Hearing could result in end of Hadithah case

[unhappycamper]

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, right, arrives for a pretrial hearing with attorney Neil Puckett, left, and friend, Melissa Balcombe, center, March 22 at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in San Diego County, Calif. Wuterich, 30, is charged with voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice.


Hearing could result in end of Hadithah case
By Elliot Spagat - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Mar 25, 2010 20:10:12 EDT

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — The news came at a low point in the war in Iraq and seemed to reflect much of what was going wrong: A Marine squad killed 24 people in the town of Hadithah in November 2005, including unarmed women and children in their homes.

Critics of the war painted the deaths as another sign the war was spiraling out of control, a tragedy akin to the abuse of prisoners by U.S. soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison.

The late Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a former Marine and an ardent critic of the war, said the Marine squad killed civilians “in cold blood.”

Now, more than four years after the killings, a military judge is expected to decide Friday whether to dismiss charges against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, 30, the only remaining defendant in the biggest criminal case against U.S. troops to arise from the Iraq war.

If the judge grants the defense request alleging unlawful command influence in the case, it would mark a crushing finale for the military in a string of defeats in its prosecution of war crimes in Iraq.


Rest of article at; http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/03/ap_marines_hadithah_wuterich_032510/



unhappycamper comment: This reminds me of My Lai.

Hey, it's only 24 Iraqis. :sarcasm:

[howard112211]

1. No organisation in the world should be allowed to police itsself.

It is simply a failed model.