Posted on 06/07/2006 11:33:01 AM PDT by areafiftyone
By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES, June 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Marines accused of killing 24 unarmed Iraqis in Haditha will cite chaotic battle conditions as their defense if charged with murder, said a source close to one of the soldiers under investigation.
The source, who declined to be identified because military prosecutors have yet to press charges, said some of the 24 dead could have been insurgents. Those killed in the western Iraqi town last Nov. 19 included men, women and children.
Witnesses had said Marines opened fire on Iraqi civilians to retaliate for a roadside bomb, but the source told Reuters late on Tuesday that what happened was part of a bigger picture in which soldiers were fighting insurgents for several hours.
"There wasn't just this skirmish," the source said. "There seemed to be a lot of combat that occurred for hours. Some insurgents threw hand grenades at Marines. In the immediate area there were insurgents engaging Marines. There were aircraft involved. We dropped a 500-pound bomb on a building where some alleged insurgents were."
The remarks offered a first glimpse into a defense for the Marines under investigation by the U.S. military into accusations they massacred the civilians in Haditha and then covered up what would amount to war crimes.
Both the source and Capt. James Kimber, who was commander of a company several miles away that day, said news coverage had not fairly represented fighting in the area.
"We're a little distressed that (the story) has been kind of one-sided. There has been a lot of prejudgment," the source said. "There were a lot of things going on that day. Things were pretty chaotic. There was some concern that people were getting fired at."
Witnesses in Iraq have said that a handful of Marines, enraged by the death of a comrade from the roadside bomb, shot innocent men, women and children to death in a raid on three nearby homes and a car.
"They are making it sound like, 'Oops, Marine rampage, cover-up, end of story'," the source said. "Life's not that black and white ... Nobody has ever brought up the possibility of this being an accident or collateral damage or part of the horrors of war."
U.S. lawmakers have demanded the Bush administration swiftly establish what happened in Haditha, insisting that only rapid action could salvage the image of the military and U.S. international relations.
'WHO ARE THE BAD GUYS?'
"You go on patrol, you're going down the road and you get attacked. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys?" the source said, adding that some of the Iraqis killed in the incident could turn out to have been insurgents.
"There's a strong possibility of that," the source said. "They probably were. They don't wear uniforms."
Kimber, who was relieved of his duties in April for reasons unrelated to Haditha, was commanding a company in another Iraqi city several miles away at the time of the incident.
"All three cities got attacked that day," he told Reuters in an interview. "There were multiple firefights going on in Haditha. Marines got wounded by grenade fragments. This was not just one (bomb) going off."
Kimber dismissed any notion of a massacre, saying that as a company commander in the next city he would have known.
"There were no atmospherics to indicate something like this," he said. "We heard about it if we broke the lock on somebody's door ... It would have been all over the city by the next day."
Kimber said the investigation should study the ballistics evidence to determine whether the bullets used to kill the civilians belonged to Marines or insurgents.
"You have a professionally trained (Marine) force that goes to great lengths to follow the rules of engagement and then you have an insurgent force with absolutely no qualms about beheading people ... Who do you think did this?" he said.
"The insurgent piece of this is missing completely," Kimber said. "Where were they? What happened to the 8 or 9 insurgents? Did they just turn into civilians?"
Kimber said he would be "completely amazed" if Marines were ultimately charged with murdering unarmed civilians.
"I think it's all political pressure," Kimber said. "When you throw around My Lai, that was a whole village mowed down. For me to hear those kind of comparisons ..."
Kimber was referring to comments in the U.S. media likening Haditha to the Vietnam War massacre at My Lai.
Ane he knows everything!
After a wekk or so of this story it seems to be that it is trumped up propaganda.
and when my fellow Marines are exonerated;
I hope it will be as extensively publicized in the MSM as the accusations & "convictions."
But we won't be holding our collective breath.
Semper Fi,
Kelly
Yeah, he does get around. I always got a kick as a kid when a movie came out they would list the top couple of star and say also starring "MANY OTHERS"...I figgured he must have been in every movie made. So "unamed source" and "many others" whom we will never be able to put a face to make our world go around.
Now, back to this story. I had heard that the insurgents were deliberatly firing from a house occupied by civilians because they knew the Marines would fire back. And of course get blamed for the deaths. I thought that makes sense because the suicide bombings have not turned the tide, but for some insurgent will to go out in a firefight. He can fire from any house with civilians and of course our military will take the blame for killing the "innocents" they are using them as human shields.Makes sense.
I can hear the crickets starting to chirp right now! The MSM hates our soldiers and they are blatently obvious about it!
Miss Stanton!!! Get me a massacre before this war is over, now!"
"some of the 24 dead could've been insurgents"
Anyone recall a movie, "Rules of engagement?"
My favourite actor was always Exeunt Omnes.
It's no wonder that Haditha wasn't just bombed into ashes. Is our military going to call our own troops "murderers" because they fire back at an enemy who is shooting at them and lobbing grenades at them, because the civilians being used as 'sheilds' by the terrorists get killed in the heat of battle?? This whole accusation against our guys is disgusting.
If they pin a murder charge on our men it will only confirm what most Americans already know; the rules of engagement constraints placed on our guys by the Commander in Cheif is counterproductive to winning this war, and is opening the door to more U.S. casualties than is necessary, not to mention the bringing of unfair charges that will destroy the lives of brave young Americans.
Kelly,
You should change that to your tagline... Less typing. Well said.
Semper Fi
NYLeatherneck.
Ahh yes, yet another unidentified source.
Translation:
The source was a cleaning lady who was an illegal alien working as a custodian in a temp office who spoke five minutes with a secretary who had worked at the pentagon for one day in the JAG office doing photocopying.
The prosecutors office was refusing to press charges pending a direct written order from SecNav to prosecute the case for RINO political reasons, according to the photocopied document seen by the temp secretary but that mmight have been miscommunicated because the custodians English was not so good.
" No Proscutto" said the custodian, who was just trying to say, hold the ham.
Really??? But let's give them them the benefit of the doubt, and treat our brave young marines like dangerous criminals.
Where can those of us who are completely disgusted by this travesty contribute to help the defense and/or send letters of support to the Marines?
Our military has a policy of putting our boys in harms way, to protect our enemies?
We are at war! Yet our president is taking the word of the enemy over our young men.
The accusers are dirty !
Reuters journalist freed in Iraq
Here is al-Mashhadani's original report on Haditha from Reuters:
When terrorist hide behind their women's burkes they all might get shot in the heat the battle.
If anyone should be put on trial it is the military brass who has put so many restraints on our boys, as a matter of policy, while putting our young patriot's lives and limbs in harms way. While the brass sits in safety, judging the finer points of who the young men in life threatening circumstances determines who is and who isn't the enemy firing at them when it can be anyone there.
Love your post, and may its facts reverberate throughout
Webspace!!!!!
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