Marine Says There Was No Haditha Massacre

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The senior Marine sargeant in charge of the troops involved in the alleged Haditha massacre says that there was no massacre of civilians and no wrongdoing on the part of the Marines. Marine Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich told his attorney, Neal Puckett, that Marines fully followed the rules of engagement and standard operating procedure while they were clearing houses looking for insurgents in Haditha, adding that "there is more to the story than has been reported."

The Pentagon is currently investigating whether up to eight marines of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment division, killed 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha after one of their own was killed in a roadside bombing and tried to cover it up. Three Marines have already been "relieved of their duties." No Marine has been charged in the incident.

Defense attorney Paul Hackett told CNN that Wuterich is "devastated by this, and devastated by the way he's been portrayed in the media, and that he was not in charge of, or directed, or aware or even believes that the events unfolded as have been depicted popularly in the media." Hackett said that Wuterich was on his first tour in Iraq. He is in his mid-20s and the father of two young daughters.

According to CNN, senior Pentagon officials have stated that a probe into the Haditha incident tends to support allegations that Marines carried out an unprovoked massacre after one of their comrades was killed by a roadside bomb.

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I think war crimes do go on, they just dont want to admit it.

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