Marine Colonel Heads To Court In Haditha Killings

Wednesday, May 30th 2007, 8:25 am

By: News On 6

SAN DIEGO (AP) _ Attorneys for the highest ranking Marine charged in a sweep that killed 24 Iraqi civilians, some of them children still in their pajamas, say he reported the facts as he understood them at the time, and that his superiors knew as much as he did.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, commander of the Marine battalion, faces a preliminary hearing Wednesday on allegations that he failed to investigate the deaths at Haditha.

Chessani, 43, had inspected the scene after the Nov. 19, 2005, killings and ``saw no law-of-war violation,'' said his attorney Brian Rooney. He said Chessani immediately reported to his boss, the commanding officer for the 2nd Marine Regiment.

``That same night, he knew exactly what Chessani knew,'' Rooney said. ``My guy is not guilty and neither are these other guys.''

Other witnesses have said they, too, saw no need to investigate how the Iraqis were killed.

During several days of testimony earlier this month for Capt. Randy W. Stone, also charged in the case, a two-star general said he knew about the deaths but saw no need to investigate because he believed they happened during a legitimate combat operation.

The 24 were killed shortly after a roadside bomb exploded, killing one Marine and injured two others. In the aftermath of the blast, a Marine squad went house to house looking for those responsible.

The Marines have said they believed they were taking fire from the houses. They used fragmentation grenades and machine guns to clear the homes, but instead of hitting insurgents, they killed civilians.

Chessani is charged with dereliction of duty and violating a lawful order for failing to investigate the deaths of the men, women and children killed by U.S. troops in Haditha. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison. Three other officers are also charged with dereliction of duty, and three enlisted Marines are charged with murder. All belonged to the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.

Rooney said he wanted several high-ranking officers to testify at the hearing, known as an Article 32 investigation, the military equivalent of a grand jury.

One witnesses he wants to call, Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Johnson, was the commanding general of Marines in western Iraq when the killings took place. Johnson told investigators he didn't feel the slayings were significant.

``Examples of many civilians being killed at a time were precedent for that,'' Johnson told investigators. ``It happened all the time.''

Johnson is unlikely to testify; Rooney said he has asserted his Fifth Amendment privileges against self-incrimination.

Rooney works for the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., a nonprofit Christian law firm that takes on issues of faith, family values and patriotism. Rooney said Chessani, from Rangely, Colo., will be represented free of charge.

During Stone's recent hearing, Sgt. Maj. Edward Sax testified that ``Chessani is the most morally correct Marine officer I have ever served with in my 27 years I have served.''

Maj. Samuel Carrasco, however, testified that Chessani shouted, ``My men are not murderers,'' after learning of allegations that his troops targeted civilians.

Chessani ``apologized for his outburst'' and said the slayings would be reviewed, Carrasco said. ``He had an incredible amount of agitation, frustration.''

The hearing is expected to last at least a week and defense lawyers will show many hours of videotaped testimony from Marine witnesses who have now been redeployed to Iraq.