Marine officer faces April court-martial for events in Iraq
Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 2/25/2008 1:00:00 PM
The commander of a Marine battalion involved in the killings of 24 Iraqis in Haditha, Iraq, will face a court-martial despite the fact that the incident now appears to have been the consequence of the fog of war -- not a deliberate massacre.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani (USMC) has been charged with not fully investigating the events at Haditha and failing to report a Law of War violation during the November 19, 2005, incident that led to the unfortunate death of Iraqi civilians. The court-martial has been set for April 28.
Brian Rooney of the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Chessani, says moving forward with the case seems curious. "There was no massacre. These Marines had acted appropriately and there was no Law of War violation as originally charged," he argues. "And you have Colonel Chessani being still charged with not investigating properly or reporting properly a potential Law of War violation, which we know never occurred."
Rooney refers to his group's role as defending "illegal fiction," and says the whole incident boils down to the fog of war. "... You should never second-guess what the man on the ground did in a split-second decision while he's trying to defend his life and the lives of his fellow men," the attorney adds. "The default should always be in favor of the Marines ...."
One other officer and two enlisted Marines also face court-martials pertaining to the Haditha incident, while four others have already been exonerated.
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Comments on this article:
"As Christian we should stand behind our Marines! We can not compromise the lives of our troops.Iraquis have not informed our troops of where the enemies were, but let them be in their midst. They are now learning what their enemies use them for and hopefully will tell. Al Quada kills them without caring for their lives, when we are there trying to protect them at the cost of our troops lives. This case should be dismissed..."
"MURDER IS MURDER..AND IF HE IS NOT GUILTY,HE SHOULD BE LAUDED AS A HERO ANG GIVEN THE RESPECT HE DESERVES..BUT IF HE DID IT,HE SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE THE MURDEROUS PERSON HE IS..BUT NO ONE SHOULD GET A FREE PASS FOR ANY MURDER..DO YOU SO CALLED "PRO LIFERS"EVER STEP BACK AND LISTEN TO YOURSELVES..SUSH HYPOCRITES"
"killing civilians makes one a hero?"
"It sounds like maybe the anti war chumps in Congress are behind this. They will do anything to destroy American heros. They should be ashamed. We will be praying for the Col and his counsel."
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=68167
Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 2/25/2008 1:00:00 PM
The commander of a Marine battalion involved in the killings of 24 Iraqis in Haditha, Iraq, will face a court-martial despite the fact that the incident now appears to have been the consequence of the fog of war -- not a deliberate massacre.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani (USMC) has been charged with not fully investigating the events at Haditha and failing to report a Law of War violation during the November 19, 2005, incident that led to the unfortunate death of Iraqi civilians. The court-martial has been set for April 28.
Brian Rooney of the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Chessani, says moving forward with the case seems curious. "There was no massacre. These Marines had acted appropriately and there was no Law of War violation as originally charged," he argues. "And you have Colonel Chessani being still charged with not investigating properly or reporting properly a potential Law of War violation, which we know never occurred."
Rooney refers to his group's role as defending "illegal fiction," and says the whole incident boils down to the fog of war. "... You should never second-guess what the man on the ground did in a split-second decision while he's trying to defend his life and the lives of his fellow men," the attorney adds. "The default should always be in favor of the Marines ...."
One other officer and two enlisted Marines also face court-martials pertaining to the Haditha incident, while four others have already been exonerated.
Rate this Story (1 Star = Not so Good -and- 5 Stars = Excellent!)
(average 4.5 out of 5)
Post your comments on this article:
Thank you for submitting your comment!
Comments on this article:
"As Christian we should stand behind our Marines! We can not compromise the lives of our troops.Iraquis have not informed our troops of where the enemies were, but let them be in their midst. They are now learning what their enemies use them for and hopefully will tell. Al Quada kills them without caring for their lives, when we are there trying to protect them at the cost of our troops lives. This case should be dismissed..."
"MURDER IS MURDER..AND IF HE IS NOT GUILTY,HE SHOULD BE LAUDED AS A HERO ANG GIVEN THE RESPECT HE DESERVES..BUT IF HE DID IT,HE SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE THE MURDEROUS PERSON HE IS..BUT NO ONE SHOULD GET A FREE PASS FOR ANY MURDER..DO YOU SO CALLED "PRO LIFERS"EVER STEP BACK AND LISTEN TO YOURSELVES..SUSH HYPOCRITES"
"killing civilians makes one a hero?"
"It sounds like maybe the anti war chumps in Congress are behind this. They will do anything to destroy American heros. They should be ashamed. We will be praying for the Col and his counsel."
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=68167
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