Haditha Officer Betrayed by His Own Government, Lawyers Say
Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com
Thursday, July 12, 2007
The recommendation of a hearing officer that Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani be court martialed on charges of dereliction of duty "deal more with political correctness than with criminality," lawyers representing Col. Jeffrey Chessani charged Wednesday night.
Noting that the charges against their client arise from a battle in the insurgent-held town of Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005 where Marines were falsely alleged to have purposely killed Iraqi civilians and that their officers were involved in a "cover-up" of the incident, Richard Thompson, the President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center argued that Colonel Chessani is chastised in the hearing officer's report because "he had more confidence in his men than in insurgent propaganda."
"It glorifies paper pushing over fighting and has the unintended consequence of dampening the spirit of the most ferocious fighters on Earth," he said in a statement given to NewsMax.Com Wednesday night.
"This fight is about the future of the American fighting man. If good officers and men like Lt. Col Chessani can't react to combat situations the way they were trained, if our young soldiers are forced to hesitate in battle because they may be criminally charged by their own government, they will be killed. Further, if the higher command doesn't correct the injustice of this flawed recommendation, ultimately there will be no aggressive military left to defend the life of our nation."
According to the Law Center, the case is "the consequence of Congressman Murtha's politically motivated statements against Lt. Col. Chessani and his Marines, as well as the terrorist-inspired story in Time Magazine. Like the great tradition of the Marines, the Law Center will continue to press this fight forward until we have won victory for Lt. Col. Chessani."
The statement noted that in another case arising out of the Haditha incident, a different Investigating Officer, Lt. Col. Ware, USMC, "recommended in the strongest possible terms that murder charges be dropped against Lt. Cpl. Sharrat."
In his report, Lt. Col Ware surmised, 'The government's version may encourage others to bear false witness against Marines as a tactic to erode public support of the Marine Corps and its mission in Iraq. Even more dangerous is the potential that a Marine may hesitate at the critical moment when facing the enemy.'
"This echoes a sentiment that the Law Center has been making since the beginning of its defense of Lt. Col. Chessani."
Lt. Gen. Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force will be the final arbiter of whether this case against Lt.Col. Chessani goes to general courts-martial, or goes away. He is not bound by this recommendation from the investigator, Col. Christopher Conlin.
The Law Center has five days to write a rebuttal to the report. The Law Center will refute and rebut what it believes are clear factual errors and legal conclusions that render the recommendation invalid in its opinion. The Center is representing Chessani, one of the most respected combat commanders in the Marine Corps, free of charge.
Brian Rooney, one of the attorneys assisting in the case said , "We are disappointed by this recommendation, but not deterred." Rooney, a former Marine Captain who served in Fallujah during the bloody battles there, recalled "I always told Marines in Iraq that in the final analysis it is better to be judged by 12 then carried by 6. If we are forced to go to a general court-martial, Lt. Col. Chessani will be judged by a true jury of his peers — many will be combat veterans themselves. We are very comfortable with that scenario."
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through litigation, education, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization.
The maximum punishment at a General Court-Martial that Chessani could face is dismissal (an officer's equivalent of a dishonorable discharge), loss of retirement, and imprisonment of up to 3 years.
As NewsMax has revealed, the battalion intelligence officer had briefed the Colonel and other higher officers on all the details of the incident on November 19, 2005 that very night. The briefing, based on evidence such as photos taken by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), radio transmissions from troops on the scene, and reports from Marines taking part in the operation provided a complete narrative of the day's events and eliminated any need for further investigation.
As NewsMax has revealed, before going back to Iraq for another tour of duty, that officer, Captain Jeff Dinsmore, gave eight hours of video-taped testimony which exonerated all those charged including Lt. Col. Chessani. Originally that testimony was classified but has been made available to Gen. Mattis who has it as he decides on Chessani's fate.
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