Haditha Prosecution Judged “Incredible”

“Incredible” says the lawyer and hearing officer of the prosecution’s case presented at the Article 32 proceeding (military style hearing for probable cause or reasonable ground to conduct a trial) on the actions of Marine Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt at Haditha.

According to a legal dictionary, “incredible” isn’t a legal term, so we’ll rely upon the common definition: “So implausible as to elicit disbelief,” or “astonishing.”

That’s pretty strong language from Lt. Col. Paul Ware, the hearing officer, concluding his 18-page Investigative Officer’s Report:

I read several hundred pages of interviews, documents, articles and statements….The government version is unsupported by independent evidence and while each statement has within it corroboration, several factors together reduces the credibility of such statements to incredible.

Earlier in the Report, Ware again says, “the government version is unsupported and incredible…”

Earlier in the Report, Ware weighs the prosecution’s case: “[T]he statements by the government are rife with rumors, hearsay within hearsay, and unclear, confusing and often inadmissible opinions.” Ware, however, weighs the defense case: “In contrast, LCpl Sharratt’s version of events is fully supported by the independent scientific evidence….[T]he science supports the statements of LCpl Sharratt as the most plausible, possible and most likely.”

Ware shreds the credibility of the Iraqi “witnesses” and the procedures followed by NCIS investigators in their interviews, allowing false and colluded statements, compounded by failures to follow-up on some of their assertions, found to be unsupported, and mischaracterization of forensic evidence.

Ware, thus, recommends that the charges against Sharratt be dismissed.

But, Ware doesn’t stop there. Ware ends his report with his most telling conclusion:

Finally, to believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary and sets a dangerous precedent that, in my opinion, may encourage others to bear false witness against Marines as a tactic to erode public support of the Marine Corps and mission in Iraq. Even more dangerous is the potential that a Marine may hesitate at the crucial moment when facing the enemy.

Ware doesn’t hesitate. When will the media turn to former Marine, congressman John Murtha, to recant his rush to judgment of bloodthirsty Marines running rampant?

Our foes quite openly and explicitly recognize their only hope of winning is in Washington, and they are encouraged by our politicians and media who weaken our efforts and resolve. The premature rush to abandon the “surge,” only fully manned for a few weeks and showing results, is more than irresponsible. It is despicable. Indeed, it’s incredible, so implausible as to elicit disbelief, but it’s happening, and cheers can be heard from our foes in Iraq and elsewhere.

For further reporting:
Josh White’s Washington Post coverage of Ware’s Report

David Allender’s American Thinker post on Ware’s Report

My prior posts at Democracy-Project about Haditha