Talk about karma!
Haditha Marine prepares to sue Murtha over smear
Congressman had accused soldiers of killing 'in cold blood'
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Posted: June 18, 2008
6:14 pm Eastern
? 2008 WorldNetDaily
With most of the eight Marines charged in the Haditha, Iraq incident now
exonerated, the highest-ranking officer among the accused is considering
a lawsuit against Democratic Rep. John Murtha, who fueled the case by
declaring the men cold-blooded killers.
In an interview with nationally syndicated radio talk host Michael Savage,
the lead attorney for Lt. Col. Chessani said he and his client will
look into suing Murtha and the Time magazine reporter, Tim McGuirk,
who first published the accusations by Iraqi insurgents.
But the attorney, Brian Rooney, said nothing will happen immediately
because he wants Chessani, described as a devout Christian and the
father of six homeschooled children, completely "out of the woods"
legally before any action is taken. The government, through Lt. Col.
Sullivan, today filed a notice that it would appeal the case to the next
judicial level.
As WND reported, a military judge at Camp Pendleton in California
yesterday dismissed charges that Chessani failed to properly investigate
the Nov. 19, 2005 incident in which 24 Iraqi men, women and children
were killed.
Rooney, an attorney for the Thomas More Law Center, who served a tour
of duty in Iraq himself, is urging citizens to tell their representatives in
Congress and military officials that they want the case to come to an end.
"At some point you have to have somebody in the chain of command,
whether it's civilian or military, saying enough is enough," said Rooney,
who served with Chessani in the second battle of Fallujah.
Rooney told Savage the Haditha case is the largest investigation in the
history of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, with 65 agents
assigned by the government.
The filing of charges against Chessani was approved by Gen. James
Mattis, then commander of the Marine Corps Forces Central Command
and commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp
Pendleton. Mattis has been promoted to commander of NATO's Supreme
Allied Commander Transformation and commander of U.S. Joint Forces.
"This is the most important case since Vietnam, if not before," Rooney
said. "There's no doubt about it."
He noted the
New York Times featured the case on the front page when it
was being compared by war critics to the infamous My Lai massacre in
Vietnam. But now, with evidence the Haditha accusations were
a smear, the story has been relegated to the back pages.
The military judge, Col. Folsom, dismissed Chessani's charges without
prejudice, giving permission for the prosecutors to continue trying to
build a case that began in December 2006.
Four Marines were charged with murder, and another four with not
properly investigating the incident.
Defense lawyers contend
insurgents deliberately attacked the
Marines from hiding places where they surrounded themselves with
civilians to use as shields. The defense insisted Chessani
promptly reported the events to his superiors and that nobody in the
chain of command believed there was any wrongdoing on the part of the
Marines.
Libel and Defamation
Rooney acknowledged to Savage
it's difficult to sue a sitting
Congressman, but he believes it can be done.
"If he leaves his realm of speaking from the Congressman's point of view
? then he can be sued for libel and defamation," Rooney said.
The Time magazine story, according to Rooney, was planted by an
insurgent propaganda agent. Publishing of the story was soon followed by
a May 17, 2006, news conference by Murtha. The Congressman
announced he had been "told" by the highest levels of the Marine Corps
there was no firefight and Marines "killed innocent civilians in cold blood."
"All the information I get, it comes from the commanders, it comes from
people who know what they're talking about," Murtha told reporters at
the time.
Murtha's assertions, however, conflicted with results from the military's
own investigations. An initial probe by Army Col. Watt found no
indications coalition forces "intentionally targeted, engaged and killed
noncombatants." Later, Army Maj. Gen. Aldon Bargewell found no cover-
up.
Nevertheless, the Marine Corps eventually brought charges against
Chessani and seven other Marines.
But now the cases against Lance Cpls. Tatum and Sharratt, Capts. Stone
and McConnell and Sgt. Dela Cruz have been dropped. First Lt. Grayson
has been acquitted, leaving only the case of Staff Sgt. Wuterich untested
in court and Chessani prosecutors facing the hurdles of the appeal
process.
WND previously reported a military jury of seven officers acquitted
Grayson of all charges.
The ruling by Col. Folsom yesterday followed a previous decision, in which
he confirmed evidence of unlawful command influence.
The evidence indicated two Generals (who controlled Chessani's case)
were influenced by Marine lawyer Col. Ewers, who was allowed to
attend at least 25 closed-session meetings in which the case was
discussed.
Throwing Marines under the bus
Rooney acknowledged the Haditha case taken a toll on the Marine Corps.
"There's no doubt it's affected recruiting," he told Savage. "How could you
have your sons or daughters join the Marine Corps when you're not sure
the government will protect them?"
Rooney was asked by Savage why he thought
Murtha, a former Marine
himself, accused the officers and enlisted men.
"In my opinion, it's clear it was done during the election cycle, it was done
to bolster himself in the party," the attorney said. "He was vying for a
leadership position, and if he had to throw some Marines under the bus to
do so, that was the cost of power for him."
He hopes, soon, that
politicians will weigh in on the case in support
of Chessani and the others.
"I would think all politicians, especially politicians that have military
records, should say something about this case," he said.
"In a horrible and very complex environment, when you have an enemy
that's using women and children as shields, you should always give the
benefit of the doubt to the Marine or soldier," said Rooney.
"You should
never bring him back and put him in front of a court martial."
Stuff like that. My interest at this point is getting to the bottom of who this guy really is.