Marine ordered to kill women and children

A US Marine was ordered to execute a room full of terrified Iraqi women and children during an alleged massacre in Haditha that left 24 people dead, a military court was told today.

The testimony came in the opening of a preliminary hearing for Marine Sergeant Frank Wuterich, who faces 17 counts of murder over the Haditha killings, the most serious war crimes allegations faced by US troops in Iraq.

www.news.com.au...

America messed up Vietnam, and America murdered in Vietnam. America have messed up in Iraq, and America have murdered in Iraq.

*sigh*......all empires fall.....it is just a matter of time.

this is some sad %^&%^!.. innocent..death.. no meaning.

At the very least they didn't cover-up the massacre. Sure they tried, but at least it's all out in the open now and it wasn't covered-up. Now I wonder what happened to all those posters here who did try to cover up this bloodbath, or somehow justify it? Still think it was an accident?

If this is one that got out, how many more have been covered up?

Naturally they would try to cover up anything like this.

Had I been ordered to participate in such a horrible crime, I would've shot the officer who gave the order.

What happened there is disgusting.

I would've joined the military myself years ago if the wars the US fought were just.

This is the bit that really blows my mind:

"When I opened the door there was just women and kids, two adults were lying down on the bed and there were three children on the bed ... two more were behind the bed,'' Lance-Cpl Mendoza said.

"I looked at them for a few seconds. Just enough to know they were not presenting a threat ... they looked scared.''

After leaving the room Lance Cpl Mendoza told Lance-Cpl Tatum what he had found.

"I told him there were women and kids inside there. He said 'Well, shoot them,''' Lance-Cpl Mendoza told prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Sean Sullivan.

"And what did you say to him?'' Lt-Col Sullivan asked.

"I said 'But they're just women and children.' He didn't say nothing.''
...

Of the four Marines charged with murder, two have since had charges withdrawn, while allegations against Lance-Cpl Tatum are also expected to be dismissed.

This man ordered another Marine to shoot a room full of women and children, and charges against him are expected to be dismissed?!?

What a sick, sick society we live in.

This guy Tatum ought to be put in front of a firing squad.


[edit on 8/31/07 by xmotex]

Originally posted by Kruel
Had I been ordered to participate in such a horrible crime, I would've shot the officer who gave the order.

I don't know if I'd shoot the commanding officer, but I would not shoot the civilians, that's for sure...

I would love to know the reason behind this. Were they hostiles? enemy combatants? a threat to national security?

Man is a truly nasty creature when it wants to be.

I think the reason behind this is there seen as filthy low life sub humans by racist american bible bashers that have killed anything that moved since there old enough to hold their fathers Gun.

There must be loads more of these incidents in Iraq and Afganistan

A big danger out there now is the amount of Mercs there,these people are there purely for the money and i wouldnt be surprised if a few of them are there for the raping and killings they will get away with within the spoils of war.

First, I'd like to say that an order to shoot innocent women and children is horrific, and if the guy who gave the order is not punished, something is seriously wrong.

With that being said, we don't know the circumstances surrounding the situation, and we also don't know what it's like being in that position. I'm definately not defending it, but I'm guessing being in a high stress situation for so long can have a severe impact on people who aren't psychologically ready for it. I.E. it's not out of the question that the guy has 'gone nuts' for lack of a better term.

so yeah, the guy should definately be punished, but what the punishment should be depends on how screwed up the guy is. If he was completely normal and healthy, then he should be nailed to the wall. If he was 'nuts', he should be nailed to the psych ward wall, so-to-speak.

I'd also like to say that people like this are a HUGE minority in the military. To say that our marines (in general) are over there murdering and raping is rediculous. Yes, there's a few bad eggs, but that's gonna happen in every aspect of life. I'm pretty sure most of our troops over there are doing their best to do the right thing.

[edit on 31-8-2007 by Jaruseleh]

So this is what it mean to be a soldier to do and fallow orders with out question. That's why its not for ever one. Think of how those 2 marines are feeling right now, they must be besides them selves with guilt and grief if not then they are some sick puppies and not just them the commanding officers to.

This SO called war has gotten out of hand and people will only realize it when it come to their home. This really sucks for the rest of Us. What going to be the war effort model now? " killing terrorism one child at a time." craziness I tell you, they are just people but instead of shoving a gun in their face shove a book or something else.

This is all crap nuff said!!!

Brutality breeds brutality just as hostility breeds hostility.
Killing does something to a person's mind it splits it and killing becomes easier to the point of total disassociation.

These boys are no longer who they once were and never will be. With the isolation and death they have been exposed to they no longer see these people as women and children or people period.
How sad we are as a human race.

oh c'mon,! you realy believe these guys knowingly shot and killed innocent women and kids? have you heard both sides to this story? did you know that i've seen 11 yrs olds trained as enemy combatants by those animals? did you know women also are part of the insurgency?

maybe we should get both sides of the "story" before you pull judgement on these guys. "let him without sin cast the first stone"

do you think they would honestly be released if they were truly guilty of something? i'm sure you've heard of the US border patrol agents sentenced to 10 yrs because they shot a drug smuggler in the ass because he was unarmed. he didnt even die and these guys got 10 yrs!

think about it and be honest with yourselves, are you getting both sides of the story????

I learned long ago not to try that ... the majority of those on this board are incapable of reason and looking at opposing viewpoints. They only see what they want to see; ex. America = evil, Bush = Nazi, Chavez = hero, Al Qaeda = made up by CIA, etc

reply to post by infiltr8u


My husband was a Marine and yes I know from his testiment that children carry weapons and are trained to use them. He would tell me the stories of having a 10 yr old boy in his sights ready to fire should the kid turn his weapon on him. Contrary to that he also told me about the other guys and how "bored" they would get so I tend to believe the story of the rape and killing of that girls family.

And while there are always sides I still hold fast to my previous post. Brutality breeds brutality. Do it once and it only gets easier.

Originally posted by infiltr8u
think about it and be honest with yourselves, are you getting both sides of the story????

So are you saying these guys have the right to be judge and jury? Whether or not the children were enemy combatants doesn't matter. They were already detained! It's not like they were pointing guns at the soldiers when they got shot...

reply to post by DDay


are you saying he personnaly witnessed rapes and/or other atrocities? if he did and did not report it he is as guilty as those perpetrasting the crime.

dont get me wrong there are animals on both side of the fence but how many on our side would use kids and women as human shields, or give a kid a gun and force him to kill, or cut someone's head off with a butcher's knife and video it?..we're talking jefferey dahmmer material lady.

Just to be clear. According to the UCMJ ( Uniform Code of Military Justice) it is OK to ask a superior to PUT AN ORDER IN WRITING even in combat situations, this came about because of Vietnam massacres. If you are given an Oder that you know or feel is not correct, you ask for it in writing (in most cases the order is either dropped or changed) also you are not obligated to follow orders that are illegal. Not every person in the Military is taught, this, but its the facts.

I was a Marine and it was my job to train others in the UCMJ, this was something I always pointed out to fellow Marines, My bosses didn't like it but they couldn't prevent it, ( I walked a very fine line). However, even if you do get an illegal order in writing it does not absolve you of any wrong doing, but it does show who is culpable, that way it more difficult to "whitewash" at a later date.

Originally posted by infiltr8u
oh c'mon,! you realy believe these guys knowingly shot and killed innocent women and kids? have you heard both sides to this story? did you know that i've seen 11 yrs olds trained as enemy combatants by those animals? did you know women also are part of the insurgency?

You seem to have a problem with things against the USA, when a few people do things like this, it does not mean the whole of USA is rotten, it means those people are. Thats all.
Its totally believable that scum like that exist.

Originally posted by Kruel

Originally posted by infiltr8u
think about it and be honest with yourselves, are you getting both sides of the story????

So are you saying these guys have the right to be judge and jury? ...

thats not what i'm saying at all. what i'm saying is that we cannot condem these guys solely on what seems to be a biased news report. obviously if they were set free, there must be more to this story than meets the eye.

You seem to have a problem with things against the USA,

yes..i do

when a few people do things like this, it does not mean the whole of USA is rotten, it means those people are.

Those people were found innocent by the court.

Its totally believable that scum like that exist.

i agree they do exist, all over the world.

[edit on 31-8-2007 by infiltr8u]