A sergeant who examined the scene hours after Marines killed two dozen Iraqis in Haditha last year said the shootings appeared to be an appropriate response to a coordinated insurgent attack, according to a sworn statement obtained by The Washington Post.
Sgt. J.M. Laughner, part of a Marine human-intelligence exploitation team that was hunting down insurgent bombmakers, went from house to house in Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005, and acknowledged finding two dozen bodies, including some of women and small children.
But Laughner said the scenes of the slayings appeared to match the version of events the Marine squad provided that day and did not seem especially out of the ordinary, according to a transcript of Laughner's interview with military investigators in March. Laughner's account supports the argument made by some Marines in KiloCompany, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines -- that they believed they
were following their rules of engagement when they opened fire on groups of people inside at least three homes after a roadside bomb killed a member of their unit.
snip
Laughner's statement, although just one viewpoint, is further evidence that Marines who were on the ground that day viewed the civilian deaths as accidental rather than the result of a vengeful rampage.
The investigator's account:
In a 34-minute interview with two colonels, Laughner described taking pictures of each of the bodies while moving from room to room in three houses, as the Marines described what happened in each circumstance. The Marines told Laughner they had taken fire from the houses and believed they heard people "racking AK-47s" -- preparing to fire the automatic weapons.
The Marines then "cleared" the rooms using fragmentation grenades and rifle shots. Two other accounts given by lawyers for Marines in the unit are consistent with the
version Laughner heard from the Marines involved in the incident on Nov. 19. Laughner also said that 30 Jordanian passports and large amounts of cash were found in a home near the shooting scenes.
Anything unusual?
One investigator asked Laughner if there was anything about the number of civilian victims or the circumstances of the casualties that gave reason to pause and "say jeez."
"Any time you see women and children, sir, I thought that," Laughner said. "But from what the Marines had told me and from what I understood from them, that I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing in their situation. If I hear somebody racking AK rounds, and I don't know how many guys are there, I'm going to protect me and my guys."
Sorry to go on, but there's just so much:
Laughner also said that leaders within the Marine company were informed almost immediately about the casualty count, and that battalion officers were also made aware of the situation quickly. According to a similar transcript disclosed in The Post last week, Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marines, told investigators that he viewed the civilian deaths as "very unfortunate" but did not suspect wrongdoing.
Oh, Man, if I were Jack Murtha's opposition, I'd make a campaign ad out of this so fast. . . . If anyone oughta know that first reports are always wrong, it's an old Marine.
