NEWS: Top general in Iraq orders 'values' training
Focus comes as military probes claims Marines intentionally killed civilians
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 3:45 a.m. MT June 1, 2006
URL: msnbc.msn.com
WASHINGTON - The top U.S. general in Iraq on Thursday ordered American commanders to conduct core values training on moral and ethical standards on the battlefield.
Army Gen. George W. Casey's order came as the U.S. military investigated whether U.S. Marines might have intentionally killed unarmed civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha on Nov. 19.
The killings, in which victims included women and children, followed a bomb attack on a military convoy that killed a Marine.
Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, said in a statement the training would emphasize "professional military values and the importance of disciplined, professional conduct in combat" as well as Iraqi cultural expectations.
"As military professionals, it is important that we take time to reflect on the values that separate us from our enemies," Chiarelli said. "The challenge for us is to make sure the actions of a few do not tarnish the good work of the many."
The training will be conducted in units over the next 30 days and was aimed at reinforcing training service members received prior to their deployment, according to the statement.
The order was issued about a week after the U.S. Marine Commandant, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, traveled to Iraq and cautioned troops on the danger of becoming "indifferent to the loss of a human life," following the allegations that Marines killed civilians in Haditha.
If confirmed as unjustified killings, the episode could be the most serious case of criminal misconduct by U.S. troops during three years of combat in Iraq. Until now the most infamous occurrence was the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse involving Army soldiers, which came to light in April 2004 and which Bush said he considered to be the worst U.S. mistake of the entire war.
Once the military investigation is completed, perhaps in June, it will be up to a senior Marine commander in Iraq to decide whether to press charges of murder or other violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
According to a report in the Washington Post on Thursday, the inquiry will conclude that some officers gave false reports to their superiors, who then failed to scrutinize the information.
Bush 'troubled'
President Bush said Wednesday he was troubled by the allegations and that, “if in fact laws were broken, there will be punishment.”
It was Bush’s first public comment on allegations that Marines killed about two dozen unarmed Iraqi men, women and children in the western city of Haditha last November.
Responding to a reporter’s question, Bush said he had discussed Haditha with Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “He’s a proud Marine. And nobody is more concerned about these allegations than the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps is full of honorable people who understand the rules of war.”
“If in fact these allegations are true,” Bush said, “the Marine Corps will work hard to make sure that that culture — that proud culture — will be reinforced. And that those who violated the law, if they did, will be punished.”
“I am troubled by the initial news stories,” Bush said. “I’m mindful that there’s a thorough investigation going on. If in fact, laws were broken, there will be punishment.”
Details of Haditha incident
The details of what happened in Haditha are still murky. What is known is that a bomb rocked a military convoy and left one Marine dead.
Marines then shot and killed unarmed civilians in a taxi at the scene and went into two homes and shot other people, according to Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat and decorated war veteran who has been briefed by military officials.
The Marine Corps had initially attributed 15 civilian deaths to the car bombing and a firefight with insurgents, eight of whom the Marines reported had been killed.
Other killings alleged
Meanwhile, U.S. forces denied Wednesday a new accusation, from Iraqi officers, that American troops killed unarmed civilians in their home this month.
Iraqi army and police officers and several people who said they were witnesses and relatives of the dead said U.S. soldiers killed two women, aged 60 and 20, and a mentally handicapped man in their home on May 4 after insurgents fired on the troops.
Spokesmen for the 101st Airborne Division, which controls Samarra and Salahaddin province north of Baghdad, said soldiers from its 3rd Brigade Combat Team killed two unnamed men and a woman in a house who had “planned to attack the soldiers”.
There are frequent disputes over incidents between U.S. military and Iraqi officials in Salahaddin, where the Sunni Arab revolt against occupation and the Shiite-led government has been strong. U.S. officers have complained of “disinformation” from police as part of an insurgent campaign to discredit them.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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