Military judge dismisses charges in Haditha killings
A military judge dismissed charges Tuesday against a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis. Col. Steven Folsom dismissed charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani after finding that a four-star general overseeing the case was improperly influenced by an investigator probing the November 2005 shootings by a Marine squad in Haditha.
“Unlawful command influence is the mortal enemy of military justice,†Folsom said. “In order to restore the public confidence, we need to take it back. We need to turn the clock back.â€
This turned out well. The fix was in against Chessani, and the others…but there was enough of a public flap created about this, that not even Donk Cong. Murtha’s statement of the guilt of the Marines, and the willingness of the USMC top brass of the time to throw some troops under the bus of political correctness was able to prevail.
The Chief isn’t holding his breath waiting for Murtha to apologize for his “rush to judgement” statements against the Marines.
Oh wow, the US clears even more of its soldiers … surprise surprise. Despite the fact witnesses stated they went house to house slaughtering these people, the US military says they’re not guilty. Terrorists protect terrorists I guess … their turn will come. Watch your backs.
Witnesses? Yeah, right. Their credibility, or lack thereof, along with their alignment with the Islamoterr opposition in Iraq resulted, justifiably, in not much credence being given to their testimony.
The LOGICAL result…in open courts thus far…the Marines were found to have been operating within the ROE (Rules of Engagement).
DId some civilians get caught in crossfire & collateral damage? Probably…that sort of stuff is part of what happens in war…why the description “War is hell” was coined.
Also, civilians involved with combat…including sheltering fighters, have no legal recourse to anything…not even according to International Law as stated in the Geneva Conventions. It’s only in the US, where some have a masochistic urge to give more credibility to our enemies than to our own troops, that this sort of sorry sideshow can take place in the circus of political correctness.