Iraqis Voice Outrage as Haditha Massacre Trial Ends In No Jail Time for Accused U.S. Marines

The last of the U.S. marines charged in the 2005 Haditha massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, received no jail time after he pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty and avoiding charges of involuntary manslaughter. Under his sentencing, Wuterich now faces a maximum penalty of a demotion to the rank of private. The victims, including women and children, were killed when the marines burst into their homes and shot them dead in their ... Full Story »

Posted by Dwight Rousu

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Randy Morrow
4.2
by Randy Morrow - Jan. 26, 2012

I sort of thought, here is a case where there were 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians, most of them in their homes, and they were killed. The fact is, is that there was never established that there was any gunfire coming from these houses where these people were cowering in fear. And I think what I also take away from this is that in Iraq and in Afghanistan—I’ve been reporting in both places—is that the military reacts very strongly and issues stiff sentences if there’s examples of criminal behavior, murder and the like. But if it’s a case of a combat situation, I think the military cuts the men a lot of slack and gives them the benefit of the doubt that these things happen in the chaos of the battlefield. —- And I think that’s the end of that, you know, as far as they’re concerned. There’s certainly no chance that anyone further up the chain of command is ever going to be brought to any kind of court over this thing.

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