Posted on 05/15/2007 2:26:57 PM PDT by RedRover
Wish I could disagree with you geezer. But you’re right.
The person who could end this now by dropping the charges is Gen. Mattis. I think he has no choice but to let the Article 32s go forward. He and half the Marine Corps would spend the rest of their lives testifying before Congress if he didn’t.
Painful as it is, it’s better to get everything on the record and exonerate the Marines through the judicial process.
I believe Gen. Mattis is a good man and general officer. It won’t surprise me if Mattis drops the charges against Capt. Stone now that his hearing is concluded.
“About 20 witnesses have testified at Stone’s hearing. Many said they saw no need for an investigation”
Let me get this straight...20 witnesses most of whom were on the ground in Iraq and Haditha saw no need for an investigation. BUT a jerk reporter with a history of sucking up to terrorists, known to use insurgents as a source and with a biased agenda from the start bleats “murder” and his word is taken as the truth...
What the HELL is this world coming to?????
You’ve noticed that the media takes it for granted that Time magazine got it right, and the military got it wrong.
In a sane world, people would have said pfffffft to Time. Which is what the Marines in Iraq did initally (some of whom are now on trial).
Good for Capt. Stone, speaking on his own behalf - for 25 minutes, no less. It would be interesting to read this man’s words after everything the Marine Corps has put him through for over a year. I can only hope that both the investigative officer, McCann and Lt. Gen. Mattis decide his words are true, and that no further price must be paid. Capt. Stone has paid enough.
There was testimony that the battalion officer took questions from Time to Lt Col Chessani who responded, “My men are not murderers.”
And didn’t Maj. Hyatt say he discounted McGirk’s questions as politically motivated?
It was interesting to me that Capt Stone could give “unsworn testimony”. Hope the other defense lawyers have the same thing planned.
That’s strange. I met a Marine fiance today, out of the blue.
I feel, tonight, as though I’m sitting a death watch for an unjustified executions.
All but one Marine, that day, lives.
And you got me, Girl.
I should have said “one” not “some”.
As I always say, you have to get up pretty early in the morning to put one past Girlene.
Ping to this thread and this one:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1833745/posts
I like this line from an article by Thomas Watkins, AP:http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/5277
“Defense lawyers may have gotten the break they were looking for in a hearing for a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians.”
This was Watkins perception after the testimony of Col. John Ewers from yesterday.
....”A Marine colonel testified Monday that defendant Capt. Randy W. Stone could have done a better job at reporting the deaths in Haditha, but his actions never “rose to the level of criminal dereliction.”
Col. John Ewers said he believed Stone “bore some of the responsibility” for what prosecutors called “thin reporting” of the Nov. 19, 2005 slayings, but said others in the battalion also were to blame......
.....Ewers interviewed Stone in March 2006 as part of a probe by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell to determine whether anyone deliberately tried to cover up the killings.
Bargewell found that officers did not deliberately conceal the incident, but he faulted the Marine chain of command for viewing civilian casualties, even in significant numbers, as routine.
....During Stone’s interview, conducted in Iraq, Ewers did not read him his rights. Based on that, defense attorney Charles Gittins said he called Ewers to testify because he wanted Stone’s interview transcript to be removed from the evidence.....
Ewers’ testimony provided some of the first significant discussion of Stone. “......
Coming down to the line.
This is what I think to. Not one thing I have read from this Article 32 shows a single instance where this Marine neglected to do his duty.
None of these Marines should have been charged and certainly not these officers.
I agree, Panther. Though i’m dismayed with the lack of reporting from this hearing, I believe that anything damning against Capt. Stone would have been thoroughly reported and probably even sensationalized. It just doesn’t sound like there’s a case against him.
Capt. Randy Stone made an appeal today to keep his military career -- and freedom -- at the end of a weeklong hearing into accusations that he failed to scrutinize 24 people's deaths in Haditha, Iraq.
In a Camp Pendleton courtroom, Stone spoke to the investigating officer who will recommend whether he should be court-martialed.
Stone said he was innocent and asked to be able carry on a family legacy of military service that goes back to World War II.
"I have faith in this community and the military justice system to which I have devoted the past four years," said Stone, a legal officer for the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at Camp Pendleton. "I hope you have a clearer picture of who I am, what I stand for and what I tried to do for our Corps and our beloved country. I will now return to my unit ... to continue to work diligently as you deliberate on what I hope will not be my final chapter as a Marine."
Stone and three other officers are accused of dereliction of duty for allegedly not investigating the Haditha deaths on Nov. 19, 2005. In addition, three enlisted Marines face charges of murder for allegedly killing the Iraqis after a roadside bomb claimed one of their own.
These men deserve the Medal of Honor for the torture their going through. PravdABDNC tries to make this into a Me Lie and they are the only liars.
Pray for W and Our Maringe
His popularity rating is 29% and falling, so it won't matter to him. But it will matter to those poor warriors who are presently incarcerated in filthy brigs somewhere. At the very least, the President should pardon anyone who gets convicted in this witch hunt the day before he leaves Office.
I’d like to see the investigating officer show some courage and recommend no charges go forward for court martial. It would set a good precedent for the rest of the upcoming hearings. If this happened, could Lt. Gen. Mattis still force it forward, or would it be over for Capt. Stone?
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