There was also this item in today’s Napa Valley Register (from the AP):
The hearing for Stone, a military attorney from Dunkirk, Md., and others planned for his co-defendants will assess if the response by Wuterich and his men was justified, and will probe whether officers failed in their duties by not launching an investigation sooner.
Charles Gittins, the lawyer for Stone, said his client did nothing wrong because he reported the facts to his superiors as he understood them.
“They are saying that he should have nipped at people’s heels, telling them they need to investigate,” Gittins said. “Everything that my client knew, they knew.”
Former military prosecutor Tom Umberg said just because superior officers do not take action “that doesn’t absolve you of an obligation” to report a suspected law of war violation to military investigators.
David Glazier, a professor at Loyola Law School Los Angeles who teaches the law of war, said high-ranking officers rely on their subordinates to feed them information and flag areas of concern.
“It is invalid of them to argue that they didn’t have an obligation to dig further unless a general officer told them to,” Glazier said of the accused officers.
At the Article 32 hearing, the military’s equivalent of a grand jury proceeding, an officer will listen to evidence and recommend whether charges should go to trial or not. Even if the enlisted Marines are absolved of murder, the officers still can be prosecuted for failing to properly investigate.
“If you have a suspicious circumstance, then you have a professional duty to ensure it was accurately reported,” Glazier said. “They could have breached those responsibilities even if ultimately the lower-ranking individuals are found not to have committed a crime.”
More information on the case, see this thread: Haditha Article 32: Capt. Randy W. Stone.
Its a friggin war for Kee rists sake. get out of the way and let them fight it.
If people dont want to get killed they should have gotten out of the way when they saw the terrorists planting the IED’s instead of waiting around to see the action.
There is no doubt in my mind they knew the thing was there and they knew what it was. There are no innocents here.
Prayers up for Captain Stone!
Col Gary Sokoloski may be the source of the biased leaks.
Sounds like the persecution is getting political pressure to convict innocent soldiers. This Me Lie is nothing but Liars.
Pray for W and Our Marines
What a crock of shit. The entire case should be dismissed against all involved.
There was no suspicious circumstance warranting an investigation of violation of the laws of war.
It was an acknowledged firefight, it was monitored by HQ, it was led by capable people, and they acted according to the ROEs in effect at the time.
Where’s the suspicious circumstance?
It’s distressing that Col. R. Gary Sokoloski is refusing to testify in a case where fellow Marines are facing jail time and dismissal from the Corps. If he’s doing it to save himself, which seems likely, it doesn’t speak well for him.
It’s probably wishful thinking on my part but do you suppose Lt. Gen. Mattis is not stopping the deployment of Lt. William Kallop back to Iraq because he knows his testimony won’t be required in further hearings or trials? Just a thought.