Charges over Haditha killings seen as "significant"

[Barrett808]

Charges over Haditha killings seen as "significant"
By David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The decision to charge four Marine officers accused of failing to properly investigate the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians was a rare step and might never have occurred had the media not brought the incident to light, experts said on Friday.

The Marine Corps on Thursday charged four Marines with unpremeditated murder in the killing of the two dozen men, women and children on November 19, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq.

The slayings occurred in the hours after a roadside bomb killed a Marine in a convoy of Humvees. Members of his unit killed Iraqis as they stopped a car and went through houses in a nearby neighborhood. Defense lawyers have said the men were involved in a firefight but prosecutors dispute that.

Four officers -- a lieutenant colonel, two captains and a lieutenant -- also were charged, accused of dereliction of duty and other counts for their role in the aftermath. An investigation concluded that reporting on the killings up the chain of command was inaccurate and untimely.

"In my opinion the Marine Corps is demonstrating a serious concern that officers that are in command of combat troops closely supervise those troops, and when incidents of a suspicious or unusual nature arise, that they had best look into those," said Gary Solis, who teaches the law of war at Georgetown University.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061222/us_nm/iraq_haditha_usa_dc

[uppityperson]

1. k&r for getting results by getting/keeping in media.