[RedRover]

Nat Helms is a Contributing Editor to Defend Our Marines. He is a Vietnam vet, journalist, combat reporter, and, most recently, author of My Men Are My Heroes: The Brad Kasal Story (Meredith Books, 2007).

[Guenevere]

bttt

[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

Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt

SSgt. Frank Wuterich

Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani

NewsMax Fund Drive

[RedRover]

Lest anyone think that Nat Helms' bias toward the Marines has led him to overstate the quality of Sgt. Dela Cruz's testimony, even the Washington Post agreed...

The [value of] testimony by Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz was diluted by withering defense attacks on his credibility. At one point in a contentious four-hour review of his earlier, often contradictory accounts, the quest for truth grew so convoluted, the witness implored to be disbelieved: "I did lie about that, sir," Dela Cruz said.

[Maelstorm]

My question is why our Marines are being put through this circus? They had just been attacked. Some guys exit a vehicle nearby. If they made a mistake, they made a mistake but mistakes happen. The question is whether it was a reasonable mistake given the situation. I think anyone can say it was more than reasonable. I don’t want our soldiers waiting for the enemy to attack them after an IED attack which is a VERY common tactic. This is a symptom of what is wrong with the Bush Administration and the execution of this war. You can’t have our soldiers being run through the mill while a war is going on being forced to doubt themselves and their instincts because of ambiguous circumstances.

[radar101]

One of BEST books I have ever read.
Easy to read, tells you a lot about Kasal, and the battle for Fallujah.

[MindBender26]

Just a note of caution:

This is one man’s opinion of testimony. This author is far from disinterested in the case. Although the court martial panel may have intrepreted this testimony the same way the author did, they may not have as well.

Law rule #17: Never assume the jury thinks the same way you do.

[trek]

Somebody better tell Brian de Palma quick.

[tobyhill]

The new drone video clearly shows the vehicle and bodies not in an execution style aftermath but in a fleeing layout. They are scattered and appear to be approx. 30-50 ft from each other. An execution style killing, even if they tried to flee, would leave them no more than a maximum 20 ft from each other.

[lewislynn]

It's all very clear.

Publicly prosecute servicemen and border patrol agents for doing their jobs then no one will want to be servicemen or border patrol agents...Those that do will just be empty suits afraid to act.

And dare I say Bush is an enabler.

[HardStarboard]

Any way to arrange for Vokey to cross examine Murtha?

Nothing could be finer than seeing a burly Marine Sgt. frog marching Murtha to the brig!

[Girlene]

Good info on Dela Cruz's testimony. This is the first I've seen that Dela Cruz failed a polygraph. It would be even more interesting to know what version he was telling about the sedan incident when he failed it.

The Washington Post article is quite revealing about Dela Cruz's testimony, as is the New York Times article, "At Marines’ Hearing, Testament to Violence".

[snip] Sergeant Dela Cruz has admitted to lying to an Army colonel who initially investigated the Haditha episode, in which Marine riflemen killed 24 Iraqis, including at least 10 women and children, after a roadside bomb killed one of their comrades.

In a sworn statement, he told the colonel that Iraqi Army soldiers traveling with his unit had killed the five men near the car, and that he had yelled at them to stop, to no avail.

Now Dela Cruz says that Frank told him to lie about the incident and blame it on the Iraqi Army. It sounds like Dela Cruz may have been the one who originally made this story up. According to other testimony on Friday,

Another witness on Friday, Staff Sgt. Justin Laughner, a member of a Marine intelligence unit that inspected the scene of the Haditha killings, said Sergeant Wuterich had told him the men had run from the car when they were shot.

Sergeant Laughner also said squad members had been worried that the car could have been carrying a bomb.

[freema]

How’s about a ping!

[Experiment 6-2-6]

Hey!

I went to school w/ Colby Vokey...

[Lancey Howard]

BUMP!

[StarCMC]

Sitting behind him was his wife, mother and father, who have suffered both deep emotional and severe financial hardship finding the means to afford civilian defense attorneys to defend him.

That's a travesty. When the charges are dropped, Murtha and crew need to reimburse these families for what the government has done to them. :-(((

[bray]

Me Lie II is crumbling under the Truth

Pray for W and Our Marines

[lilycicero]

WOW....WOW.....WEEEE!

I know I am late on posting, but thank you for the ping and the powerhouse read!

[Just mythoughts]

This whole ordeal just makes me ill, I cannot imagine that any of my children could ever be in this position. I do pray for swift justice for whatever actually did happen and these that can/do lie to save their own backside will be first in line.