Bob McCarty Writes

While I’ve been following the investigation and prosecution of the so-called “Haditha Marines” for more than a year now, the case became more interesting after it was revealed that an “extraordinarily unusual oversight body” comprised of high-ranking administration officials had been set up by former Secretary of Defense Donald R. Rumsfeld to oversee the Haditha [...]

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During the late 1980s, this former Air Force officer spent more than three years on Okinawa, a Japanese island which served as home to tens of thousands of United States Marines. During those years, I grew to respect the hard work, dedication and sacrifice that goes into being a Marine. Today, I feel obligated to [...]

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Bob McCarty Writes has reported on the case of the so-called “Haditha Marines” several times during the past 12 months, focusing primarily on the case of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani. In a UPI report today, we learned that Colonel Chessani, 42, and Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum, 26, will face courts-martial related to the 2005 [...]

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A federal judge refused Friday to dismiss a defamation case against Rep. John P. “Jack” Murtha (D-Penn.) and ordered the Pennsylvania Democrat to give a sworn deposition about his comments alleging “cold-blooded murder and war crimes” by unnamed soldiers in connection with Iraqi civilian deaths, according to an Associated Press report over the weekend. This [...]

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Since charges have been dropped against half of the Marines facing legal proceedings in connection with the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, one military law expert believes Marine Corps leaders are putting the burden of responsibility on senior Marines and those most directly involved in the incident. The news above appears in a [...]

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MORE GOOD NEWS! – The Bakersfield Californian reports: All charges were dropped against a captain accused of failing to investigate the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha, the Marine Corps announced Thursday. Capt. Randy W. Stone, 35, a battalion lawyer from Dunkirk, Md., was one of four officers charged with failing to adequately probe the [...]

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An Associated Press report, Marine’s Charges Dropped in Iraq Deaths, moments ago, contained the following GOOD NEWS: LOS ANGELES — A general dropped all charges Thursday against a Marine who had been accused of killing three Iraqi brothers in response to a roadside bomb attack in Haditha in 2005. “The evidence does not support a [...]

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