Posted on 05/28/2008 3:33:36 AM PDT by RedRover
SAN DIEGO—A Marine intelligence officer heads to court Wednesday to answer charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements during an investigation into the killings of 24 Iraqis.
The court-martial of 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson is the first case to come to trial in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving civilian deaths to come out of the Iraq war.
Authorities maintain eight Marines killed the Iraqis shortly after a roadside bomb hit a convoy, killing the driver of a Humvee and wounding two Marines.
Grayson of Springboro, Ohio, was not present at the scene of the killings on Nov. 19, 2005, in Haditha, but is accused of telling a sergeant to delete photographs of the dead from his digital camera.
Investigators allege after the bombing, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich and a squad member allegedly shot five men by a car at the scene. Wuterich then allegedly ordered his men into several houses, where they cleared rooms with grenades and gunfire, killing unarmed civilians in the process.
Charges against all but three Marines, including Grayson, have been dropped.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Prayers up for 1st Lt. Grayson, his family, and the defense team. Any idea how long the court martial is expected to last?
With all the overheated rhetoric coming from the left and all the media articles published and all the time and money spent pursuing alleged culprits, putting forth a scapegoat has become an imperative.
Haven’t heard any predictions but, given the flimsiness of the government’s case, it shouldn’t be more than a week.
In addition to SSgt Laughner, I imagine Col Watt will testify and that could take a whole day. Haven’t heard whether Maj Dinsmore will be allowed to testify. That could take a day as well.
Prayers up for Lt. Grayson, his legal team, friends and family.
I’d be surprised if it lasted a week since none of 1st Lt. Grayson’s charges have to do with the actual Haditha incident, only the aftermath. SSgt Laughner’s testimony will be an interesting one.
Further, while many of these citizens were “un-armed” it stands to question just how “innocent” or “un-involved” they may have been about the incident.
There is something to be said for an anticipated reaction to hostilities in any given war or specific battle. The anticipated reaction of the USA to a nuclear strike by the USSR is what prevented hostilities. The precursor to that understanding happened to be events in Japan that ended WWII.
A successful strategy in past wars was to have the “innocent civilians” fear their enemy more than they feared their own fighters. Break their will to fight and/or support the fight is what won the Asian side of WWII.
The same could be said for terrorist attacks on the USA. I would expect and hope, God Forbid, that if the USA was attacked again, much of the world would wring their hands and go into panic about the anticipated reaction. We have set precedence with our reaction to 9/11. I believe that our reaction does serve as a deterrent. I would expect that rational leaders of government around the world hope that America is never attacked again for fear or our going out and toppling another country or two.
Peace through strength. It is why I believe, 100%, that we can never “pull out of Iraq.” I don't care if we “occupy” sovereign territory (Bases) in Iraq for 100 years if our ominous presence strikes fear into the hearts and souls of those that wish our innocent civilians harm.
Again, I do not condone the reckless killing of innocent civilians in any battle but understand the fog of war and adrenaline induced action in a firefight. It's an unfortunate and messy business, this thing we call war. It is also unfortunate that war is often necessary to defend innocence and freedoms. It is costly but the ROI is invaluable.
Prayers up!
It shouldn’t last more than two minutes.
Just long enough for an acquittal and an apology.
Sounds like a good plan. :-)
If Dinsmore is not allowed to testify, then that seems like an error in law to me. He was Grayson’s technical chain supervisor and would be the one most knowledgeable of the requirements to delete battlefield pictures that did not have intelligence value. The same as with contraband “war trophies,” the Army takes a dim view of those who take pictures of the dead for reasons of prurient interest.
That these pictures were spread around the battalion demonstrates the validity of the Army’s insistance that this ghoulish practice not be allowed, and it adds credibility to Lt Grayson’s insistence that they be deleted. In my opinion, it really is SSG Laughner who should be in trouble for this. He obviously is the source of all the macabre pictures that were spread around this battalion.
We’ll see. Sometimes things take longer when there’s no real case.
How can a “crime” be covered up when no crime ever took place?
Girl, it had to be Laughner. He took the pictures. They were on his camera and his computer.
THOSE pictures were the ones that were spread around the battalion. That is why the article was able to say last week that the deletion of the pictures from his computer were inconsequential because THOSE pictures had been spread around the battalion.
(At least that’s how I read it. :>)
It’s clear by now that Al Qaeda’s use of Haditha for propanganda purposes was a miserable failure. All the “involuntary martyrs” blown to pieces by Al Qaeda makes the 24 deaths in Haditha insignificant. The residents of Anbar are now more concerned about securing their future (despite the best efforts of Al Qaeda, Congressman Murtha, and the MSM).
There are so many “lessons learned” from the war in Iraq that our military will be transformed. Obviously, it’s already begun with Gen Petraeus’ leadership.
Interesting yes. However (hi Girlene), I would give it THE maximum barf rating.
Well, Briones also took pictures and may have had those passed around....or maybe it was the pic’s on Laughner’s camera/computer. Either way, the pictures should have been deleted after the first two NCO’s ordered SSgt Laughner to do so.
It lasted four days and would have been fewer but the hearing officer, Lt. Col. Tracy Daly, stepped aside and was replaced.
There was very little media coverage so the summary of witnesses and testimony is less complete than usual.
Latest scuttlebutt is that Maj Dinsmore will not testify. Still trying to find out for sure.
That would suck alot. I seem to remember him saying that it is against regulations to keep pictures of dead folk on PCs and that he enforces that.
Other than figuring out what punishment to give Laughner for keeping pictures, it should be over as soon as Major Dinsmore is interviewed (It should have been over two years ago).
Personally, I stopped trying to make sense of this political railroad job a long time ago. Every single time I read one of these Haditha threads I end up shaking my head in complete disgust. WHY didn't Bush or Helland or Mattis or SOMEBODY have the spine to get rid of these bogus, propaganda-driven charges long ago? So many cowards....
Anyway, prayers up for Lt. Grayson and his family.
Semper Fidelis,
LH
Hey Lancey, it’s like my dad always told me: “You know that little black speck on the top of a pile of chickensh!+? Well, son, that’s still chickensh!+”
Marine heads to trial on obstruction charges, Associated Press, May 28, 2008.
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — A court-martial has started in California for a Marine intelligence officer on charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements in the killings of 24 Iraqis.
A closed-door hearing on motions kicked off the proceeding for 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson. Jury selection was to begin later Wednesday.
Authorities maintain that eight Marines killed the Iraqis shortly after a roadside bomb hit a convoy, killing the driver of a Humvee and wounding two Marines.
Grayson says he did nothing wrong. He wasn't present for the 2005 killings in Haditha but is accused of telling a sergeant to delete photographs of the dead from his digital camera.
"2005"
"accused of telling a sergeant to delete photographs"
Today is May 28, 2008.
"Paging Federico Fellini. Paging Mr. Federico Fellini...."
CAMP PENDLETON – Court-martial started Wednesday at Camp Pendleton for a lieutenant accused of obstructing justice and making false statements after a squad of Marines killed 24 people in Haditha, Iraq.
Jury selection is taking place in the trial for 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, 27, who faces up to 25 years in prison and dismissal from the Marine Corps if he is convicted. Grayson was an intelligence officer with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at the time of the Haditha incident, which took place Nov. 19, 2005.
A roadside bomb struck a convoy from the battalion that day, killing a Marine and injuring two others. Afterward, a squad led by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich killed 24 men, women and children in the vicinity of the blast.
Wuterich is slated to be court-martialed on charges such as murder and making false official statements. Prosecutors said he and other Marines killed the Iraqis out of revenge, while the troops have maintained that they were engaged in combat and couldn't avoid killing some civilians.
Grayson and Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, commander of the battalion, allegedly failed to properly investigate the Haditha deaths. They have said there was no reason to doubt what Wuterich and his men described as a legitimate battle in Haditha, long known to be an insurgent-filled town.
In particular, Grayson is accused of ordering a Marine to destroy evidence showing that women and children were among the Iraqis killed by troops Nov. 19, 2005, in Haditha. He also is charged with trying to fraudulently leave the military once the government started investigating the Haditha incident in 2006.
File photo 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson
Our thoughts and prayers are with Andrew and his family! Stay strong!
On another note, it seems that Rick Rogers STILL can’t get things right! SSgt. Wuterich has NOT been charged with murder as he so erroneously states!
Yeah, that stuck out like a sore thumb, but I brushed it off as just another typical example of a newspaper hiring a pimple-faced kid fresh off the 'Daily Collegian'.
What really gets to me is that even though so many have been acquitted of the charges the press just refuse to report the truth. First, we read about how authorites maintain that 8 marines killed the Iraqi civilians. Then a few paragraphs after that there is a vague mention of the fact that the authorities have FAILED so far to prove their case against these men and that most have already been acquitted! Absolutely disgusting.
Prayers for Lt. Grayson and his family.
Both Briones and Andrew Wright were reported as ordered to take pictures.
Both have disappeared off the face of the earth.
One in deep doo with the law, one undergoing psychiatric treatment.
That should raise some alarms.
“Personally, I stopped trying to make sense of this political railroad job a long time ago. Every single time I read one of these Haditha threads I end up shaking my head in complete disgust. WHY didn’t Bush or Helland or Mattis or SOMEBODY have the spine to get rid of these bogus, propaganda-driven charges long ago? So many cowards....”
I’ve stopped arguing against your point on that and now tend toward full agreement with you.
Prayers up for all being persecuted by the domestic enemy.
And prayers for the destruction of that enemy.
Semper Fi
Wuterich is slated to be court-martialed on charges such as voluntary manslaughter and making false official statements. Prosecutors said he and other Marines killed the Iraqis out of revenge, while the troops have maintained that they were engaged in combat and couldn't avoid killing some civilians.
Someone at that newspaper handed him a copy that said "murder" on it. I wonder how long it would take the editor of that rag - and the rest of them that continue to knowingly distribute false information about the Haditha Marines - to slap a defamation suit against someone for saying their fly was undone, much less be accused of murder.
Andrew Wright
http://www.nbca.com/alumni.php
http://www.jamd.com/search?assettype=g&assetid=53349939&text=lcpl+andrew+wright
And isn’t it awfully coincidental that Lucian Read took pictures of all these guys just in the months prior....
Both earned Purple Hearts.
I add my prayers for Lt Grayson.
I pray that this will be over for him (and his family) very soon.
What a flippin’ nightmare. :^(
CAMP PENDLETON ---- Jury selection kicked off Wednesday afternoon in the first court-martial to come to trial stemming from the deaths of 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha. It is the largest war crimes case involving civilian deaths since the start of the Iraq war.
Marine Lt. Andrew Grayson has pleaded not guilty to charges that, as an intelligence officer, he ordered destruction of photos of Iraqis slain on Nov. 19, 2005, then later lied about it to investigators.
The 27-year-old Ohio native has also pleaded not guilty to trying to fraudulently leave the Marine Corps.
Grayson's court-martial is expected to last about five days.
If convicted on all charges, Grayson faces punishment ranging from no jail time to a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
On Wednesday, all of the potential panel members acknowledged to the military judge, Maj. Brian Kasprzyk, that they were generally familiar with the high-profile Haditha case. But all agreed they could set aside outside knowledge and focus on the trial evidence.
Questioning of individual members of the pool of officers is set to continue through Wednesday afternoon. Much of the focus of the queries has centered on their exposure to massive media coverage on the war crimes case, and many admitted having read news stories, seen television coverage and listened to radio talk shows addressing the incident.
The slayings of 24 Iraqis, including women and children from the same extended family, led to international condemnation ---- and, eventually, to criminal charges against the enlisted Marines accused as triggermen, as well as officers with a role in the aftermath.
The deaths, on Nov. 19, 2005, came in the moments and hours after a roadside bombing killed one Marine and injured two others.
The Marine Corps initially reported the Iraqis died in the bombing and subsequent small arms fire. Several weeks later, the military corrected the number of deaths to 24 after questions were raised by a Time magazine reporter who spoke to relatives of the slain Iraqis.
The first media reports led to an international outcry, prompting military officials to order a full-scale investigation.
Criminal charges followed.
Eight Marines from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment were originally charged with wrongdoing at Haditha.
Four enlisted men were charged with murdering the Iraqi civilians and four officers were charged with offenses related to failing to investigate the incident.
But the cases against five of the men ---- including three admitted triggermen ---- were later dropped.
The Marines accused as gunmen have said attackers shot at them after the deadly explosion, and that they stormed the Iraqi homes ---- on orders ---- in search of their attackers.
Aside from Grayson, charges remain against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the squad leader who lead Marines into the homes of the victims, and Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the battalion commander on the day of the slayings
Grayson is accused of obstruction of justice for allegedly ordering a sergeant to destroy photographs taken of the dead Iraqis.
Grayson has said the policy dictated that photographs of dead Iraqis were to be deleted from computer hard drives if a review determined they were not insurgents.
A charge of lying to investigators arises from his alleged denial when asked if such photos existed.
Chessani faces charges of dereliction of duty and violating a lawful order for failing to conduct a full-scale investigation into the civilian deaths.
The future of the case against Chessani is unclear. Last week, a military judge has found that top Marine Corps officers were unlawfully influenced by a general's legal adviser when they decided to file criminal charges against Chessani.
The remaining Marine facing charges is Wuterich, the squad leader who led Marines as they stormed the homes of the Iraqi victims looking for their attackers. He is the only one of the gunman still charged in the case.
Wuterich is charged with voluntary manslaughter and related offenses.
Thanks for that update, boats. It’s gotten to the point where I thank heaven for small favors like a newspaper actually getting the charges right.
Well I was hoping for a magic wand moment but after reading everything, I guess it’s game on.
My daughter had a soldier take a picture of their commander sleeping through a briefing. She ordered him to deleted it immediately. Obstruction of justice? :-)
That’s wrong. The soldier took the picture and she had him delete it.
Game on. See you tomorrow, pal.
You’d think the North Country Times would have figured out by now that there were no murders. The statement about deleting photos if they were found NOT be be insurgents is also probably wrong. I believe it actually is determined by whether or not the photos have any intelligence value.
Also they are deleted because it is illegal to keep such pictures.
I occasionally had hopes the NCTimes would do a decent job of reporting this. They’ve gotten steadily worse.
Gee, I wonder why?
It wouldn't be because the General Staff officers all went on the rampage after Murtha's incendiary lies had them telling the troops about it, would it? Seems I recall Chiarelli (?) went all out in holding 'retraining' sessions on the Laws of War and 'correct' actions in armed combat, and those lessons were done theatre-wide.
I also agree with xzins; SSgt. Laughner should be up on charges. Did he get a deal in order to testify?
Marines Corps Commandant Conway led that charge. Apparently he was concerned about a survey that revealed that too many Marines would NOT rat out their brothers-in-arms.
(vomit)
Nice to see there's no bias in their reporting!
Thanks for all the updates, Red.
There was also some differences between the LOAC 'rules' as stipulated in the Bargewell Report, and I think those were also revised and promulgated at the same time.
Hey -- you go to war to kill the damned enemy, not play patty-cake! If we won't kill them, we will bury our own.
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.