Posted on 08/31/2007 7:39:19 PM PDT by camerakid400
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Flying over Haditha, Iraq, on November 19, 2005, a small, unmanned spy plane called "Scan Eagle" recorded scenes of heavy fighting -- bombings and strafings from the air, and ground work by U.S. Marines seeking insurgents who earlier in the day had set off a roadside bomb that killed one of their members.
Lawyers for Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich will introduce video of Haditha taken by a drone as evidence.
The Scan Eagle arrived about 30 minutes after the initial bomb attack on the Marines and does not show the the civilians being killed. It does show a house from which the military suspected insurgents triggered the bomb -- and the wrecked vehicle it left 1,000 yards (about 900 meters) away.
The video appears to show that, throughout that day, Marines engaged in fierce firefights and called in air strikes to level buildings -- often with no definitive idea of who was inside.
That could buttress defense arguments that Marines clearing buildings on the ground with guns and grenades were just following rules of engagement.
"The defense can say, 'Hey, look, you had to do this later in the day, what's the difference between what happened later in the day and what our guys did earlier in the day?' " asked retired Marine Lt. Col. Gary Solis, a former prosecutor and military judge who teaches law at Georgetown University and West Point.
Solis, who analyzed the video for CNN, said the intense fighting and necessity of making split-second decisions could play out in favor of defendants in the case.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
>> They are innocent.
Yes, and more. They were properly prosecuting a military action for the benefit of all of us. As they were commanded to do.
That they have been accused of crimes is beyond reprehensible. And beyond understanding.
Murtha is sweating like the fat pig that he is.
Pivotal ping
Fobbits saving Marine butt ping?
Ted Kennedy laughs at him.
There was a drone at Hamdania, too, but the PROSECUTION would not allow footage of it played in the trial, even when they said it condemned the Pendleton 8.
Lets see where this UAV footage goes.
Pivotal is right. CNN should broadcast the tape NOW.
Reprehensible, yes. Beyond understanding, no.
This was a put up job from the start. This was a product of an enemy propagandist and a traitorous enemy sympathizer.
Since betrayal and treason carry zero pain or punishment in our current degeneration of culture, it is predictable that such occurs and we’ve not seen the worst of it yet.
Wait a minute! CNN is offering a story suggesting our troops might be innocent??? I don’t trust this... what are they up to?
If any of you Freepers are in Murtha's district, let us know if there is ANY questioning of Murtha by the public or are they mostly content with having sent this arrogant knownothing back to Washington.
vaudine
Now who you gonna believe, Jim Murtha or your own lying eyes?
Gary Solis finally said something I can agree with, we should round up the insurgents that escaped Haditha and hold them accountable.
Without question - These warriors followed proper MOUT procedures in clearing (these considered) hostile structures via a bottom up assault -
It is absolutely awful these men have been put through what they have been put through - They should be with their fellow warriors and in the fight - Not being put on trial by JAGS /NCIS who want to try and stay relevant in this WOT.
A 12-year old survivor of the alleged massacre of innocent civilians by U.S. Marines patrolling Haditha has admitted she had prior knowledge of the plot to detonate an IED as their convoy was passing by her house on the morning of Nov. 19, 2005.
In a CNN interview broadcast Wednesday, Safa Younis - who says eight members of her family were killed by U.S. troops - recalled that she was getting ready for school as the Marine Humvee approached.
"I was planning to go to school. I was about to go out of bed. I knew the bomb would explode so I covered my ears," the youngster said, according to a CNN translator. "The bomb [then] exploded," she explained. "The bomb struck an armored vehicle. I don't know if it was a Humvee or an armored vehicle. When the bomb exploded, they came straight to my house."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.