[NYTr] 3 Marine officers censured in Haditha deaths

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

LA Times - Sep 5, 2007 via rick kissell
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-haditha6sep06,1,2586113.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=6&cset=true

3 Marine officers censured in Haditha deaths

They should have launched a war crimes investigation into the killing 
of 24 Iraqi civilians, a top general rules.

By Tony Perry

CAMP PENDLETON --- Three senior officers have been given letters of 
censure for not launching a war crimes investigation into the killing of 
24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, the Marine Corps said today.

Censured were Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck, who was commanding general of 
the 2nd Marine Division; Col. Stephen W. Davis, former commanding 
officer of the 2nd Marine Regiment; and Col. Robert G. Sokoloski, former 
chief of staff to the division.

The decision to issue the letters was made by Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, 
commanding general of the Marine Forces Central Command. Mattis is the 
convening authority for actions involving the Haditha killings, 
including murder charges filed in December against four enlisted Marines 
and dereliction of duty charges filed against four officers for not 
investigating the incident more vigorously.

Mattis determined that the actions of Huck, Davis and Sokoloski did not 
rise to the level of criminal acts or a deliberate cover-up, officials 
said. But he determined that the failure of the three to fully 
investigate the Nov. 19, 2005, shootings constituted a "lack of due 
diligence" that is expected of top-level officers.

Mattis' determination was endorsed by the Marine commandant, Gen. James 
T. Conway, and Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter. The censure letters were 
signed by Winter.

"While these three officers have served their country and corps 
exceedingly well for decades, their actions, inactions and decisions in 
the aftermath of the Haditha incident did not meet the high standards we 
expect of Marine senior officer leadership," Conway said in a statement.

The incident began when a roadside bomb exploded beneath a Marine 
convoy, killing one Marine and injuring two.

Within minutes, Marines had killed five men who had driven to the scene 
of the explosion and, while "clearing" three houses in a search for 
insurgents, killed 19 more Iraqis, including three women and seven children.

Of the four enlisted Marines, charges have been dropped against two. A 
hearing officer has recommended charges be dropped against a third, and 
the preliminary hearing is underway here for Staff Sgt. Frank D. 
Wuterich, the squad leader. He faces 12 counts of killing 17 Iraqis.

Of the officers who faced dereliction of duty charges, one has had the 
charges dropped, two are awaiting preliminary hearings, and a fourth, 
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the battalion commander, is awaiting Mattis' 
decision on whether to follow a hearing officers' recommendation that he 
be court-martialed.

Of the three censured officers, Huck is on the verge of retirement, but 
Davis and Sokoloski are on active duty. Testimony has shown they knew 
quickly that women and children had been killed in Haditha but felt the 
deaths, while tragic, were the result of "troops in contact" with 
insurgents.

Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Johnson, former commander of the 2nd Marine 
Expeditionary Force, has been exonerated of culpability, the Marine 
Corps said.