Posted on 10/12/2007 3:09:57 PM PDT by radar101
By Sharon Behn - Charges will no longer be pursued against a company of Marines who were yanked out of Afghanistan by a three-star general on suspicion of criminal wrongdoing, a lawyer involved in the case said yesterday.
Defense attorney Mark Waple said he was informed late Wednesday that the case was being referred to a court of inquiry, which would limit itself to examining the actions of three Marine officers.
A court of inquiry, the Navy's highest-level administrative investigatory body, is rarely convened and "is not a criminal proceeding," said a spokesman for the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command.
The Washington Times reported Wednesday that rank-and-file Special Forces soldiers and Marines were outraged that members of their communities had been publicly criticized by Lt. Gen. Frank Kearney, the deputy commander of the Special Operations Command, before an investigation into their actions was complete.
Some complained that his statements threatened to prejudice the case against the Marines, some of whom could have faced murder charges.
Ten Afghans were killed and more than 30 were wounded in the March 4, 2007, incident in rural Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai and Afghan human rights organizations strongly condemned the event as an indiscriminate attack on unarmed civilians.
Gen. Kearney told reporters at the time that authorities had "been unable to find evidence that those [Afghan civilians] were fighters." He subsequently pulled the entire company out of the country midway through an official investigation.
Mark Waple, a lawyer representing the company commander, told The Times yesterday he had received word "that no one will be charged unless something comes out of this court of inquiry that would justify a charge of some kind."
Mr. Waple's client is one of the three officers on the stand at the court of inquiry.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
My nephew is headed for Afghanistan this month. I am more worried about Murtha than I am about Osama. This is his first assignment since graduation from intelligence school. Please, Lord, keep congress away from him.
Time magazine wonders “Who will pay for this tragedy?”
Just like their article about Haditha.
The Marines in this incident screwed up big time. Not sure I would call it criminal, but it certainly wasn’t the USMC’s finest moment!
Time for Kearney to retire.
OH-Were you there?
What training do you have?
I was a couple of miles away. I also know a 6 mile wide ambush on what is probably the most heavily traveled road in Afghanistan is darn unlikely.
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