General Testifies at Haditha Hearing

[AnOhioan]

Source: Associated Press

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) -- A Marine colonel whose men are suspected of killing 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha may not have done all he could to properly report and investigate the killings, a two-star general testified Friday.

"I think the question is did he report everything that he knew, and I have some questions about that," Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, the top general in charge of Marines in Iraq's Al Anbar province when the killings occurred, testified via video from the Pentagon.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, 43, commander of the Marine battalion involved in the deaths, is charged with dereliction of duty for failing to investigate the killings and is the highest-ranking of seven Marines accused in the deadliest criminal case against U.S. troops in the Iraq war.

During a preliminary hearing to decide whether Chessani should be court-martialed, investigating officer Col. Christopher Conlin asked Huck whether, in hindsight, he thought Chessani acted appropriately.



Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MARINES_HADITHA?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

[L0oniX]

1. It's not the only time they have gone wild

...they just didn't get away with it this time. They are a bunch of baby killers and it goes on all the time. Understand what a "free fire zone" means? What gets me is that because I pay taxes, I pay these murderers to do this so I am also a murderer! I hate this shit and they can all go die. I don't support the troops just like I don't support involuntary manslaughter or mass murder.

:mad:

[BushOut06]

2. This is only what we see - imagine all that we don't see

US soldiers kicking in doors in the dead of night, rounding up men, women, and children many of whom will never be seen again. Think of how this administration officially condones such barbaric acts as torture. Then just think of all sorts of heinous actions that must be going on routinely by soldiers who are under extreme stress in a foreign land.

[maddezmom]

3. General Says Bosses Knew of ’05 Killings in Iraqi Town, including Gen. Casey

General Says Bosses Knew of ’05 Killings in Iraqi Town
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By PAUL VON ZIELBAUER
Published: June 2, 2007
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., June 1 — The general who was in charge of the Marine division in Iraq when infantrymen in the division killed 24 civilians in Haditha in late 2005, said Friday that all his superiors, including Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top commander in Iraq, knew of the event within hours.

The commander of the Second Marine Division, Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, also said in sworn testimony on Friday that he knew the civilians had been killed in their homes, but that he did not investigate because subordinates in the field, upon whom he relied to suggest such an inquiry, did not do so.

Testifying for the second time in three weeks in a military hearing here about the killings in Haditha, which included several women and children, General Huck repeated assertions from his previous testimony: that his superiors knew about the killings at the same time he learned of them.

But on Friday, under questioning from lawyers for a former battalion commander charged with failing to properly investigate and report the deaths, General Huck took pains to show that the generals above him were also well aware of the episode but, like him, did nothing to immediately look into it.

more:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/02/world/middleeast/02haditha.html?ref=middleeast