Major 'NY Times' Probe of Haditha Appears

By: E&P Staff "What really happened in Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005?" Thus begins a major New York Times probe of the alleged massacre of at least 24 Iraqis, published in its Saturday edition and online.

It came the day after news circulated that the official Army investigation into a coverup of the episode had been completed and a report filed, though not released.

The Times article carries the byline of John M. Broder, but cites reporting by David S. Cloud, John Kifner, Carolyn Marshall, Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker.

The Times article relates, as a summary, "Interviews with marines who were present that day or their lawyers, Iraqi residents who witnessed the attack and military investigators provide broadly conflicting accounts of the killings. This article, based on those interviews, does not resolve those discrepancies.

"But it does lay bare the task facing investigators as they try to square the accounts with ambiguous forensic evidence, and suggests that the work will be hindered by the passage of time, the tricks of memory and the fog of fast-paced action at several different locations in Haditha, a tense Euphrates River valley city, seven months ago.

"Investigators and townspeople have said that marines overreacted to a fatal roadside bombing and shot the civilians, only one of whom was armed, in cold blood.

"Marines and their lawyers, who are only now beginning to speak out after months of harsh portrayals of their actions, contend that they believed they were under a concerted attack, and entitled under their rules of engagement to use lethal force against those whom they believed were responsible for a roadside bomb that killed a marine.

"The 24 Iraqis killed included 5 men in a taxi and 19 other civilians in several houses, where, marines have contended, their use of grenades and blind fire was permitted under their combat guidelines when they believed their lives were threatened.

"However, investigators have found evidence that the men in the taxi were not fleeing the bombing scene, as the marines have told military officials. Investigators have also concluded that most of the victims in three houses died from well-aimed rifle shots, not shrapnel or random fire, according to military officials familiar with the initial findings.

"The houses where the killings took place show no evidence of the violent room-clearing assault described by the marines and their lawyers, the officials said.

"The bodies have not yet been exhumed for autopsies, and defense lawyers can be expected to challenge the narrow use of photographic evidence on these points. But according to two people briefed on the investigation, one member of the Marine squad at Haditha, himself closely tied to some of the deaths, is now cooperating with investigators."

The rest of the lengthy article can be found at www.nytimes.com.