CAMP PENDLETON — A Marine general testified Friday that he probably would have ordered an investigation of the killing of 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha but for a misleading report filed by the commander there.
The testimony by Maj. Gen. Richard Huck is central to the prosecution's case against Marine Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, 43, accused of dereliction of duty and violating a lawful order for not launching a complete investigation of the killings.
On Nov. 19, 2005, Marines under Chessani's command shot five young men near their car and then killed 19 members of three families in or near their homes. The incident occurred in the early morning near the market area of Haditha, a onetime insurgent stronghold in the Euphrates River valley.
The five men shot to death "were essentially executed," said Lt. Col. Paul Atterbury, a prosecutor. No weapons were found in or near the car.
Eight Iraqis were killed in the first house, six in the second and four in the third. One civilian was killed outside one of the homes. Marines lobbed fragmentation grenades into the houses and then fired M-16s as they entered; evidence suggested that the Marines fired hundreds of rounds.
The report filed by Chessani that night indicated that the deaths were the result of a roadside bombing and crossfire between Marines and insurgents.
But evidence in Chessani's Article 32 inquiry, similar to a preliminary hearing, showed that no weapons or insurgent shell-casings were found in the houses and that the homes were more than 100 yards from where a bomb had exploded under a Humvee, killing a Marine and injuring two.
Defense attorneys assert that Chessani informed his bosses that there had been civilian fatalities, including women and children. But prosecutors say the report was misleading in suggesting that the Marines were responding to gunfire and that some of the deaths had been caused by the roadside bomb.
Prosecutors emphasized that the report indicated Chessani had examined the scene of the killings. According to testimony, Chessani did not go to the scene.
Chessani's report violated the "trust tactics" that Marine officers rely upon to get information from the battlefield, Huck testified. Huck said that based on Chessani's report, he decided that no investigation of the incident was needed.
"There is a high level of confidence when a formal report comes through and says the battalion commander is on the scene," he said.
