(Lucian Read, Vanity Fair)
Posted on 08/26/2007 6:29:23 AM PDT by RedRover
CAMP PENDLETON -- More answers to questions arising from the largest civilian killing incident since the start of the Iraq war are expected this week when the man at the center of the case, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, makes his first court appearance since being charged with murdering 18 people in the city of Haditha nearly two years ago.
"He has nothing to hide," Wuterich's lead attorney, Neal Puckett, said last week. "We have faith that the military justice system will support split-second decisions made during combat," said Puckett.
For Wuterich, a jail sentence isn't the only thing at stake. Also in the balance are history books, and whether they will record him as the only mass murderer in Marine Corps history or as a relatively inexperienced squad leader carrying out orders.
The Haditha incident is the watershed case among four murder allegations filed against Camp Pendleton-based troops since the war began in March 2003, prompting the Marine Corps to order increased battlefield ethics training throughout the service.
Wuterich's hearing starts in a base courtroom Thursday morning before Lt. Col. Paul Ware, who is presiding as the case's investigating officer. Ware will help decide whether Wuterich, a 27-year-old Connecticut native and a married father of three daughters, should be ordered to trial on some or all of the charges he faces.
Ware did the same job earlier this summer for two other men who had faced murder charges in connection with the deaths in the city of Haditha, Lance Cpls. Justin Sharratt and Stephen Tatum.
Ware ruled last month that Sharratt was acting within the rules of engagement because of his belief those men were insurgents and that the charges against him should be dropped. Camp Pendleton's Lt. Gen. James Mattis, who has the final word in the case, upheld Ware's ruling.
On Thursday, Ware recommended to Mattis that the charges against Tatum also be dismissed, citing insufficient evidence and suggesting that he was simply following his squad leader, Wuterich.
What happened
The hearing will include accounts of the morning and early afternoon of Nov. 19, 2005, when Wuterich and his squad were on a resupply run to a traffic checkpoint in Haditha.
During the short journey from their base, a roadside bomb exploded, destroying a Humvee in the four-vehicle convoy and killing a lance corporal.
Moments later, a car that drove up was stopped by the Marines. Five unarmed Iraqis who emerged from the vehicle were shot by Wuterich and Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, according to testimony from Wuterich and government accounts. Which man shot first and whether the Iraqis were fleeing have been key points of contention.
Dela Cruz was charged five counts of murder, but saw those dismissed in exchange for his testimony.
Within minutes, Wuterich and several of his men attacked two nearby houses. The men have said they believed the bomb's "triggerman" and other insurgents were hiding in a house and using it as a base for a rifle attack on the Marines.
During those attacks on the houses, 12 people were killed, including several women and children.
A few hours later, Wuterich and Sharratt stormed another house where they have said they believed insurgents were hiding. Inside that home, the facts and testimony show they killed four brothers in a bedroom, resulting in one additional murder charge against Wuterich and three against Sharratt.
All the killings were initially ruled by Marine commanders as "collateral" deaths -- the results of combat action. It wasn't until several weeks later, after a Time magazine reporter began asking questions, that a full investigation was ordered.
The Marine Corps eventually filed dereliction-of-duty charges against four officers and murder charges against the four enlisted men, all from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment -- known as the "Thundering Third."
Wuterich has declined to give any interviews beyond his explanation of the killings made during a "60 Minutes" TV interview broadcast in March. He said during that interview that while he regretted the civilian deaths, he believed he and his men acted within the rules of engagement.
Wuterich's interview is scheduled to be rebroadcast next Sunday, airing over the Labor Day weekend break in what is expected to be a five-day hearing for the Marine.
Twists in the case
When the Haditha killings came to light, worldwide condemnation followed, fueled by words such as those used by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who said the Marines "killed in cold in blood."
The exoneration of Sharratt and one of the officers charged in the case, Capt. Randy Stone, as well as the dropping of charges against Dela Cruz, have reduced the overall number of defendants to five.
A hearing officer has recommended that the former battalion commander at Haditha, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, face trial for dereliction of duty.
Investigative hearings are in the works for two other officers, Capt. Lucas McConnell and 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson.
Now it's Wuterich's turn in court. At issue are not only the murder charges but also the expectations placed on noncommissioned officers in combat, according to military law authority Gary Solis.
"Prosecutorial interest has centered on him, and now we will see if the government can make the charges it has brought against him stick," said Solis, a former Marine attorney and judge and now a professor at Georgetown University. "The Marine Corps expects more of its squad leaders, and you don't get a break-in period in combat."
Expected testimony
The killing of the five men who emerged from the car is expected to be a highly contested part of the case.
Dela Cruz has testified the Iraqis were shot as their hands were raised. Wuterich fired first, according to Dela Cruz, who says he also then began shooting.
Wuterich's attorneys are expected to argue that Dela Cruz fired first at those men. They point to a forensic reconstruction by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which used aerial surveillance tapes to reconstruct what happened near the car.
A government investigator is expected to testify that the Iraqis were running away, leading Wuterich to believe they were insurgents involved in the attack. Attorneys for Wuterich say the tapes show Dela Cruz is the more likely killer based on his position and Wuterich's in relation to the slain men.
"The forensic evidence rules out to a scientific certainty Dela Cruz's version of events," attorney Puckett said.
Wuterich's attorneys have not decided if their client will make a statement during the hearing. If he does, Puckett said it will come in the form of an unsworn statement, meaning it will not be made under oath and that he cannot be questioned by prosecutors.
With the dismissal of charges against Sharratt in the killing of three of four brothers inside the last house that was attacked, it is likely that a count of murder against Wuterich for the killing of a fourth brother could be dropped.
That would leave charges involving the killing of the five men from the car and the 12 Iraqis in the first two homes that were attacked.
'Momentum on his side'
Military jury members have shown that they may be reluctant to punish one of their own for battlefield incidents. Three military juries showed leniency to accused troops earlier this summer in the unrelated killing of an Iraqi man in the village of Hamdania last year.
If Wuterich is ordered to trial, it will be up to a jury of his peers to decide his guilt.
Thad Coakley, a former Marine Corps attorney and prosecutor who fought in Fallujah before leaving the service, said the charges revolving around the men from the car boil down to a "credibility contest" between Wuterich and Dela Cruz.
Lt. William Kallop, who also was granted immunity, was the man who ordered the assault, something he has testified to repeatedly. In Coakley's view, at issue is whether Wuterich's actions were proper based on the order he was given and whether he should have done more to determine who was inside those homes.
"The question will be whether the techniques he used met the rules of engagement," Coakley said.
But in light of the recent jury rulings and a subsequent decision by Mattis to grant clemency in sentencing for some of the men who had pleaded guilty in the Hamdania case, Wuterich has reason to be optimistic, Coakley said.
"He has the momentum on his side now," Coakley said.
Note: We will have exclusive reporting direct from the hearing. Let jazusamo or me know if you want on the Haditha Marine ping list.
This is a total JAG over produced non crime. These Marines did not violate the ROE and are being judged accordingly.
Is this new to you?
Dela Cruz was charged five counts of murder, but saw those dismissed in exchange for his testimony.
snip
A government investigator is expected to testify that the Iraqis were running away, leading Wuterich to believe they were insurgents involved in the attack. Attorneys for Wuterich say the tapes show Dela Cruz is the more likely killer based on his position and Wuterich’s in relation to the slain men.
“The forensic evidence rules out to a scientific certainty Dela Cruz’s version of events,” attorney Puckett said.
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It looks like Dela Cruz made a deal with the devil, or that the JAG prosecutors did.......or maybe they BOTH did. I think Dela Cruz’ testimony will go away, and possibly reinstate the original charges against him and add a perjury charge. Or if the shooting of these 5 in the car is justifiable based on the tactical situation and circumstance, maybe just a perjury charge that might also go away based upon over-reaching prosecutorial intimidation of Dela Cruz from day one. (just what-iffing, here....)
A government investigator is expected to testify that the Iraqis were running away, leading Wuterich to believe they were insurgents involved in the attack. Attorneys for Wuterich say the tapes show Dela Cruz is the more likely killer based on his position and Wuterich's in relation to the slain men.
All this is news to me, and very great news indeed. I didn't think Dela Cruz was much of a witness anyway so his testimony wasn't worrying me. But, if Puckett can establish these facts in court, these developments are shattering. They will take away the motive for the "massacre", that is, enraged Marines extracting revenge.
If all that can be established, the "Haditha massacre" will be truly relegated to the status of Jenin and other fake massacres created by Islamic fascists and our blame-America-first media (abetted by venal, opportunistic politicians).
What kind of a statement is this??? They condemn him with their words!
This Me Lie doesn’t have as many Liars as the last one.
Pray for W and Our Marines
Prayers for Sgt. Wuterich!!
The NCIS gave Dela Cruz immunity? Now Wuterich’s attorneys say they can use NCIS tapes to prove that Dela Cruz fired first?
That stirkes me as an oops. But I suppose the NCIS already knew that Dela Cruz might have fired first and they will say he was following Wuterich’s order to fire?
IMO, it doesn’t matter who fired first because they believed they were insurgents.
I wonder if you or someone could put together a similar collection of mugshots and comments of the politicians, Time Mag reporter, JAG prosecutors, and the alleged iraqi “witnesses”. It might come in handy once this outrageous matter is cleared up. Or even BE handy to have it out there WHILE this is cleared up.....
The current SECNAVY, Donald C. Winter, is a Bush crony with no naval service in his record. He has expressed absolutely no interest in addressing any of the multitude of issues raised in the hearings and court martials, including falsification of evidence and coercion of testimony.
It's time for this doofus, the Harriet Miers of the Defense Department, to go back to Northrop Grumman...
A good thought and it would let everyone see the players in the persecution of these Marines.
I don’t have the means or the knowledge but will help however I can anyone who does have the ability to do it. Will see if someone can do it.
Did you know there have been 6 “Secretary of the Navy” under GWB?
Maybe you should get on the list.
For Wuterich, a jail sentence isn't the only thing at stake. Also in the balance are history books, and whether they will record him as the only mass murderer in Marine Corps history or as a relatively inexperienced squad leader carrying out orders. "What kind of a statement is this??? They condemn him with their words!
Indeed. Where do any of them go to regain their innocence? Regardless of the outcomes of the hearings and/or trials, none of the officers will see advancement and the bright crimson brushstrokes of the insurgent-led media will follow wherever they go.
All the killings were initially ruled by Marine commanders as "collateral" deaths -- the results of combat action. It wasn't until several weeks later, after a Time magazine reporter began asking questions, that a full investigation was ordered.
Should be:
[quote]All the killings were initially ruled by Marine commanders as "collateral" deaths -- the results of combat action. It wasn't until several weeks later, after a Time magazine insurgent propaganda reporter began asking questions passing lies, innuendo, and untruths, that a full investigation was ordered.[unquote]
Not to get nitpicky with a woman in a leper colony, but the government (i.e., the prosecution) gave Dela Cruz immunity. That's even worse.
We know that LtCol Bill Riggs (Gen Mattis' senior legal adviser) tried to interfere with the IO's report on the LCpl Tatum case. It will be very interesting to see if Riggs is out of the picture for the SSgt Wuterich hearing as well.
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