| Revision as of 12:00, 2 June 2006 editTequendamia (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers2,736 edits One more external links← Previous edit | Revision as of 12:05, 2 June 2006 edit undoNescio (talk | contribs)11,956 edits →June 2006 developments: fmt quotesNext edit → | ||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
| ==June 2006 developments== | ==June 2006 developments== | ||
| As of June 1, news outlets are reporting that 24 Iraqis were killed, none as a result of the bomb explosion<ref>Poole, Oliver. , '']'', ], ].</ref>. The news comes in anticipation of the results of the military's investigation, which is said to find that the 24 unarmed Iraqis—including women and children aged 2 to 76 <ref>, ''CNN'', ], ]</ref>—were ]ed by 12 members from the ], ], ].<ref>, '']'', ], ].</ref> Regarding the contradictory statements and the fact that the investigation only started after news reports came out, the '']'' reported,<ref name="LATimes">Perry, Tony and Julian E. Barnes. , '']'', ], ]"</ref> | As of June 1, news outlets are reporting that 24 Iraqis were killed, none as a result of the bomb explosion<ref>Poole, Oliver. , '']'', ], ].</ref>. The news comes in anticipation of the results of the military's investigation, which is said to find that the 24 unarmed Iraqis—including women and children aged 2 to 76 <ref>, ''CNN'', ], ]</ref>—were ]ed by 12 members from the ], ], ].<ref>, '']'', ], ].</ref> Regarding the contradictory statements and the fact that the investigation only started after news reports came out, the '']'' reported,<ref name="LATimes">Perry, Tony and Julian E. Barnes. , '']'', ], ]"</ref> | ||
| "Military officials say they believe the delay in beginning the investigation was a result of the squad's initial efforts to cover up what happened." |
:''"Military officials say they believe the delay in beginning the investigation was a result of the squad's initial efforts to cover up what happened." '' | ||
| Despitet this, the article continues to say: | |||
| :''"Military and congressional sources said there was no indication that the members of the intelligence team did anything improper or delayed reporting their findings."'' | |||
| Responding to the allegations, ] ] ] of ] was quoted in the ''Times'' as saying, "There is no question that the Marines involved, those doing the shooting, they were busy in lying about it and covering it up — there is no question about it. But I am confident, as soon as the command learned there might be some truth to this, they started to pursue it vigorously. I don't have any reason now to think there was any foot dragging." | Responding to the allegations, ] ] ] of ] was quoted in the ''Times'' as saying, | ||
| :''"There is no question that the Marines involved, those doing the shooting, they were busy in lying about it and covering it up — there is no question about it. But I am confident, as soon as the command learned there might be some truth to this, they started to pursue it vigorously. I don't have any reason now to think there was any foot dragging."'' | |||
| Photos taken by the soldiers themselves and video shot by Iraqi student ] and human-rights worker ] <ref> Ghosh, Aparisim. , ''Time'' online, ], ]. </ref> immediately after the massacre have been put forth as evidence that the killings were methodical and without resistance,<ref name="Time2060319">McGirk, Tim. , '']'', ], ]</ref><ref name="LATimes"/> the term "execution-style" has been used by US military officials to describe the killings. <ref name="msnbc20060517">Miklaszewski, Jim and Mike Viqueira. , ''MSNBC (NBC News)'', ], ]. (URL accessed on ], ])</ref> | Photos taken by the soldiers themselves and video shot by Iraqi student ] and human-rights worker ] <ref> Ghosh, Aparisim. , ''Time'' online, ], ]. </ref> immediately after the massacre have been put forth as evidence that the killings were methodical and without resistance,<ref name="Time2060319">McGirk, Tim. , '']'', ], ]</ref><ref name="LATimes"/> the term "execution-style" has been used by US military officials to describe the killings. <ref name="msnbc20060517">Miklaszewski, Jim and Mike Viqueira. , ''MSNBC (NBC News)'', ], ]. (URL accessed on ], ])</ref> | ||
Revision as of 12:05, 2 June 2006
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Haditha Incident is a mass-murder of Iraqi civilians allegedly committed by US forces in the town of Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005. A squad of United States Marines is alleged to have killed 24 Iraqi civilians after an IED attack on the their convoy killed Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas.
In March 2006, the U.S. military opened an investigation into the November 19, 2005 incident. A Marine Corps communique had initially reported that 15 civilians were killed by the bomb's blast and eight insurgents were killed when the Marines returned fire against those attacking the convoy. However, media reports have contradicted this story.
June 2006 developments
As of June 1, news outlets are reporting that 24 Iraqis were killed, none as a result of the bomb explosion. The news comes in anticipation of the results of the military's investigation, which is said to find that the 24 unarmed Iraqis—including women and children aged 2 to 76 —were murdered by 12 members from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Regarding the contradictory statements and the fact that the investigation only started after news reports came out, the Los Angeles Times reported,
- "Military officials say they believe the delay in beginning the investigation was a result of the squad's initial efforts to cover up what happened."
Despitet this, the article continues to say:
- "Military and congressional sources said there was no indication that the members of the intelligence team did anything improper or delayed reporting their findings."
Responding to the allegations, Republican Representative John Kline of Minnesota was quoted in the Times as saying,
- "There is no question that the Marines involved, those doing the shooting, they were busy in lying about it and covering it up — there is no question about it. But I am confident, as soon as the command learned there might be some truth to this, they started to pursue it vigorously. I don't have any reason now to think there was any foot dragging."
Photos taken by the soldiers themselves and video shot by Iraqi student journalist and human-rights worker Taher Thabet immediately after the massacre have been put forth as evidence that the killings were methodical and without resistance, the term "execution-style" has been used by US military officials to describe the killings.
The intentional killing of civilians, or indeed of any unarmed people, is prohibited by modern laws of war derived from the UN Charter, the Hague Conventions and the Geneva Conventions, and constitutes a war crime. The Marines and officers are expected to face courts martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is U.S. military law. Due to a Status of Forces Agreement with the Government of Iraq, the troops will not be subject to Iraqi law.
On May 17, 2006 U.S. Congressmember John Murtha, a retired Marine colonel and critic of the war, stated at a news conference that an internal investigation had confirmed the story.
On May 29, 2006, The Times published the result of its investigations and interviews with eye witnesses. It noted that the "official investigation has already resulted in the removal of Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, the commanding officer, and Captain Luke McConnell and Captain James Kimber, two company commanders, from their duties in the 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment of the 1st Marine Division."
Currently two official investigations are underway. The first, under US Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell, is investigating how the incident was reported through the chain of command. A second investigation, headed by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is looking into the criminal aspects of the incident, and are expected to finish their report in June.
Ethics
The US army has announced that coalition troops in Iraq are to have ethical training following the incident in Haditha. BBC analyst Ian Pannell suggests the move is likely to be greeted with cynicism by many Iraqis, as the troops have long been accused of deliberately targeting civilians.
References
- "U.S. military mourns 'tragic' Haditha deaths", CNN, June 1, 2006
- ^ McGirk, Tim. "Collateral Damage or Civilian Massacre in Haditha?", Time, March 19, 2006
- Poole, Oliver. 'Worst war crime' committed by US in Iraq, Telegraph.co.uk, May 27, 2006.
- "Death certifcates describe in horrific detail how Haditha civilians were killed", CNN, June 1, 2006
- "Pentagon sources: Civilians likely killed without provocation", CNN, May 27, 2006.
- ^ Perry, Tony and Julian E. Barnes. "Photos Indicate Civilians Slain Execution-Style", Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2006"
- Ghosh, Aparisim. "Picking up the Pieces in Haditha", Time online, May 30, 2006.
- ^ Miklaszewski, Jim and Mike Viqueira. "Lawmaker: Marines killed Iraqis 'in cold blood'", MSNBC (NBC News), May 17, 2006. (URL accessed on May 17, 2006) Cite error: The named reference "msnbc20060517" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- Bowman, Tom. "Pentagon Investigates Alleged Massacre in Iraq", All Things Considered, National Public Radio, May 19, 2006
- Goldenberg, Suzanne. "Marines may face trial over Iraq massacre", The Guardian, May 27, 2006.
- Hamdani, Ali and Ned Parker, Marines and the 'massacre': a neighbour tells of aftermath, Times online, May 29, 2006
- Perry, Tony. "House to Look Into Probe of Pendleton Marines", Los Angeles Times, May 20, 2006.
- US probes new Iraq massacre claim, BBC News, 02 June, 2006
See also
External links
- Video Taken By Journalism Student Key as 12 Americans Face War Crimes Probe in Iraq, Editor & Publisher, March 20, 2006
- Radio interview with Aparisim Ghosh about Haditha, Democracy Now!, March 21 2006
- Marines are good at killing. Nothing else. They like it, Telegraph (UK), June 1, 2006