Posted on 01/02/2012 10:28:48 AM PST by smoothsailing
January 2, 2012
It certainly seems appropriate that the last defendant in the Haditha case is the squad leader, SSgt Frank Wuterich. Leaders take responsibility, and SSgt Wuterich has taken full responsibility for the actions of his squad in Haditha. His stance from the outset has remained clear:
As the last Marine originally charged in the deaths of Iraqis in Haditha, Iraq in 2005, SSgt Wuterich will be seated at the defense table in his general court-martial two days from now, Wednesday, January 4th. Barring last minute motions or outright dismissal of charges, jury selection will begin Wednesday or Thursday. SSgt. Wuterich will be tried by a jury of combat-experienced Marines, and the panel will include at least two Marines from the enlisted ranks.
Much has been written over the last six years about Haditha, and links to some of the most recent news articles and commentaries are included at the bottom of this post to help bring readers up to date. For older Free Republic postings, please use this link or enter the keyword Haditha in the Free Republic search engine.
The purpose of this Free Republic thread is to serve as a "Master Post" where trial news and updates can be brought together in one place for easy reference by those interested in following the proceedings as they unfold.
Freepers Smoothsailing, Red Rover, and Jazusamo will monitor the thread, post updates, and attempt to answer questions or direct readers to information sources. Jazusamo maintains the Haditha Marine Ping List. Please ask Jazusamo to be added to the ping list if you wish to be alerted to updates.
Recent News and Commentary:
MILITARY TIMES-Haditha Marine Faces Trial
Count Down to the Last Haditha Trial
MILITARY: Two high-profile cases set for Pendleton courtrooms
Remember SSgt Frank D. Wuterich: The last Haditha Marine goes on trial
Don’t rewrite Murtha’s legacy (Haditha Marines)
Thanks for reading,bk. Check back for daily updates. Opening statements in the trial begin tomorrow. You can find the thread title on the sidebar under activism. We also have a ping list if you want to be alerted to new developments.
BUMP!
Nat’s banging on a piece. Says he has good stuff. Not exactly sure when I’ll get it, standing by.
Great...I’ll be here and looking forward to it. If I can help, let me know.
Hey guys!
Just checking in, been watching the BCS Bowl.
Roll Tide!
With that field goal The Tide just about wrapped it up. Go Tide!
It’s looking good!
SOURCE: Stars and Stripes-January 9,2012
When Wuterich and other Marines from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, had arrived in Haditha in the fall of 2005, they were warned by intelligence officers that Haditha would be “another Fallujah,” the site of the bloodiest urban fighting involving Marines since Vietnam.
The battalion that the Three-One had replaced had had two dozen Marines killed in combat. Insurgents had beheaded locals who had been friendly to the Marines.
The Marines were warned that fighters from Syria were flooding into Haditha to mount “complex attacks” with snipers and buried roadside bombs and that the fighters would hide behind non-combatants.
And so when a roadside bomb exploded beneath a Marine convoy, Marines were convinced that a complex attack was under way, Faraj said. Attacks were under way in other parts of Haditha as well.
The defense will question the competency of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and suggest that Marine brass panicked and began looking for scapegoats when Time magazine splashed the story of the Haditha killings as a “massacre.”
A military investigator had concluded that Wuterich and his Marines had done nothing wrong, that the deaths of noncombatants were tragic but not proof of an illegal act.
When there are multiple reports of being under fire from a location, it is unreasonable to expect each Marine to stop to decide whether each individual in that location presents a “hostile act,” the investigator concluded.
In the weeks after the incident, Wuterich was recommended for promotion and a commendation for having been cool under fire that morning. But within months, after the magazine story ignited a political firestorm in the U.S. and Iraq, Wuterich and seven other Marines were charged.
It sure looks like it and it's all true...Very powerful.
LSU is done for.
Excellent summary.
It should be the defense’s closing remarks.
Looks like the defense attorneys intend to nail NCIS and the government for all the evidence they ignored. Can't wait.
Tide 21-Zip! :)
Excellent, it's way past time they did. I can't wait either.
I agree, Red, there's been way too much waiting, it's time to nail the NCIS and the rest of those perfumed princes.
[According to Faraj, “30 percent” of the expended cartridges found in what is now called House Number Two were Kalashnikov 7.62mm AK-47 cartridges and a number 9mm pistol rounds that weren’t fired by attacking Marines where eight people died.
The government ignored it, “ Faraj added incredulously. “Where did this come from, where did the 7.62 come from? Who was in the back bedroom, who shot the 9mm rounds?”"]
Wow! That’s a nice write-up. If this is the best Gannon can do, I’d say it’s all over but the wailing of the America-hating future Democrat politician wannabes (aka, the military prosecutors). By the way, is Sean Sullivan still around?
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.