Marine Cleared of Murder Speaks Exclusively to 'Hannity & Colmes'

[tngirl]

Marine Cleared of Murder Speaks Exclusively to 'Hannity & Colmes'
Tuesday, June 13, 2006

SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: The Marines accused of breaking the rules of engagement at Haditha are not the first U.S. servicemen who have been accused of wrongdoing in Iraq. In April 2005 on a raid in the Sunni triangle, Marine Lieutenant Ilario Pantano shot and killed two Iraqi insurgents. And months later, another Marine disputed his claim that he had acted in self-defense and Pantano was relieved of his command and charged with premeditated murder. It took until May of 2005 for his name to be cleared.

Lieutenant Pantano has now written about his experiences in his brand-new book "Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy." He's joining us now in a cable news exclusive tonight.

Ilario Pantano, good to see you, my friend. You're a great American. Thanks for being with us.

ILARIO PANTANO, AUTHOR, 'WARLORD': Thank you. You two are both great Americans. In fact, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here again. You were such champions of my case a year ago, when my mother was advocating that, you know, that I be given a second look before there was a rush to judgment.

HANNITY: Well, we are seeing the very same thing happening again. What's amazing, I want to set up your story this way. You were working for Goldman Sachs, finishing your degree. You're living in New York. You're living a good life. You used to be a Marine. You fought in the first Gulf War, and you see 9/11 happen and you want to go back.

PANTANO: I'm a native New Yorker. I had worked at Goldman Sachs. In fact, I was actually even working in television production at the time. And 9/11 was a turning point event for me, like it was for most Americans, and I was compelled to act, I think as many were. And in that way, I think my story is really an American story. America felt that we had been attacked and we were compelled to do something. My choice was to become a Marine officer.

HANNITY: One of the things that you do so magnificently in this book, you sort of interweave. You go to your trial at Camp Lejeune and the direct testimony that is given by four people for you, describing what it's like to be day, back when this happened.

PANTANO: Well, thank you for saying that. You know, the intent in writing it in this way was to really bring people into the reality of the courtroom and give them this testimony. Dozens of witnesses, sworn and under oath, if they were making this stuff up, you know, they'd be charged, but it's almost too surreal to even make up, the day-to-day life in Iraq.

HANNITY: And you go from the trial, you go back to your personal accounts of war. You know what's amazing, is it's very easy, I guess, for people to judge, like in the case of Haditha, a Marine was split in two. There’s gunfire reports. These guys have to decide. Whatever move they make may result in the death of a fellow soldier or in their own death. You found yourself in a similar set of circumstances when these two guys were coming at you. Explain that.

PANTANO: I was in a situation almost two years ago now when I was in Iraq leading a platoon. I was forced to kill two men that made a threatening move to me. This was in the height of really the insurgent explosion in the spring of 2004, after the contractors were hanging from the bridge. And I really wasn't left with a lot of options.

At that time, we had to show the Iraqi people, we were no better friend and then, now, in fact, it was our turn to be no worse enemy. As the situation developed, we went on to fight in Fallujah and continue with peacekeeping operations, taking care of children, rebuilding schools. And a sergeant made an allegation that I had done something improper. That ultimately trigged an investigation, and that's why I'm sitting here very proudly.

ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Lieutenant, why did two of the people you were with make those allegations against you? Daniel Coburn, the radio operator, who was the one who actually, I guess, originally told about what happened. And then there was "Doc" Gobles, who said, if he were in your shoes, he would not have reacted that way. Why did these men say those things and react the way they did?

PANTANO: Well, in fact, really Doc Gobles — and, Alan, thank you — through the course of the book, we let actually the sergeant and the corpsman tell their stories on the witness stand, and you can kind of understand their motivations. And, really, in fact, the corpsman substantiates me.

There was a sergeant that was disgruntled because I had fired him. And, ultimately, his interpretation of what happened that day is really asymptomatic of America rushing to judgment. He didn't see what had happened in that moment in time, and he made a snap decision, based on his own lack of knowledge, and that ultimately is what we're seeing happening in America right now.

COLMES: The subtitle of your book, "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy," you wrote a sign and left this on the people you killed and...

PANTANO: I didn't leave it on the people. It was on the vehicle...

COLMES: On the vehicle, excuse me. And I guess that became a bone of contention in court, where didn't the court say, "It's really up to your commanding general to decide how to deal with that particular issue"?

PANTANO: Well, in fact — and, you know, and as I speak to in the book, ultimately what happens is all the charges that were put forth against me — murder, destruction of property, et cetera — were all brought before an investigating officer.

And that investigating officer made a very detailed, 16-page review after this five-day hearing, where all of the evidence was put forward. And the media — there were 50 different journalistic organizations represented there on a day-to-day basis. Everyone had full access and full disclosure to the facts. And the interpretation at that time was that I was innocent of all of the things that I had been charged and, in fact, that recommendation was then passed onto my commanding general, who likewise made the same recommendation.

COLMES: Why, then, can you not continue to serve in the military?

PANTANO: Well, that was actually a personal decision, Alan. After I was exonerated, I was given the opportunity to take command of a unit that would be going to Iraq shortly thereafter. And in the epilogue of the book, I've actually included my resignation letter, because that was a very painful, seminal event for me.

COLMES: Why did you resign?

PANTANO: Well, really, there were a couple of factors. And the first, really, was my family, and the fact that, over the course of this hearing, threats had developed against my life and my family's life. And, again, part of that was Al-Jazeera representing my case inaccurately, for example, with claims or photographs that were not related to my case, but certainly were insightful. So we began receiving threats from Pakistan, amongst other places. So how could I, in good conscience, go and fight for my country overseas when my family was threatened?

HANNITY: When we come back, we're going to ask you what you think of John Murtha's comments about Haditha and what can we learn from your experience of being, you know, accused of something and then being found innocent?

PANTANO: Sure.

HANNITY: And we'll compare it to what is being accused about Haditha.

[tngirl]

COLMES: Welcome back to "Hannity & Colmes." We now continue with our exclusive interview with author of "Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy," Ilario Pantano.

I know the issue of Haditha comes up in the context of what you did, but aren't these really two different kinds of things? You had two people in your sights who you were worried were going to immediately react in a way that could have killed you. In Haditha, the accusation is of people actually going into civilian homes and proactively committing atrocities.

PANTANO: Alan, that's the accusation right now, but until we have the full and thorough investigation, we don't know how to separate accusation from mythology. And we need to really let the process bear its course. I'm living proof that the Marine Corps does the right thing when nobody's looking. My investigation was launched internally. There was no journalists. There was no Arab street calling for it. It was the Marine Corps.

COLMES: But here, there was a cover-up. We know there was a cover-up in Haditha.

PANTANO: I don't know how to qualify "cover-up." I'm not sure what you mean by that. I think that — you know, and I can't speak to what the reporting is. I'm very comfortable to let the investigation take its course, and I'm confident that it will bear out.

COLMES: You know, a lot of people — people who want to blame Jack Murtha, because they don't like him politically, perhaps, but it's not Jack Murtha just talking about this. It's the new Iraqi prime minister who says the military sometimes doesn't respect the Iraqi people, that it's a regular occurrence and a horrible crime.

PANTANO: I actually — I think that's actually very positive, that the new Iraqi prime minister is actually starting to play politics in Iraq, that the fact that he would have to take a position against American forces doesn't strike me of any reality of what we've done. It's a position he needs to feed his base.

COLMES: You also have Republican John Kline, a Minnesota Republican, who has basically said this was direct fire by Marines. Now, there has to be an investigation, but the fact of the matter is that there are not just Jack Murtha saying this.

PANTANO: Direct fire by Marines is very different than assertion of cold-blooded murder, which, in essence, is what Jack Murtha made. So, I mean, there's a very different set of equations here.

HANNITY: Lieutenant, we don't know anything about Haditha.

PANTANO: That's exactly right.

HANNITY: And what we do — for the first time, we've heard from a defense attorney today, and this is what we ought to be learning from your case. They made accusations about you, and you had an opportunity to present your exculpatory evidence, pictures, forensics, and other things, and you were able to prove your innocence here.

The same thing, it's the same rush to judgment, John Murtha, that our Marines are killing innocent civilians in cold blood. John Kerry, his statement that our troops are terrorizing women and children in the dark of night.

PANTANO: It saddens me when it seems that there's some kind of political objective is met by diminishing our national security. And the self-flagellation, I don't think serves anyone, except our enemy. I think what the proper course here is to let the investigation run its course.

HANNITY: Do you see similarities, though, this rush to judgment by people for political reasons, like John Murtha and John Kerry?

PANTANO: Sadly no. Fortunately, I find this situation much more onerous. In my situation, the rush to judgment kind of came from the media, but there wasn't a political capitalization the way there is now, so I almost feel like it's become worse.

HANNITY: You see a rush to judgment and you think this case is worst, where it's with politicians?

PANTANO: I think, yes, absolutely. And I think that that's a function of the elections.

HANNITY: Well, it's easy to say, I mean, because the elections that are coming up. What does it do — I mean, here you're putting your life on the line. You decide to put your life on hold. You have two young children, or a child and a pregnant wife, and you leave her home, and you go to fight for your country, and you're not given the benefit of the doubt.

PANTANO: I think that this is something that you've said before, and I' like to echo it, which is, who deserves the benefit of the doubt more than those people that have volunteered and pledged their life to give somebody else freedom and an opportunity? I can't think of anybody who's more deserving, at the very least of the benefit of the doubt.

HANNITY: Than our troops. What does it mean for our troops, in terms of when they see cases like yours, and they see the comments of Kerry and Murtha, without an investigation complete, does that cause them to hesitate when they need to decide to do something in their best interests?

PANTANO: Not only does it cause hesitation — and we've already seen that hesitation actually allowed Zarqawi to live even longer than he should have. There have been instances when he could have been shot that he wasn't. But it also means that Marines, and sailors, and soldiers end up dead, and that is a very unfortunate byproduct of this kind of political football.

HANNITY: Absolutely. That's a great point.

COLMES: Lieutenant, thank you for being with us. Appreciate it. Good luck with the book.

PANTANO: Thank you.

HANNITY: Thank you, my friend

LINK TO TRANSCRIPT (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,199275,00.html)

[adorkablex]

I'm glad he was cleared of any wrong doing!

[Jolie Rouge]

Paging John Murtha: Haditha Marine Lt. Andrew Grayson found not guilty on all counts. See if you can find the story on the NYTimes or any other MSM outlet that splashed the original accusations all over their front pages.

You’ll need a magnifying glass.

Go to Defend Our Marines for all the background on the case and breaking developments. http://warchronicle.com/TheyAreNotKillers/DefendOurMarines.htm

Bob Owens at PJM reports and reminds:


Early in the investigations, based upon unknown evidence, Democratic Rep. John Murtha (PA) stated that “there was no firefight, there was no IED that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”

Barack Obama, asked about Murtha’s charge by Alan Colmes in June of 2006, stated, “I would never second guess John Murtha… I think he’s somebody who knows of which he speaks.”

Murtha’s “in cold blood” statement and the Democratic Presidential nominee’s unquestioning acceptance came seven months ~ before ~ the military charged eight Marines with various offenses in December of 2006. Charges against five of the eight Marines have since be dropped for lack of evidence, and in the first of three scheduled trials, Grayson has been acquitted. It remains to be seen if Rep. Murtha or Senator Obama will offer Lt. Grayson an apology, cold-blooded, or otherwise.

Of the two cases remaining, only Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich faces charges directly related to the killings. The most serious charges he faces are nine counts of involuntary manslaughter. Curiously, his case has been postponed indefinitely, and was not expected to resume until after both of his military defense attorneys had retired, weakening his defense in a complex case. Late-breaking information from Bruce Kessler of The Democracy Project, who has been covering the Haditha cases in detail, states that Lt. Col. Colby Vokey will delay his retirement again to stay with Wuterich’s defense.

The third case, against commanding officer Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, is said to be tainted by “unlawful command influence” in charging Chessani according to the judge presiding over the case, suggesting that Chessani is a political scapegoat for higher-ranking officers seeking to appease anti-war politicians. His trial is expected to commence June 17.


Flashback: Murtha cuts and runs when confronted about his slander by correspondent Jason Mattera:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMedVWUsSFU

Bruce Kesler has much more on the steadfastness of Lt. Grayson.
http://www.democracy-project.com/archives/003827.html

Gary Gross, who has followed the case from day one, writes:


It’s disgusting that these Marines were wrongly accused. It’s obvious that this was a corrupt prosecution that wouldn’t have happened if not for Murtha’s unfounded accusations. He’s one of the most vile, despicable exuses for a human being I’ve ever seen, ranking only a few paces ahead of Judas Iscariot of thirty pieces of silver fame.

Once Sgt. Wuterich and Lt. Col. Jeffrey Cjhessani are acquitted, I will demand a full apology from Rep. Murtha. This blog’s followers know that I called Murtha’s DC office to get his statement after the charges against Justin Sharratt were dropped in July, 2007.

Here’s what Brit Hume said about my call on that day’s Political Grapevine:


Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman John Murtha refused to comment today when asked by Gary Gross of the Let Freedom Ring blog for a reaction to Colonel Ware’s recommendation. You’ll recall that Murtha has said the Marines “overreacted” and “killed innocent civilians in cold blood.” But today his office said he would not comment because the investigation is ongoing.

Rep. Murtha won’t be able to hide behind that excuse much longer. When Col. Chessani and SSgt. Wuterich are acquitted, I’ll place that call again. When I call again, I will demand that they fully apologize for Rep. Murtha’s despicable accusations.

That day is coming soon.

[renaissanceman]

At this point there are a select FEW newsources that can be counted on to speak the truth "most" of the time without too much political bias.

Fox News

Cnn, to a lesser extent

and US News and world report.

There are certain issues that seem to NEVER get fair handling from the major liberal news companies.

Guns, Christianity, Abortion, The Homosexual Agenda, Global Warming. oh and dont forget their favorite whipping boy "Dubya" and/or any Republican.

The way they treated Hillary Clinton was a rude wake up for a Democrat who was used to ALWAYS getting good press and positive reviews.

[flute]

The bad thing is the damage is done - being charged with a crime (hell just being arrested) is not good - it ruins your reputation forever. EVERYBODY fingerprints now a days - I feel very sorry for this marine :(

[Jolie Rouge]

Haditha charges dropped against top Marine officer
By Dan Whitcomb
Tue Jun 17, 7:44 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A military judge on Tuesday dismissed the case against the highest-ranking U.S. Marine charged in the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha, whittling down the list of those who must still face justice for the 2005 incident to just the accused ringleader.

Military Judge Col. Steven Folsom dropped all charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who was accused of violating a lawful order and dereliction of duty, at a hearing at the Camp Pendleton Marine base in Southern California.

Folsom's decision means that, out of eight Marines originally charged in December 2006, six have won dismissals of their charges and one has been cleared at court martial.

The accused ringleader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, still faces court martial. The proceedings against him, however, have been put on hold pending the appeal of a pretrial ruling.

Folsom threw out the charges against Chessani, a 44-year-old Colorado native, after finding that a four-star general who oversaw the case could have been influenced by an investigator who later became his adviser.

The judge ruled that military prosecutors could refile the case but it was not immediately clear if they would do so. The prosecution could also appeal his ruling.

Chessani's lawyer said the married father of six young children and his legal team were "cautiously optimistic" that his two-year legal battle was behind him and that he could retire.

"We hope its over. We believe it should be over," attorney Brain Rooney said.

Chessani was the highest-ranking officer accused of wrongdoing in the shootings at Haditha, which were first reported in Time magazine and portrayed by Iraqi witnesses as a "massacre" of unarmed civilians.

The witnesses claimed angry Marines killed the two dozen men, women and children out of revenge after a popular comrade, Lance Cpl. Miguel "TJ" Terrazas, died in a roadside bombing.

The reports brought international condemnation on U.S. troops in Iraq and famously inspired Rep. John Murtha, a Democrat from Pennsylvania and critic of the war, to charge that the Marines had killed the civilians "in cold blood."

Defense attorneys said the civilians died during a pitched battle with insurgents in and around Haditha that followed the death of Terrazas.

Rooney said that the fact that seven of the eight Marines had been cleared or no longer faced charges proved that the events at Haditha were "not the massacre that Time magazine and John Murtha made it out to be."

"We've had to go through a two-year process to prove what we knew from the beginning," he said. "You need to trust what your battlefield commanders are telling you and give them the benefit of the doubt."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080617/us_nm/usa_iraq_haditha_dc;_ylt=Akbp7mMDfpG4DHeCiomkcA5H2 ocA

[Jolie Rouge]

Honoring our veterans takes more than words
BY JOHN MURTHA
The Tribune-Democrat

Veterans Day is a time to honor those Americans who answered the call to service and who proudly fought to defend our freedoms.

America owes an immeasurable debt to each of the 23.4 million veterans alive today, including the tens-of-thousands living right here in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Honoring our veterans means more than just words and speeches.

For Congress, it means putting our money where our mouth is and fully funding the Veterans Administration. It means ensuring that our veterans have first-class health care and providing them with access to jobs and higher education.

For too long, the Veterans Administration was under-funded and unable to adequately meet the needs of our veterans. We’ve changed that over the past few years.

The Democratic Congress has made an unprecedented commitment to our nation’s veterans by passing the largest spending increase in the 77-year history of the Veterans Administration – a record $16 billion increase in just two years.

For the 5.8 million veterans in the VA health-care system, this increase provides for the hiring of an additional 15,000 VA health-care workers, including 1,700 new doctors and 6,450 nurses.

This means better care, more services, and shorter wait times.

The Veterans Administration will also hire more than 5,200 new caseworkers to reduce the significant backlog in the claims processing system, which will help our veterans get their earned benefits faster.

For the first time since 1979, when gasoline cost less than $1 per gallon, Congress increased the veterans’ mileage reimbursement rate from 11 cents to 41.5 cents per mile.

Veterans in our area who are forced to travel to Pittsburgh or Altoona for care will now be more fairly reimbursed for their travel.

Congress also provided significant research, treatment, and counseling funds for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

It is estimated that more than 300,000 of our returning troops will suffer from these mental-health problems, and we provided over $1.2 billion in just the past two years to take care of these injuries.

We have seen a dramatic increase in suicides in the wake of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Congress passed legislation directing the Veterans Administration to develop a comprehensive suicide prevention program which includes access to mental-health staff and a 24-hour toll-free suicide prevention hotline.

Already some 30,000 veterans, family members and friends have used the hotline, and it has helped to prevent more than 1,200 suicides.

Also this year, Congress passed a new 21st Century GI Education Bill to benefit our service members who have served since Sept. 11, 2001.

The new GI Bill funds a full, four-year public university tuition, provides a monthly living expense, and allows service members to transfer unused educational benefits to their spouse and children.

I was given the opportunity to attend college under the G.I. Bill, and I believe it is our responsibility to ensure that America’s next generation of veterans receives the same higher educational benefits.

Over the past two years, the Democratic Congress has put its money where its mouth is.

The new Congress and President Obama will continue to provide our veterans with the services and benefits worthy of their courage and sacrifice.

On this Veterans Day, let us remember the sacrifices of millions of Americans who answered our nation’s call to service.

While we can never fully repay the debt of gratitude we owe to the men and women who put on the uniform, we can and will work to fulfill our promise of taking care of each and every veteran.

We owe them no less.



U.S. Rep. John Murtha,

D-Johnstown, is chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/local_story_315221830.html

[Jolie Rouge]

John Murtha’s big, fat mouth is still wreaking havoc on the lives of the Haditha Marines he defamed. But the Marines keep winning in court. Yesterday’s good news from the Thomas More Law Center, which has vigorously defended the accused Marines: http://www.thomasmore.org/qry/page.taf?id=63


A government official has informed the Thomas More Law Center that the government will not seek to appeal the recent unanimous decision by the Navy Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) in favor of LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, USMC.

The decision makes permanent the ruling by the trial court judge, Colonel Steven A. Folsom, USMC, dismissing the charges against LtCol Chessani, without prejudice, due to Unlawful Command Influence. The government could have sought an appeal to the civilian Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces (CAAF), and then to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gary Gross http://www.letfreedomringblog.com/?p=4531 and Jim Hoft http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/feds-drop-appeal-against-innocent.html have full coverage — coverage you won’t find in the MSM outlets that trumpeted Murtha’s smears three years ago. http://frontpagemagazine.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=31381 http://michellemalkin.com/2007/10/07/al-qaeda-and-haditha-bombshell-what-the-msm-didnt-tell-you/ http://www.thomasmore.org/default-sb_thomasmore.html?323057071 http://warchronicle.com/TheyAreNotKillers/DefendOurMarines.htm

Unfortunately, it’s not over for Chessani just yet: http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2009/05/05/military/z36bf7cbe425ec638882575ad0055cf5a.txt


The Marine Corps may be closer to giving up its troubled prosecution of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest-ranking officer accused of wrongdoing after 24 Iraqi civilians were slain in the city of Haditha in 2005.

Chessani’s attorneys said Tuesday that they’ve been told the service won’t seek a third appeal of a ruling dismissing two counts of dereliction of duty against Chessani, who is accused of not ordering a full-scale investigation into the killings.

A Marine Corps spokesman, however, said a final decision on possible further appeal hasn’t been made. But the attorney for the appeal, Navy Lt. Timothy Delgado in Washington, confirmed a recommendation to drop the matter has been issued.

If that recommendation is followed, a final decision on whether the case gets dropped rests with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway.

And if that happens, Chessani would become the seventh of eight Camp Pendleton Marines charged with crimes at Haditha to be fully exonerated. “Our whole center is just waiting to see what the government now decides to do,” said Chessani attorney Brian Rooney of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. “We are very hopeful that the decision is to end the case so Col. Chessani can get on with his life.”

[Jolie Rouge]

Justice Dept. attorney: Murtha should be immune from Haditha lawsuit
By Doug Powers • April 23, 2009 01:58 PM

It looks as if justice may once again prevail… for John Murtha. For the troops he defamed, probably not so much: http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/politics/19259245/detail.html

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- A Justice Department attorney said U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., should be immune from a defamation lawsuit filed by a former Marine from western Pennsylvania.



Murtha


Essentially, Murtha's attorney said the lawsuit filed in September by Justin Sharratt, of Canonsburg, should be dismissed for the same reasons that a federal appeals court struck down a similar suit by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., last week.

The court ruled that Murtha couldn't be sued because he was acting within the scope of his employment when he accused Wuterich's squad of killing innocent civilians "in cold blood" in Haditha, Iraq in 2005.

Sharratt has been cleared of wrongdoing. Wuterich remains charged by a military court but says he's innocent.

Sharratt said Murtha's comments on TV news shows go beyond his duties as a congressman.

[Jolie Rouge]

Plea deal for Marine in Iraqi deaths at Haditha
By JULIE WATSON | Associated Press – 1 hr 55 mins ago

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — A Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi women and children pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty on Monday, reaching a deal that will mean a maximum of three months confinement and end the largest and longest-running criminal case against U.S. troops to emerge from the Iraq War.

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., led the Marine squad in 2005 that killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha after a roadside bomb exploded near a Marine convoy, killing one Marine and wounding two others.

Wuterich's plea Monday interrupted his trial at Camp Pendleton before a jury of all combat Marines who served in Iraq.

Wuterich faces a maximum of three months confinement, two-thirds forfeiture of pay and a rank demotion to private when he's sentenced, likely on Tuesday. The plea agreement calls for manslaughter charges to be dropped.

"No one denies that the events .... were tragic, most of all Frank Wuterich," defense attorney Neal Puckett told the North County Times on Monday. "But the fact of the matter is that he has now been totally exonerated of the homicide charges brought against him by the government and the media. For the last six years, he has had his name dragged through the mud. Today, we hope, is the beginning of his redemption."

Phone messages left for Puckett and co-counsel Mark Zaid weren't immediately returned.

The issue at the court martial was whether Wuterich reacted appropriately as a Marine squad leader in protecting his troops in the midst of a chaotic war or disregarded combat rules and ordered his men to shoot and blast indiscriminately at Iraqi civilians. Wuterich was charged with nine counts of manslaughter, among other charges, and is one of eight Marines initially charged. None has been convicted.

Prosecutors said he lost control after seeing the body of his friend blown apart by the bomb and led his men on a rampage in which they stormed two nearby homes, blasting their way in with gunfire and grenades. Among the dead were women, children and elderly, including a man in a wheelchair.

Wuterich's former squad members testified that they did not take any gunfire during the 45-minute raid on the homes nor find any weapons, but several squad members testified that they do not believe they did anything wrong, fearing insurgents were inside hiding.

The prosecution was further hurt by the testimony of Wuterich's former platoon commander who said the squad was justified in its actions because house was declared "hostile," and from what he understood of the rules of combat at the time that meant any use of force could be used and Marines did not need to positively identify their targets.

Wuterich has said he regretted the loss of civilian lives but believed he was operating within military combat rules.

After Haditha, Marines commanders ordered troops to try and distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The killings in Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005, still fuel anger in Iraq and was the primary reason behind demands that U.S. troops not be given immunity from their court system. It is considered among the war's defining moments, further tainting America's reputation when it was already at a low point after the release of photos of prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison.

The trial was delayed for years by pre-trial wrangling between the defense and prosecution, including over whether the military could use unaired outtakes from an interview Wuterich gave in 2007 to CBS "60 Minutes." Prosecutors eventually won the right to view the footage

Six squad members have had charges dropped or dismissed, including some in exchange for testifying at the trial. One was acquitted.

tp://news.yahoo.com/plea-deal-marine-iraqi-deaths-haditha-175324835.html