SAN DIEGO (AP) - An investigating officer has recommended dismissal of all charges against one Camp Pendleton Marine accused of murdering two girls in an assault that killed 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha.
Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum is charged with unpremeditated murder of 2 girls and negligent homicide on suspicion that he unlawfully killed two men, a woman and a boy. He is also accused of assaulting another boy and a girl.
Investigating officer Lieutenant Colonel Paul Ware found the evidence was too weak for a court-martial....
Wapo goes into more detail:
An investigating officer has recommended that a Marine Corps general drop all charges against a Marine accused of murdering civilians in Haditha, Iraq, finding again that the 2005 shootings were "tragedies" but that the Marine did not violate the laws of combat.
Lt. Col. Paul J. Ware wrote in a 29-page report that there is insufficient evidence to show that Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum did anything other than follow Marine Corps rules when he killed women and children in two houses in a residential neighborhood in Iraq on Nov. 19, 2005. Ware found that Tatum followed orders to attack the houses and shot a group of civilians only because another Marine in the unit was already shooting at them.
The case is the second in which Ware has recommended to Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis that charges be dismissed, arguing in both instances that the Marines were operating in a complex combat environment. Mattis agreed with Ware's earlier recommendation and dismissed all charges against Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, who killed a group of men in a house hours after Marines stormed into two homes and killed civilians inside.
Now we already showed you previously the letter that Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt's father had written to John Murtha, who before any investigations were completed had already publicly accused the Haditha Marines of being murderers.
Then after the charges had been dropped against Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, we asked when John Murtha was going to apologize as publicly as he made the accusations..... nothing, he didn't do it and when his office was called by Hot Air, they hung up.
So, once again, John Murtha, when are you going to apologize for your careless, premature accusations?
If you, like me, believe that he owes those marines, their families and the American people a huge apology...then let him know it.
Via the Web:
His Web Contact Form.
Call him:
800-289-2642 from Western PA (or) 814-535-2642 (or) 202-225-2065
Fax him:
814-539-6229 -- District
202-225-5709 -- Washington
Write him or Visit him:
647 Main St, Suite 401
Johnstown, PA 15901
For those that want to visit him, here are some directions, right from his website.
Directions to Congressman Murtha's Main District Office
People sometimes need or want to find our main office in Johnstown for various reasons. We can't offer directions from every community in this sprawling new 12th District, but these should be sufficient for most people to find their way.
From Uniontown, the fastest route is:
- Take US-119 North.
- Turn Right onto PA-31 East.
- Turn Left onto PA-711 at Donegal and proceed through Ligonier.
- Turn Right onto PA-271 about five miles north of Ligonier.
- Remain on PA-271 into the City of Johnstown -- the Route becomes Menoher Boulevard, makes a right turn onto Haynes Street at a traffic signal, passes through 3 traffic signals and turns left at the 5th traffic signal onto Bedford Street.
- Proceed one block on Bedford Street and turn Right onto Main Street
- 647 Main Street is called the Feeder Canal Building and on the left immediately past the railroad tracks. Parking is available on Feeder Street across from the building.
- Estimated Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes; Total Distance: 67 miles.
From Washington , PA , the fastest route is:
- Take I-70 E toward New Stanton .
- Take Exit-9 at Donegal.
- Turn Left onto PA-31 east for a very short distance.
- Turn Left onto PA-711 North, and follow 711 through Ligonier.
- Turn Right onto PA-271 about five miles north of Ligonier.
- Remain on PA-271 into the City of Johnstown -- the Route becomes Menoher Boulevard, makes a right turn onto Haynes Street at a traffic signal, passes through 3 traffic signals and turns left at the 5th traffic signal onto Bedford Street.
- Proceed one block on Bedford Street and turn Right onto Main Street
- 647 Main Street is called the Feeder Canal Building and on the left immediately past the railroad tracks. Parking is available on Feeder Street across from the building.
- Estimated Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes; Total Distance: 90 miles.
From the New Kensington area, the fastest route is:
- Take PA-366 East.
- Turn Right onto PA-66.
- Merge onto US-22 East toward Blairsville.
- Turn Right on PA-56 East.
- After entering the City of Johnstown , remain on Route 56 through several turns and a series of traffic signals on Broad Street , which is both PA-56 and PA-403.
- The road turns right and follows the Conemaugh River under a railroad overpass.
- Turn Left at the next traffic signal onto Washington Street .
- Turn Right at the fourth traffic signal onto PA-271/Clinton Street .
- Turn Left at the second traffic signal onto Main Street .
- 647 Main Street is called the Feeder Canal Building and on the left immediately past the railroad tracks. Parking is available on Feeder Street across from the building.
- Estimated Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes; Total Distance: 60 miles.
From most places in Cambria or Somerset Counties , the fastest route is:
- Take Route 219 North or South toward Johnstown .
- Merge onto Route 56 West/Johnstown Expressway.
- Take the first Downtown Johnstown exit -- Bedford Street .
- Turn Right at the end of the exit ramp onto Adams Street .
- Proceed one block and turn Left at the stop sign onto Main Street
- 647 Main Street is called the Feeder Canal Building and on the right immediately past Feeder Street (just before the railroad tracks). Parking is available on Feeder Street across from the building.
What is everyone waiting for, lets tell John Murtha exactly how we feel, shall we?
Take Our Country Back has a few words for Murtha also. Take a look.
(NOTE: Instead of leaving you with the advertisements I usually have at the bottom of each post, I will leave you with one of the videos from Freedoms Watch) [30 second video.]
Wounded Veteran:
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