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After telling Puckett about his encounter with the NCIS special agent, the former military judge moved on to what Tatum and the other Marines knew before they left Firm Base Sparta to resupply the isolated outpost. That drew an immediate objection from lead prosecutor Major Nicholas Gannon. The court recessed for about 20 minutes while the attorneys argued whether any classified information was going to be revealed.
“There is nothing classified that was discussed and if it was it was declassified,” Faraj said with evident anger.
After overcoming the prosecution’s strenuous objections Puckett was allowed to proceed.
The “secrets” Gannon was trying to withhold were revealed in 2007 during the long months of pre-trial Article 32 investigations. Tatum acknowledged the night before the convoy his squad had been briefed to expect trouble,. They were warned to watch out for snipers active everywhere in Haditha and the infamous white cars that insurgents were using as Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices.
“You were told about that because of certain types of complex attacks involved white cars. You were aware of a number of these incidents, is that right?” Puckett asked. "You had been told Iraqis hid weapons and then pulled them out and fired at you after you though things were clear.”
“Yes sir,” Tatum responded.
There will be more in the Weekend Wrap about the testimony of SSgt Justin Laughner, the second witness to be called Tuesday. Laughner was the intelligence expert in the Human Exploitation Team that was attached to 3/1 at Haditha. He was still being interrogated at the time of this writing.

This prosecutor should be censured for attempting to prevent evidence from being presented that goes to the heart of guilt or innocence. Knowing those intel reports about white car insurgents, snipers, IEDs, and insurgents throughout Haditha is critical to what these Marines actually faced, and not to mention their mindset.

Add to that the presence of AK47 and other enemy brass at the site of the attack, and there is no way a warrior can conclude that these Marines were over-reacting.

Objecting to honest information is criminal on the part of the prosecutor.