The Truth About Haditha

Jonathan Keiler

Now that a Marine Sergeant and squad leader has, through his attorney, given his account of what occurred in Haditha, Iraq, on November 19, 2005, it is time to lay to rest the growing hysteria, in the media and in Congress, over the incident. The account of Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich, does several things which should put to rest much speculation on both sides of the controversy.

First, Wuterich confirms that a number of civilians, including women and children, were indeed killed by Marine infantrymen in the wake of an attack on their convoy. Wuterich’s account jibes, in general with the overall numbers of dead claimed by Iraqis at the scene, though whether all the fatalities were civilian remains to be seen. The civilian deaths were not caused by the roadside bomb that hit the Marine convoy and killed Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, or by subsequent U.S. air or artillery strikes. The only remaining question is whether Wuterich and his fellow Marines—as some Iraqis and Representative John Murtha (D-PA) claim—killed their victims in a cold blooded massacre, as opposed to an accident of war. Wuterich claims that the killings were an unintended and accidental. Based on all the available evidence so far in the public domain, the case the Sergeant makes is much stronger than that of the increasingly unhinged Congressmen, and his fellow travelers in the Iraqi insurgency.

Many factors give credibility to Wuterich’s account, none more so than the fact that his attorney saw fit to publicize it in the midst of a criminal probe. What this suggests is that Wuterich gave his account of what happened in Haditha to his superiors, and presumably to Marine investigators, shortly after the incident. Wuterich’s attorney would not, and could not have released this account, unless it was entirely consistent with what Wuterich previously told investigators. This suggests that Wuterich is not dissembling or creating facts in the wake of an incident that gained increasing attention and importance over time. Additionally, attorneys representing other suspect Marines have seconded Wuterich’s account, suggesting that his recollections are consistent with that of other Marines in his unit.

Wuterich’s account is also consistent with accounts of urban combat as it has been waged in Iraq since the U.S. invasion. Particularly noteworthy is Wuterich’s recollection that a Marine who had previously fought in Fallujah, led his squad in the room to room clearing operation that resulted in most of the civilian deaths. As many accounts of the Fallujah fighting have pointed out, (including my own January 2005 piece in Proceedings Magazine “Who Won the Battle of Fallujah”) a large percentage, if not most Marine losses have occurred in such operations, where suicidal insurgents wait behind closed doors hoping to trade their lives for the first Marines to enter a room. An experienced Marine might well be reluctant to enter a room occupied by a suspected insurgent, without firing first or tossing in a grenade. This appears to be what occurred in Haditha. Whether this was a technical violation of the rules of engagement (which remain classified) remains to be seen; but in any event, it is certainly not a cold blooded massacre.

Finally, any Arab account of an alleged massacre has to be taken with a large grain of salt, or maybe an entire salt lick. By now it ought to be clear to any clear headed observer, that fanciful descriptions of mass killings and massacres, particularly when allegedly committed by American or Israeli troops, are a cultural commonplace, with the actual truth or falsity of the claims being almost entirely irrelevant to the locals. Witness the following recent incidents involving Israeli troops: the proven false accusation that Israeli troops killed young Mohammed al Dura; the proven false accusations of a massacre at the Jenin refugee camp; and most recently the proven false accusation that an Israeli artillery shell killed seven Gaza beach-goers. In all three cases, either neutral journalists (al Dura), pro-Palestinian international organizations, e.g., Human Rights Watch (Jenin), or Palestinian authorities themselves (the recent Gaza explosion), have demonstrated that Arab claims were simply lies. In Iraq we have seen much the same thing, from Saddam’s demented claims of victory as U.S. tanks rumbled down the streets of Baghdad, to false claims of massacres in Fallujah, to dismissal of charges against Marines like Lieutenant Ilario Pantano (falsely accused of killing two Iraqi prisoners).

If Wuterich and his comrades violated the rules of engagement governing their conduct in Haditha on November 19, then they might well be liable for some military offenses, from violation of orders, to possibly involuntary manslaughter. But it is now clear that there was no cold blooded massacre at Haditha. Congressman Murtha and others who have made such claims should be ashamed of themselves.