Posted on 06/05/2008 5:56:26 AM PDT by Triple
A US marine has been acquitted of charges that he ordered a cover up of the Haditha massacre, an incident in which 24 Iraqis were killed in cold blood in 2005. Lieutenant Andrew Grayson was declared "not guilty on all charges" by a military courtmartial after his defence accused the prosecution of relying on a botched and politically motivated investigation.
The military intelligence official was the sixth of eight accused to be cleared over the controversial incident. The deaths of 24 people in the central Iraqi town ranks as one of the darkest incidents since the 2003 invasion.
The killings occurred after a roadside bomb killed Marine Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas and wounded two others.
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A military press release originally stated that 15 Iraqis had been killed by the bomb.
Time magazine later reported that most of the dead were killed as Marines conducted a vengeful raid through three houses near the site.
An official investigation then concluded that five men were shot by a car stopped at the scene. The squad then broke into the houses, clearing rooms with grenades and gunfire, killing more Iraqis, including women and children, in the process.
Lt Grayson, 27, who has always maintained he did nothing wrong, was not at the scene of the killings of men, women and children in Haditha. He was accused of telling a sergeant to delete photographs of the dead from a digital camera and laptop computer.
Lt Grayson was found not guilty of two counts of making false official statements, two counts of trying to fraudulently separate from service, and one count of attempting to deceive by making false statements.
A charge of obstruction of justice was dismissed by the military judge but Lt Grayson would have faced as many as 20 years in prison...
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I agree - I understand the media/murtha/dem/socialist/anti-america angle.
What I don’t understand is how JAG officers can put themselves in the position of arguing these bad cases. They must know they are bad, as lawyers. Is the JAG so clouded by leftist ideology that they don’t see that they will lose these cases? I truly don’t understand.
There should have never been any charges filed.
Savage called this one. Deserves the credit...
He deserves a meritorious promotion to Captain for having to deal with this assault on his character, Corps, and his country.
My guess is JAGs are lawyers first, officers second (or fiftieth). They probably subscribe to a whole list of leftwing fantasies, myths and superstitions. They probably have about the same opinion of the average US military personnel as John Kerry has, that if they (the rank and file) had any edumacation they wouldn’t be in Irrak in the first place.
All right - lawyers first. But bad lawyers
When are these Marines - or their families - going to sue Murtha for defamation of character (or something)?!
Good news!
The marine has been cleared of charges. That is great news! But think of all of the misery and suffering this hero has experienced. The military ought to compensate them when the charges are dropped!!!!! We treat our soldiers worse than we treat the enemy!
I’ve heard the saying, “Once a Marine, always a Marine.’ Obviously the Murhtoid doesn’t qualify.
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