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 News from Around the Americas | June 2006 
US Probe Finds Unprovoked Killings in Haditha
 Will Dunham - Reuters
| | President George W. Bush , seen here in the Oval Office, said he was "troubled" by allegations that US Marines killed unarmed civilians in Haditha, Iraq, and he said that if crimes were committed, the guilty would be punished. (AFP/Mandel Ngan) |
Washington - A preliminary military inquiry found evidence that U.S. Marines killed two dozen Iraqi civilians in an unprovoked attack in November, contradicting the troops' account, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
Forensic evidence from corpses showed that victims had bullet wounds, despite the initial statements by Marines that the civilians were killed by a roadside bomb that also claimed the life of a soldier, a defense official said.
"The forensics painted a different story than what the Marines had said," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The official said the bodies had wounds that would not have been caused by an improvised explosive device.
President George W. Bush said on Wednesday there would be punishment if an investigation turns up evidence of wrongdoing by U.S. Marines in the killings in the Iraqi town of Haditha.
"I am troubled by the initial news stories," Bush said. "I am mindful there is a thorough investigation going on. If in fact laws were broken there will be punishment."
Residents of Haditha, 125 miles northwest of Baghdad in an area that has seen much activity by Sunni Arab insurgents, have told Reuters that U.S. Marines attacked houses and shot people after their patrol was hit by a roadside bomb.
It could be the worst known case of abuse by U.S. soldiers since the 2003 invasion and comes at a time when public opinion polls show falling U.S. public support for the war.
There are two investigations into the matter -- a criminal probe that might lead to murder charges against Marines and another investigation into whether Marines tried to cover up the true nature of the incident, officials said.
OTHER KILLINGS ALLEGED
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the investigation in February and March led by Col. Gregory Watt, an Army officer in Baghdad, uncovered death certificates showing the Iraqis were shot mostly in the head and chest.
The three-week probe was the first official investigation into the killings.
In an interview with CNN, new Iraqi ambassador to the United States Samir al-Sumaidaie said there appeared to have been other killings of civilians by Marines in Haditha, where some of his family lives.
The ambassador said Marines shot and killed his cousin during a house-to-house search several months before the November incident.
"I believe he was killed intentionally. I believe that he was killed unnecessarily," al-Sumaidaie said.
He said three other unarmed youths were shot dead by Marines in a later incident in the area.
"They were in a car, they were unarmed, I believe, and they were shot."
Watt's investigation also reviewed cash payments totaling $38,000 made within weeks of the November shootings to families of victims, The New York Times said.
In an interview with the newspaper on Tuesday, Maj. Dana Hyatt said his superiors told him to compensate the relatives of 15 victims, but the other dead civilians had been determined to have committed hostile acts, leaving their families ineligible for compensation.
The U.S. military sometimes pays compensation to relatives of civilian victims.
On November 20, U.S. Marines spokesman Capt. Jeffrey Pool issued a statement saying that, on the previous day, a roadside bomb had killed 15 civilians and a Marine. In a later gun battle, U.S. and Iraqi troops had killed eight insurgents, he added.
U.S. military officials have since confirmed to Reuters that that version of the events of November 19 was wrong and that the 15 civilians were not killed by the blast but were shot dead.
Bush Troubled by Reports of Iraq Killings
Nedra Pickler - Associated Press
Washington - President Bush said Wednesday he was troubled by allegations that U.S. Marines had killed unarmed Iraqi civilians and that, "If in fact laws were broken, there will be punishment."
It was Bush's first public comment on allegations that Marines killed about two dozen unarmed Iraqis in the western city of Haditha last November.
Bush said he had discussed Haditha with Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "He's a proud Marine. And nobody is more concerned about these allegations than the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps is full of honorable people who understand the rules of war."
"If in fact these allegations are true," Bush said, "the Marine Corps will work hard to make sure that that culture that proud culture will be reinforced. And that those who violated the law, if they did, will be punished."
The president was asked about the Iraq allegations during an Oval Office photo opportunity with the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.
"I am troubled by the initial news stories," Bush said. "I'm mindful that there's a thorough investigation going on. If in fact, laws were broken, there will be punishment."
The killings at Haditha, a city that has been plagued by insurgents, came after a bomb rocked a military convoy on Nov. 19, killing a Marine. Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat and decorated war veteran who has been briefed by military officials, has said Marines shot and killed unarmed civilians in a taxi at the scene and went into two homes and shot others.
Military investigators have evidence that points toward unprovoked murders by Marines, a senior defense official said last week.
If confirmed as unjustified killings, the episode could be the most serious case of criminal misconduct by U.S. troops during three years of combat in Iraq. Until now the most infamous occurrence was the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse involving Army soldiers, which came to light in April 2004 and which Bush said he considered to be the worst U.S. mistake of the entire war.
Once the military investigation is completed, perhaps in June, it will be up to a senior Marine commander in Iraq to decide whether to press charges of murder or other violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said Wednesday there is no firm date for release of the investigative report. But he said he suspects it will come out in "a matter of weeks, not a matter of months" and include photographic evidence. |
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