Haditha

The killing of Iraqis at Haditha has slipped below the radar screen for some time now as the military justice process has moved forward. Formal charges were filed only last month, and a trial appears to be in the offing. As a trial nears, more information will likely leak out. Among the information that has come forward recently is the following from AP...

An investigative report compiled by the US military
reportedly indicates that US marines gunned down five unarmed Iraqis who
stumbled onto the scene of a 2005 roadside bombing in Haditha... [T]he account
said that Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, the squad's leader, shot the men one by
one after marines ordered them out of a white taxi in the moments following the
explosion, which killed one marine and injured two others. Another marine
fired rounds into their bodies as they lay on the ground.

The episode is an embarassment to the US and its military. If true, we can only hope that those responsible are indeed brought to justice and that, upon withdrawal from Iraq and the election of a new administration, American can begin what will be a long process to restore its moral credibility around the world.

GP