Marine charged in connection to killings says he's saddened

[Algorem]

12/30/2006, 12:39 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A Marine accused of failures in investigating and reporting details related to the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians last year says he believes the charges against him will detract from the Marines' work in the country.

"I'm sad, taken aback and definitely surprised by the allegations," Marine 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson told the Dayton Daily News for a story published Saturday. "I know that this is going to take away from all the wonderful things that the Marines on the ground have done there."

Grayson, a native of Springboro, near Dayton, was in his third tour of duty when he was ordered Dec. 19 to return to his home base. He was formally charged in the United States a few days later with willfully failing to ensure that a thorough investigation was conducted into a possible war crime, making a false official statement and impeding an investigation.

Four other Marines were charged with unpremeditated murder in the bloody sweep of the town of Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005, that came after one of their comrades was killed by a roadside bomb. Grayson, 25, and three other officers who were not present during the killings were accused of failures in investigating and reporting the deaths in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving civilian deaths to come out of the Iraq war...


On the Net:

Marine Corps Iraq Investigations: http://www.usmc.mil/lapa/iraq-investigations.htm

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http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-29/1167455965249080.xml&storylist=cleveland

12/29/2006, 11:59 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

BATAVIA, Ohio (AP) — The father of an Ohio soldier missing in Iraq for two years said Friday he doubts the execution of Saddam Hussein will change the course of the war...

Ohio is a state with more than 100 U.S. military causalities in the Iraq war and whose newest senator says troops should leave within two years.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown made his opposition to the Iraq war a central part of his successful campaign to defeat incumbent-Republican U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine in November's general election. An Associated Press exit poll found that
Brown did extremely well among those who disapproved of the war.

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2004, is again seeking the 2008 nomination because he says his party isn't pushing hard enough to end the Iraq war.



Iraqis react with joy and outrage to execution;

many more concerned with current violence

The Associated PressPublished: December 30, 2006

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/30/africa/ME_GEN_Saddam_Iraqis_React.php

...But members of the Army's 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, on patrol in an overwhelming Shiite neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, said the execution wouldn't get them home any faster — and therefore didn't make much difference.

"Nothing really changes," said Capt. Dave Eastburn, 30, of Columbus, Ohio. "The militias run everything now, not Saddam."

Staff Sgt. David Earp, who also fought in Operation Desert Storm, said the execution worried him.

"In my opinion, something big is going to happen," said Earp, of Colorado Springs, Colo. "There will be a response. Probably not today because they know we are looking for one, but soon."...

[rocktivity]

1. Is that why he COVERED UP the crime?

Because he didn't want the bad publicity to hurt the Marines' good work?

:rofl:
rocknation