US court okays premeditated Haditha rape, murders

The New York Times



August 30, 2007

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Aug. 29 — Last December, when the Marine Corps charged four infantrymen with killing Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Iraq, in 2005, the allegation was as dark as it was devastating: after a roadside bomb had killed their buddy, a group of marines rampaged through nearby homes, massacring 24 innocent people.

In Iraq and in the United States, the killings were viewed as cold-blooded vengeance. After a perfunctory military investigation, Haditha was brushed aside, but once the details were disclosed, the killings became an ugly symbol of a difficult, demoralizing war. After a fuller investigation, the Marines promised to punish the guilty.

But now, the prosecutions have faltered. Since May, charges against two infantrymen and a Marine officer have been dismissed, and dismissal has been recommended for murder charges against a third infantryman. Prosecutors were not able to prove even that the killings violated the American military code of justice. [Hunh?]

By PAUL von ZIELBAUER

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Abu Ghraib justice ends with GIs

Posted in Submitted by mparent7777 on Thu, 2007-08-30 22:33.

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San Diego is a military town, and it looks like they are having problems with evidence from the war zone.

In the end, one might escape justice in this world only to find it in the next.
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"Stop judging by appearances, but judge justly."

Christopher Marlowe | Thu, 2007-08-30 22:50

during war - evidence is too hard to gather and verify.

Thankfully, God's Justice does not turn on the evidence we as humans can find.

BTW, to the best of my knowledge there were no allegations of rape in this particular incident.

It was a spontaneous rampage of mass murder, triggered by rage and enabled by inhumanity.

God have mercy on us all for sitting idly by while the travesty in Iraq goes on.

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"Money" has no value - people do.

qrswave | Thu, 2007-08-30 23:14
mparent7777 | Thu, 2007-08-30 23:18
mparent7777 | Fri, 2007-08-31 01:06

..impeach 'em ALL, Marc.. i borrowed your video ;P

Grim Reaper | Fri, 2007-08-31 01:32

no evidence? LOL... Please forgive the tone of sarcasm that I am developing, but frankly this has all become much more than tragic: it has gone far too far. Crimes against humanity are happening every single day or rather even hour in Iraq, but the US can't find any evidence. Evidence is however always found to condemn the victims of US occupation and of Israeli occupation be it in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine or Afghanistan. In all those countries that are under occupation, there is no evidence to condemn the occupiers, but there is plenty of “evidence” to condemn the occupied. The occupiers are called the “liberators”, while the occupied are the “terrorists”. This is today’s accepted language. This is the language most people use today when referring to the Middle East. For God sake, the US won’t even admit that it is occupying Iraq. If the American people fall for such crap, the Arab and Muslim world doesn’t… and somehow, sometime all this is going to backfire on the US. The harm George W. Bush has done to the US in the Middle East is un-measurable. America is out of the hearts of even its strongest supporters in the Middle East. People are just fed up with it and with its double standards, its lies, its hypocrisy, its funding of Israel and of the murder of countless of innocent Arabs and its stealing of our resources. People are actually just waiting to see the American empire bleed and sink... even if it is at the expense of another war. Since Mr. Bush and the US Congress insist on destroying the Arab world in order to steal its oil and secure Israel, the Arab world will definitely not help Bush and his Zionist Congress in doing so. The world wonders why the Arab world has been so silent regarding the Iraq war: one of the reasons I think (other than the usual Arab inefficiency!) is that the Arab world would rather bleed the US in Iraq before the US turns onto them… which is what it would do if it could.

Cherifa Sirry | Fri, 2007-08-31 18:23
mparent7777 | Fri, 2007-08-31 21:55

..very true, Cherifa..

..i don't think the fat yankees have a clue what they're supporting, for it is not they who have to take shelter in the cellar while the nazis are bombing the whole neighbourhood!!

Grim Reaper | Fri, 2007-08-31 22:04

By Silvia Aloisi

VENICE (Reuters) - A new film about the real-life rape and killing of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl by U.S. soldiers who also murdered her family stunned the Venice festival, with shocking images that left some viewers in tears.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&st...

mparent7777 | Sat, 2007-09-01 02:29
mparent7777 | Sat, 2007-09-01 17:49

I said: I don't envy the prosecutor (because) San Diego is a military town, and it looks like they are having problems with evidence from the war zone.

The article cited to said that there were problems getting evidence from the war zone. But in addition, what evidence are your going to use? The war is already illegal. If soldiers are illegally occupying a country and they kill a million of its citizens, at what point can a prosecutor point to certain actions and prove them wrong?

Here's the defense: "We thought they were terrorists! It's a war. We were scared."

And the San Diego jury is going to be made up, in large part, by military, retired military, and military relatives. I had a conversation with a lady in San Diego who believed that the problem with Iraq is that Iraqis "just want to kill us". She didn't think there was anything wrong with people losing arms and legs in the war because they could be replaced by artificial limbs.

How are you going to get a jury in San Diego to find a soldier guilty of something he did in Iraq?
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"Stop judging by appearances, but judge justly."

Christopher Marlowe | Sun, 2007-09-02 05:14

'Iraqis "just want to kill us". She didn't think there was anything wrong with people losing arms and legs in the war because they could be replaced by artificial limbs' - Well nothing like some good old dependable artificial limbs brought on by such severe hatred and ignorance of the "well educated" of the USA. She's talking of a country and people she knows nothing about. And San Diego is such a healthy old town where people, especially women, love to de-oxidize their brain cells with anti-oxidant-rich drinks. Oh shucks! My perception is quite dull. Rather their brain intensity is for the TV set. Celebrity channels, better sex shows and the spewage of CNN. Maybe she should watch "The Fourth of July" with Tom Cruise. Based on a true story. He came home with no legs and a useless penis.

Ah well.

Ellendra Jane

Ellendra | Sun, 2007-09-02 06:05
mparent7777 | Mon, 2007-09-03 21:06

stand alone - that's an awesome find!

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"Money" has no value - people do.

qrswave | Mon, 2007-09-03 21:46

Grim Reaper | Mon, 2007-09-03 22:16

I wanted in a stand alone post so that readers would easily find it when they press on the Haditha tag.

This is even better because now we have both!

Many thanks to you both!

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"Money" has no value - people do.

qrswave | Mon, 2007-09-03 22:53
mparent7777 | Wed, 2007-09-05 01:44

unclesam wakeup

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