Marines Face Trial for their Roles Haditha Massacre

By Jacob Leon Beier
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, North America

CALIFORNIA, United States of America - Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, charged with dereliction of duty and neglecting to report and/or investigate the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians at the hands of US military personnel, and L/Cpl. Stephen Tatum, charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and aggravated assault, will each face a court martial for their roles in the widely publicized Nov. 2005 massacre.  The other murder charge levied against Tatum had been previously dropped.  Tatum was one of the marines participated in the “clearing” of the nearby houses where the additional killings occurred. 

Chessani is the most senior US servicemen to face a court-martial for actions in the theater of battle since the Vietnam War.  It is alleged that numerous Iraqi civilians complained to Chessani about the apparent massacre.  Furthermore, the Haditha town council sent a letter to Chessani requesting an investigation of the incident.  Chessani did not respond to these requests with an investigation—he in fact never ordered a formal investigation because he contends the civilian deaths were the result of lawful military activities by US marines—“collateral damage.”  No complete investigation of the incident occurred until January 2006.  Chessani could be sentenced to three years in prison if he is convicted of the charges mounted against him.

The Haditha killings occurred following the explosion of a roadside bomb that caused one US military casualty.  The marines then shot five unarmed men who were riding in a taxi near the scene of the explosion.  Then, the marines went to two nearby houses and shot 19 other men, women and children.

Initially, the US military reported that all the civilian deaths had resulted from either the improvised explosive device (IED) that took the life of the US marine, L/Cpl Miguel Terrazas or the firefight that followed.

Prosecutors contend that the civilian deaths were the result of retaliatory actions by the marines. 

Charges have been dismissed for four marines, and investigators have recommended that the murder charges filed against the alleged leader of the massacre, Sgt. Frank Wuterich, be reduced to negligent homicide.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Two Marines to Face Haditha Trial – 20 October 2007

Al Jazeera – US Marines to Face Haditha Trial – 20 October 2007

Impunity Watch – Lt. General Mattis Reduces the Charges for Three Marines Implicated in Iraq Civilian Killings – 14 August 2007

Time – The Haditha Charges: Symbol of a War Gone Bad – 22 December 2006

Comments

war doesn't "go bad".

war IS bad.

nice how the marines get to get off on lighter sentences after slaughtering babies.

pretty typical of the us military who has a long tradition of invading other lands and then massacring the original inhabitants.