Haditha Hearing To Enter 5th Day

Saturday, May 12th 2007, 2:03 pm

By: News On 6

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) -- For four days, Marines have testified in court that they saw no need to investigate a squad's2005 killings of 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha.

A Marine intelligence captain paid little heed to a flier from the Haditha town council that accused Marines of intentionally targeting civilians. A lieutenant dismissed a reporter's questions about alleged abuses, figuring they reflected bias against the
Marines and President Bush.

The preliminary hearing for Captain Randy W. Stone is to continue today at Camp Pendleton in California. Testimony is expected from an operations officer and a major who distributed nearly $40,000 in U.S. government compensation to survivors of the attack.

Stone is one of four officers charged with dereliction of duty for failing to investigate the killings.

Three enlisted Marines, including 25-year-old Lance Corporal Stephen B. Tatum of Edmond, Oklahoma are charged with unpremeditated murder in the case.