSH: I was in Baghdad, and I saw the reports when they came out. We were unable to get to Balad. It’s very unsafe there, and we were unable to get there to confirm the story. But as you point out, this kind of story is very commonplace. At our bureau in Baghdad, we receive complaints like this all the time. They are very hard to verify. This was a very rare instance where we were able to speak to witnesses, where there was videotape available. In most cases, none of these materials are available to us. And let's face it. It’s very difficult in a situation like that to establish the truth.

AMY GOODMAN: And so, now, Aparisim Ghosh, in February, after you presented the videotape to the military, you write that an infantry colonel went to Haditha for a weeklong probe, in which he interviewed Marine survivors and doctors at the morgue. The probe concluded civilians were, in fact, killed by Marines, not by an insurgent bomb, and that no insurgents appeared to be in the first two houses raided by the Marines. The probe found, however, that the deaths were the result of collateral damage rather than malicious intent by Marines.

APARISIM GHOSH: Yes. The first inquiry was meant to look into the facts, what exactly happened. And it concluded that the soldiers shot back at what they perceived to be as enemy fighters from these homes and then entered the homes, and these people were killed in the process. The second inquiry, which is about to get underway and is being conducted by the NCIS, is to look into the motivation --

APARISIM GHOSH: Which is?

APARISIM GHOSH: Sorry, the Naval Criminal Investigation Service, so this is a criminal investigation. Their job will be to establish the motives of the Marines, to find out whether the Marines acted properly and within the rules of engagement, whether their actions were motivated by a genuine threat or a genuine perception of a threat, or whether they were reacting to one of their own being killed.

AMY GOODMAN: You interviewed the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Khalilzad?

APARISIM GHOSH: That’s right, I did, but not on this subject.

AMY GOODMAN: What did you talk to him about?

APARISIM GHOSH: Well, I talked to him about what the U.S. was able to do in this political crisis that's in Iraq. There is a complete stalemate. The different political groups have each painted themselves into a different corner of the room. They seem unable to get together and form the unity government that is what the United States most desperately wants. And we talked to him about his efforts in that connection, and we talked to him about what leverage he was able to bring to bear with these leaders.

AMY GOODMAN: I just wanted to end by asking on the resolution of this story, which, as you say, is not isolated, although this is a very -- you have a great deal of detail on Haditha. You weren't able to go to Haditha?

APARISIM GHOSH: No, we were not.

AMY GOODMAN: Because?

APARISIM GHOSH: Because it’s in the heart of the Sunni Triangle. The only way we could get there would be to embed with the Marines themselves, and that didn't feel right to us. If we were investigating them, it seemed to be a bad idea to be traveling with them and under their protection.

AMY GOODMAN: And so, you spoke to the children, the survivors, when they --

APARISIM GHOSH: We were able to get -- yes. We were able to get the witnesses to come to us in Baghdad. The human rights group came to us in Baghdad. And, of course, we saw the videotape, which was from the scene. And we heard from other local people like the mayor and local -- and the doctor and other functionaries.

AMY GOODMAN: You say the U.S. has paid relatives of the victims $2,500 for each of the 15 dead civilians, plus smaller payments for the injured?

APARISIM GHOSH: Yes. That is commonplace in cases of innocents being killed in combat.

AMY GOODMAN: You end, in a very touching way, the piece that you wrote along with your colleague who is -- who has just left Baghdad also.

APARISIM GHOSH: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: Tim McGirk. “Nothing can bring back all that was taken from 9-year-old Eman Waleed on that fateful day last November. She still does not comprehend how, when her father went in to pray with the Koran for the family's safety, his prayers were not answered, as they had been so many times in the past. ‘He always prayed before, and the Americans left us alone,’ she says. Leaving, she grabs a handful of candy. ‘It's for my little brother,’ she says.” Her brother, very terrorized, very traumatized.

APARISIM GHOSH: As are thousands of young people in Iraq today, but this family, in particular. She's now an orphan. There is an extended family that will look after her, but she will never -- any hope of a normal life for her now over.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, we will certainly continue to follow this case. Based on your being in Iraq for a number of years now, what do you think will happen? Do you think this is different because of the videotape?

APARISIM GHOSH: Yes. I think the military is taking it seriously now, finally. And I think the NCIS report will probably take a few weeks to come through. If the Marines are found guilty of wrongdoing, I hope that the military makes an example of them, as they did with those found guilty with Abu Ghraib. It is important for the Iraqis to know that, unlike the terrorists who will very happily kill innocents and then boast about it, that when it happens with American soldiers, that the people are held responsible and punished for it.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you very much for being with us, Aparisim Ghosh.

APARISIM GHOSH: Thanks, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: He wrote the piece with Tim McGirk, "One Morning in Haditha: U.S. Marines killed 15 Iraqi civilians in their homes last November. Was it self-defense, an accident or cold-blooded revenge?” The piece appears in this week's Time magazine. Thank you.

[Nathan]

It is time to try Tim McGirk on WAR CRIMES.

Surely promoting enemy propaganda must be a war crime.

http://sweetness-light.com/archive/times-mcgirk-wanted-to-call-haditha-a-massacre

[Steve]

Here is an interview of TRAITOR NUMBER ONE

Tim McGirk.

If Bush is serious about this war he would have this guy arrested immediately!!!!

http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/tim_mcgirk_on_haditha.php

[Nathan]

Tim McGirk has a blog.

http://time-blog.com/middle_east/bio.html

He has ran away from Iraq and is now in Israel.

It is perhaps a good idea for all Americans to contact Israel and ask them to remove Tim McGirk's from their country.

http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/PM+Office/Departments/gpo.htm

He is the Press Equivalent of Osama bin Laden. And as long as Israel is protecting him, I don't know how much I can support Israel when I talk with my legislators.

[Nathan]

THIS IS NO VICTORY.

Call this stopping the bleeding. Putting things back somewhat to where they should have been in the first place.

A victory would be using this case to punish those responsible for what happened to Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt.

If it just ends here I would even consider it to be a net lost. After all it has gotten our troops to think before shooting and therefore while it is great that Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt has gotten off, still it has done great damage that I am sure the enemy within is happy about.

I won't consider it a win unless we destroy Tim McGirk's life.

[Gmo]

Finally. Them 'crats takes the fun out of being a soldier. Just lookit the wasted down time. Them boys could a worked up some pretty good kill scores by now. Waste my money.

[1st Cav RVN]

I sure hope whoever the Marine suing Murtha weighs in with both barrels blazing!

http://murthamustgo.blogspot.com/2007/07/rep-murtha-running-for-cover.html
EXCERPT:
..."Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, is being sued by one of the accused Marines for libel. He had told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Gen. Michael Hagee had given him the information on which he based his charge that Marines killed innocent civilians."...

The photo here of Murtha receiving a Bronze Star is prominetly displayed on a "Vets For Murtha" website. Question: Why would the award be given in a dimly lit gym with noone looking on?
http://www.vetsformurtha.org/node/12
Copied the photo and lightened it. Nobody but some officer and an aide. Seems real suspicious to me. Like, you think they didn't want anybody to see it awarded? And you know, no copies of his supposed (2) purple hearts can be found.

[douglas]

The problem with the American justice system, and the military justice system by extension, is that you can't be "cleared", or found "innocent". They drop the charges, it makes your side of the story look a lot more reliable, but you get no justice if you were wronged by false charges, you just get a lesser injustice. You name has been sullied, you have been affected, your fellow Marines will no doubt be affected in their actions... A follow-up report on what was wrong with this case in the first place should be done here to assure Marines in the field that something closer to justice has occurred. This is just the quit sweeping under the rug of a bad case, as was so ably described earlier by Steve. "These NCIS investigators will go back to their jobs with NO repercussions, the JAG lawyers will move on to the next case as if it were just another day (because for them it will be)."
I wish this were happy news, but it's just a relief.

[Ymarsakar]

If Mattis proceeds he will have disregarded his own investigators evidentiary finding.

Posted by: davod | July 11, 2007 at 01:02 PM

Some people trust Mattis more than they trust investigators that tell you what you want to hear, vod.

People have always been those that decidied guilt or innocent, never evidence. Evidence is simply a tool in our civilization to try to bring a more objective standard to persuading folks one way or another.

You obviously think Mattis would be wrong to deny the recommendation. That is of course, your view. And if someone says something you wish to be true, why not believe? But there is a price to pay for such things, eventually. Not calculating for all the angles is always a bad long term plan.

[Grimmy]

http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title18/parti_chapter115_.html

* Sec. 2381. Treason.
* Sec. 2382. Misprision of treason.
* Sec. 2383. Rebellion or insurrection.
* Sec. 2384. Seditious conspiracy.
* Sec. 2385. Advocating overthrow of Government.
* Sec. 2386. Registration of certain organizations.
* Sec. 2387. Activities affecting armed forces generally.
* Sec. 2388. Activities affecting armed forces during war.
* Sec. 2389. Recruiting for service against United States.
* Sec. 2390. Enlistment to serve against United States.
* Sec. 2391. Repealed.

Maybe there's something in there that a legal eagle could find worth pursuing. If something isn't done soon, the options will be give up or get mean.

[warvet48]

I'm just happy that things are working out for cpl Sharratt. This should have the leftwingers just about weeping, for not getting their way. Murtha, sh@t, there nothing good I can say for him, he turned his back on the troops a long time ago and isn't worth the lip service.

[MegaTroopX]

What's really sad is that we've lost this Marine. Even if he's not asked to walk for the "Good of the Service", there's no way he'll stay in/re-up after this.