Haditha Iraq

A staff sergeant testified Thursday that he was ordered to destroy grisly pictures of women and children killed by Marines so that the images would not be part of a statement being prepared for an investigative officer and a magazine reporter. The testimony by Staff Sgt. Justin Laughner, taken under a grant of immunity, is the first evidence suggesting that any Marine officer may have engaged in a coverup in the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in 2005.

Seeking to quell outrage over allegations that Marines went on a killing rampage against unarmed civilians in Haditha, the top U.S. general in Iraq ordered all American troops in the country to undergo additional ethics training, the military said Thursday. The announcement came a week after Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee went to Iraq on what he said was a mission to reinforce the training Marines receive in following laws regarding force and violence.

Attorneys for Marines being investigated for possible war crimes in the deaths of 24 Iraqis in Haditha said Sunday that their clients did nothing wrong and were following the military's rules on how to combat armed insurgents hiding inside homes. "There will be no proof that these Marines intentionally killed civilians," attorney Neal Puckett said. "To call this a massacre is completely groundless." The account of Puckett and other attorneys of what happened Nov.

Wherever the Marines go, the movies are sure to follow. In boot camp, recruits are exposed to great movies of the past about Marine heroism. "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949) with John Wayne, for example. In Iraq, Marines unwind after a dangerous day of patrolling the streets of Al Anbar province by watching movies, often war movies. The 2001 HBO series "Band of Brothers," about a battle-weary Army unit in World War II, is a particular favorite. Go figure.

Even before the investigation of the killing of 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha is complete, the Marine Corps has taken action, stressing accountability and sternly reminding officers that they must investigate all civilian deaths. The investigative report, by an Army general, will be highly critical of officers for not investigating the Nov.

The investigations of alleged slayings of Iraqi civilians by Marines are leading to greater scrutiny by officers of all reports filed by enlisted personnel after clashes in which unarmed Iraqis are killed, officials close to the cases said Saturday.

Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, who brought the criminal charges in the Haditha case, has shown no reluctance to take hard-nosed actions against Marines. Mattis, commander of the Marine Corps Forces Central Command, in 2003 initiated an investigation of the treatment of Iraqi prisoners by Marines.

The preliminary hearing for Marine Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich begins today, marking possibly the last chance for prosecutors to bring to court-martial any of the Marines charged with murder in the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians in the Iraqi village of Haditha.

A hearing officer Thursday recommended that charges be dropped against a Marine lance corporal in connection with the killings of three Iraqi children and three adults in their homes in November 2005. If Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis accepts the recommendation, it will mean that of four enlisted Marines initially charged with murder in the Haditha incident, only one will still face charges. Lt. Col. Paul Ware, in a report to Mattis, said the evidence against Lance Cpl.

The war-crime hearings underway here have led to an unusual public airing of some of the Marine Corps' most tightly held combat secrets: the so-called rules of engagement that govern when Marines can use deadly force in Iraq. Testimony thus far suggests the rules are ambiguous and subjective, and leave many Marines feeling they are being hamstrung in their ability to protect themselves by killing or capturing the enemy.