Guilty Until Proven Innocent [Haditha Marines]

NewsMax.com ^ | Jan. 12, 2007 | Phil Brennan

[RedRover]

Let me or jazusamo know if you want on
the Haditha Marine Ping List.

[444Flyer]

DISMISS THESE CHARGES PRESIDENT BUSH!

[smoothsailing]

Pentagon leaks, however, are not the sole evidence that the doctrine of presumed innocence has been tossed overboard, NewsMax.com has learned . The Marine Corps has added to its training routine for Marines headed for duty in Iraq a required package of Rules of Engagement, Law of War, and counterinsurgency classes, on the topic "The My Lai Massacre and the Haditha Massacre: Common Lessons Learned," equating the incident in Haditha, where at most 24 civilians died, with the Vietnam War's Mai Lai massacre, where hundreds of civilians were deliberately murdered by U. S. Army troops.

According to one source, an instructor described as a Marine Corps lawyer speaking of the "crimes of Haditha" told his students that Mai Lai and Haditha resulted from "leadership failures, " leaving his Marine students with the clear impression that Haditha would live in infamy as a black mark on the history of the future Marine Corps, much as My Lai haunts the Army's history books today.

This is not the sole example of the presumption of guilt being applied to the Haditha Marines. NewsMax.com has learned that in the months since the Haditha allegations came to light, instructors in classrooms throughout the Marine Corps have been making references to the "Haditha massacre," their remarks usually laden with presupposition of guilt regarding the Marines involved. The speculation has consistently lacked the back-and-forth, two-sided debate of a typical unresolved issue, as Haditha is at this point.

Red, if this is true, it is the very definition of undue command influence. Under such a circumstance, I don't see how the UCMJ could allow the case to go forward.

[RedRover]

Darryl Sharratt reads a U. S. Marine Corp press release that details the murder charge against his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, prior to a briefing at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Thursday Dec. 21, 2006. Lance Cpl. Sharratt is charged with murder in the death of Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha in 2005. Sharratt's mother, Theresa, and sister, Jaclyn, look on as Sharratt's father reads the charges that evolve eight Marines in all. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi).

[RedRover]

Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt on the streets of Fallujah, Iraq.

[RedRover]

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich poses with his wife Marisol Aura Wuterich in this 1999 photo.

[silentreignofheroes]

We once put blinders on horses so they would only see what we wanted them to see..The British are back People...so is the Church of England..

[RedRover]

Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum

[Lusis]

Unfortunately, guilty before innocent is how our military justice system works.

[tomcorn]

The president has no authority to dismiss the charges. He may, under article II section 2, pardon them under his presidential pardon powers. He may do so at any time before or after trial during his presidency.

[RedRover]

A photo contained in a Naval Criminal Investigative Service report that was leaked to The Washington Post by a "senior defense official". It shows a Marine inspecting the blast crater from a roadside bomb that destroyed a Humvee and killed the Marine who was driving it in Haditha.

The "defense official" also leaked graphic photos of dead Iraqis that the Washington Post declined to publish. This means that there people in the DOD with even less scruples than the WaPo. Think on that.

[444Flyer]

Red. Go forward. (Right index finger in the air. Move it forward.) Round em up. (Right index finger in the air circling.) Hook em up. (Right hand in air. Texas Longhorn salute in reverse.) OORAH!

[jazusamo]

Red, if this is true, it is the very definition of undue command influence.

Well said, Smooth.

This Phil Brennan is supposedly a veteran journalist and editor for NewMax. This is the most critical article I've yet seen on how the Corps, DOD and NCIS has handled this incident and I believe those of us that have followed this from the beginning can attest to it's veracity.

[lilycicero]

To the cowards who hide behind the walls of the Pentagon, you are a disgrace to our Nation.

[jazusamo]

If you would like to help with the civilian lawyer’s legal fees for the
Haditha Marines you can do so by going to these sites.

Defend Our Marines

Marine Defense Fund

[RedRover]

A photograph taken by Marines in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005, shows wreckage after a roadside bomb struck a U.S. convoy. This image was also leaked by the "senior defense official".

[444Flyer]

PRESIDENT BUSH. UNDER ARTICLE II SECTION 2, PARDON OUR WARRIORS!

[smoothsailing]

It's not supposed to:

If you're unfamiliar with the UCMJ, I suggest you look up UCMJ Art.51 (c) (1).

The UCMJ at this stage of a case doesn't just suggest that the doctrine of presumed innocence be considered, it demands it.

[Eagles6]

This is disturbing s#!t. Send money to the lawyers and spread the word.