The Marine Corps chain of command in Iraq ignored "obvious" signs of "serious misconduct" in the 2005 slayings of two dozen civilians in Haditha, and commanders fostered a climate that devalued the life of innocent Iraqis to the point that their deaths were considered an insignificant part of the war, according to an Army general's investigation.Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell's 104-page report on Haditha is scathing in its criticism of the Marines' actions, from the enlisted men who were involved in the shootings on Nov. 19, 2005, to the two-star general who commanded the 2nd Marine Division in Iraq at the time. Bargewell's previously undisclosed report, obtained by The Washington Post, found that officers may have willfully ignored reports of the civilian deaths to protect themselves and their units from blame. Though Bargewell found no specific coverup, he concluded that there also was no interest at any level in investigating allegations of a massacre....
http://www.washingtonpost.com
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Editor - 22:38:00 04-20-07
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 'Simple Failures' and 'Disastrous Results' Excerpts from Army Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell's report: |
The response to the Haditha incident"I found no direct evidence of any orchestrated effort or any effort on the part of any individual above the squad level to cover up this incident. I did find that individuals above the squad level were complicit, whether intentionally or unintentionally, in attempts to hide criminal conduct. Leaders from the platoon through the 2nd Marine Division level, particularly at the Company and Battalion level, exhibited a determination to ignore indications of serious misconduct, perhaps to avoid conducting an inquiry that could prove adverse to themselves or their Marines. . . ."The most remarkable aspect of the follow-on action with regard to the civilian casualties from the 19 November 2005 Haditha incident was the absence of virtually any kind of inquiry at any level of command into the circumstances surrounding the deaths. . . ....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/20/AR2007042002309_pf.html
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Editor - 22:36:00 04-20-07
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| Military Grants Immunity to 7 Marines Who May Be Called to Testify in Iraq Killings Case |
Military prosecutors have granted immunity to at least seven Marines and they may be called to testify at the trial of fellow troops accused in the slayings of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. The orders were obtained from someone involved in the case who declined to be identified because the documents are not public. The Marines who were granted immunity include an officer who told troops to raid a house and a sergeant who took photographs of the dead but later deleted them from his camera. The immunity orders ensure that any testimony the Marines volunteer cannot be used against them, making it highly unlikely charges will be brought against the men. The documents also suggest the troops' eyewitness accounts will feature prominently in military court hearings for the seven other Marines charged in the deadliest case to arise from the Iraq war. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3062645
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Editor - 17:07:00 04-20-07
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| Armed Miss America 1944 Stops Intruder Armed With Snub-Nosed .38, Miss America 1944 Stops Intruder on Her Kentucky Farm |
Miss America 1944 has a talent that likely has never appeared on a beauty pageant stage: She fired a handgun to shoot out a vehicle's tires and stop an intruder. Venus Ramey, 82, confronted a man on her farm in south-central Kentucky last week after she saw her dog run into a storage building where thieves had previously made off with old farm equipment. Ramey said the man told her he would leave. "I said, 'Oh, no you won't,' and I shot their tires so they couldn't leave," Ramey said. She had to balance on her walker as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun. "I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it," she said. "If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be 6 feet under by now." Ramey then flagged down a passing motorist, who called 911. Curtis Parrish of Ohio was charged with misdemeanor trespassing, Deputy Dan Gilliam said. The man's hometown wasn't immediately available. Three other people were questioned but were not arrested....
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3062638
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Editor - 17:05:00 04-20-07
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| U.S. describes Sunni rebels battling al-Qaida Infighting a plus, general says, but ‘we’re not making allies with anybody’ |
At least two major insurgent groups are battling al-Qaida in provinces outside Baghdad, American military commanders said Friday, an indication of a deepening rift between Sunni guerrilla groups in Iraq. U.S. officers say a growing number of Sunni tribes are turning against al-Qaida, repelled by the terror group's sheer brutality and austere religious extremism. The tribes are competing with al-Qaida for influence and control over diminishing territory in the face of U.S. assaults, the officers say. The influx of Sunni fighters to areas outside the capital in advance of the security crackdown in Baghdad may have further unsettled the region. "This is a big turning point," U.S. Maj. David Baker said Friday in the Diyala provincial capital of Baqouba. "If they are fighting against each other, it's better than them fighting against us." ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18234571/
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Editor - 17:03:00 04-20-07
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| 2 miners found dead after Maryland accident |
Workers on Friday found the bodies of two miners trapped when a wall section collapsed in an open-pit coal mine in western Maryland, a federal mine official said.One body was found in a backhoe the man had been operating Tuesday when the two were buried beneath at least 45 feet of debris, said Bob Cornett, acting regional director for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. The second body was found inside a bulldozer a few hours later, he said.Cornett said the men appeared to have died instantly. "With the extensive damage I saw on the equipment, I don't think that we worried whether they suffocated to death," he said.Both pieces of equipment were spotted Thursday night after workers removed thousands of tons of rock and dirt. The vehicles were found side by side and upright, but the caterpillar tracks normally under the backhoe had been blown sideways and the blade had come off the bulldozer....
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/20/mine.collapse.ap/index.html?eref=rss_us
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Editor - 17:01:00 04-20-07
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