Marine Says Rules Were Followed
A sergeant who led a squad of Marines during the incident in Haditha, Iraq, that left as many as 24 civilians dead said his unit did not intentionally target any civilians, followed military rules of engagement and never tried to cover up the shootings, his attorney said.Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, 26, told his attorney that several civilians were killed Nov. 19 when his squad went after insurgents who were firing at them from inside a house. The Marine said there was no vengeful massacre, but he described a house-to-house hunt that went tragically awry in the middle of a chaotic battlefield.
This article is certainly worth a read, and presents a rather different account of the Haditha tragedy than previous press accounts. I expect that when the investigation is complete we will have a better idea what the truth is about these events, but Sgt. Wuterich’s account is plausible.
To some extent, it may be that both stories are ‘true.’ I am sure that to the Iraqis who witnesses these events the Marines appeared to be sensely slaughtering people while ignoring pleas for mercy. At the same time, the Marines may well have simply been trying to stay alive and kill combatants it a chaotic and dangerous situation.
One thing that probably will be resolved is whether their was a cover-up or not. It has been alleged that that happened, but it also seems possible that there was simply some miscommunication.
Whatever happened, I can’t really fault the marines in either situation. The environment is hell and I can’t pretend to even comprehend what it must be like to be on pins and needles 24×7, worried that a bomb might blow you or your friend up at any moment.
If it does turn out that there was a masacre, I would hope that the justice system is lenient and treats this the same way they would treat any other case of mental disorder or “snapping” - certainly not murder 1, probably not murder 2.