U.S. Congressman John Murtha claims Marines in Iraq have murdered innocent civilians... meanwhile an anonymous source remains anonymous as a Pentagon and NCIS investigation continues... importantly, note accounts of "killings" originate with Iraqis... and Iraqis who are located in Haditha which "is under the control of insurgents that include Tawhid and Jihad, a name that has been used by the terrorist organization of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi..."
In other words, Iraqi witnesses giving accounts of mass murder are living in an area under control of insurgents noted as using a name used by a terrorist organization...
Does nobody check out background any more?
Iraqis' Accounts Link Marines to the Mass Killing of Civilians
By Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Mona Mahmoud The military's investigation into the role of U.S. marines in the November killings may lead to charges including murder.
BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 28 - Hiba Abdullah survived the killings by American troops in Haditha last Nov. 19, but said seven others at her father-in-law's home did not. She said American troops shot and killed her husband, Rashid Abdul Hamid. They killed her father-in-law, Abdul Hamid Hassan Ali, a 77-year-old in a wheelchair, shooting him in the chest and abdomen, she said.
Her sister-in-law, Asma, "collapsed when her husband was killed in front of her eyes," Ms. Abdullah said. As Asma fell, she dropped her 5-month-old infant. Ms. Abdullah said she picked up the baby girl and sprinted out of the house, and when she returned, Asma was dead.
Four people who identified themselves as survivors of the killings in Haditha, including some who had never spoken publicly, described the killings to an Iraqi writer and historian who was recruited by The New York Times to travel to Haditha and interview survivors and witnesses of what military officials have said appear to be unjustified killings of two dozen Iraqis by marines. Some in Congress fear the killings could do greater harm to the image of the United States military around the world than the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.
The four survivors' accounts could not be independently corroborated, and it was unclear in some cases whether they actually saw the killings. But much of what they said was consistent with broad outlines of the events of that day provided by military and government officials who have been briefed on the military's investigations into the killings, which the officials have said are likely to lead to charges that may include murder and a cover-up of what really happened.
The name of the Iraqi who conducted the interviews for The Times is being withheld for his own safety, because insurgents often make a target of Iraqis deemed collaborators...
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,418464,00.html
Marines Could Face Murder Charges in Deaths of Iraqi Civilians in Haditha
Friday, May 26, 2006 Fox News
WASHINGTON — Murder charges may be brought against some Marines for what may be the worst atrocity committed by U.S. military personnel in Iraq, a senior Pentagon official said Friday.
The official said Marines were likely responsible for killing as many as two dozen unarmed civilians, including women and children, in Haditha last November. A separate investigation is under way into whether Marines tried to cover up the killings. The official requested anonymity, citing the ongoing criminal investigation of the incident.
The Marines initially reported that one Marine and 15 Iraqi civilians had been killed in crossfire when U.S. forces responded to an insurgent attack on Nov. 19. The first report to the contrary surfaced in March, when Time magazine quoted witnesses saying the Marines "went on a rampage after the attack, killing 15 unarmed Iraqis in their homes, including seven women and three children."
In addition, photos taken of the scene reportedly do not support the Marines' original account of how the incident evolved.
A Pentagon official said that the Time report was "fairly benign" compared to what the investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Multi-National Forces Iraq has uncovered. Lawmakers have been told that the results of the probe will be issued in about 30 days, a congressional official said...
Murtha: Marines Murdered 15 Unarmed Iraqi Civilians
Headliner: Representative John Murtha (This Week-ABC News-transcript)
Posted by smoothsailingOn 05/29/2006 5:33:18 AM PDT
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1640030/posts
Congressman alleges Marines covered up killingsSF Gate via Wash Post ^ 5/29/06 Tom Ricks
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1640020/posts
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