Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
San Diego Union-Tribune
September 6, 2007 Staff sergeant charged in Haditha slayings
By Rick Rogers, Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON – Marines are taught to clearly identify an enemy before unleashing lethal force.
That doesn't always happen on the battlefield.
In a Camp Pendleton courtroom yesterday, Marine Capt. Alfonso Capers provided a muddled picture of the military's rules of engagement. He testified during the pretrial hearing for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who is accused of initiating a massacre that ended in the deaths of 24 Iraqis on Nov. 19, 2005, in the city of Haditha.
Wuterich is charged with 17 counts of murder, which could land him in prison for life without parole if convicted. He was the senior Marine present during the killings, which he has said were part of bona fide combat with insurgents.
Wuterich belonged to the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. Another member of his squad, Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, also is charged with murder.
In addition, three officers still face prosecution for allegedly not investigating the killings fully.
Prosecutors contend that Wuterich led his squad on a killing spree after an improvised explosive device killed one of his men and wounded two others. They said he began by fatally shooting five men who emerged from a car near the blast, even though those individuals had raised their arms.
Wuterich then ordered his unit to conduct a search-and-destroy mission on several nearby homes, the prosecution said. The operation ended with 19 men, women and children being killed with grenades or rifle fire.
The Haditha defendants, including Wuterich, have said they were locked in battle that day with insurgents who used civilians as shields. They have denied trying to take revenge after the roadside bomb detonated.
Yesterday, Capers testified that the Marine Corps lacks textbook rules on when to shoot at insurgents if civilians are present. Wuterich reported to him for about two years before the Haditha incident.
Capers said troops don't have license to kill indiscriminately because it's “a bad stain” on the Marines.
“'Shoot first, ask questions later' means everyone's expendable. You can't do that,” he told Lt. Col. Paul Ware, the investigating officer overseeing the pretrial hearing.
Wuterich has admitted to investigators that he shot the five men who exited the car, but has said they were running away.
At the time, combat regulations permitted Marines to shoot at people fleeing the scene of an attack.
Ware said the pretrial hearing is scheduled to end today. He is expected to review all the evidence presented and recommend whether Wuterich should be court-martialed.
The final decision on a trial rests with Lt. Gen. James Mattis, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. Mattis is the convening authority for criminal proceedings in the Haditha case.
September 6, 2007 Staff sergeant charged in Haditha slayings
By Rick Rogers, Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON – Marines are taught to clearly identify an enemy before unleashing lethal force.
That doesn't always happen on the battlefield.
In a Camp Pendleton courtroom yesterday, Marine Capt. Alfonso Capers provided a muddled picture of the military's rules of engagement. He testified during the pretrial hearing for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who is accused of initiating a massacre that ended in the deaths of 24 Iraqis on Nov. 19, 2005, in the city of Haditha.
Wuterich is charged with 17 counts of murder, which could land him in prison for life without parole if convicted. He was the senior Marine present during the killings, which he has said were part of bona fide combat with insurgents.
Wuterich belonged to the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. Another member of his squad, Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum, also is charged with murder.
In addition, three officers still face prosecution for allegedly not investigating the killings fully.
Prosecutors contend that Wuterich led his squad on a killing spree after an improvised explosive device killed one of his men and wounded two others. They said he began by fatally shooting five men who emerged from a car near the blast, even though those individuals had raised their arms.
Wuterich then ordered his unit to conduct a search-and-destroy mission on several nearby homes, the prosecution said. The operation ended with 19 men, women and children being killed with grenades or rifle fire.
The Haditha defendants, including Wuterich, have said they were locked in battle that day with insurgents who used civilians as shields. They have denied trying to take revenge after the roadside bomb detonated.
Yesterday, Capers testified that the Marine Corps lacks textbook rules on when to shoot at insurgents if civilians are present. Wuterich reported to him for about two years before the Haditha incident.
Capers said troops don't have license to kill indiscriminately because it's “a bad stain” on the Marines.
“'Shoot first, ask questions later' means everyone's expendable. You can't do that,” he told Lt. Col. Paul Ware, the investigating officer overseeing the pretrial hearing.
Wuterich has admitted to investigators that he shot the five men who exited the car, but has said they were running away.
At the time, combat regulations permitted Marines to shoot at people fleeing the scene of an attack.
Ware said the pretrial hearing is scheduled to end today. He is expected to review all the evidence presented and recommend whether Wuterich should be court-martialed.
The final decision on a trial rests with Lt. Gen. James Mattis, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. Mattis is the convening authority for criminal proceedings in the Haditha case.