US Marine gets 3 months jail for killing 24 Iraqi civilians.
Several analysts said they feared that the deal Monday to end Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich’s court-martial in the killing of 24 Iraqis would harden the widespread conviction in the international community that the U.S. does not hold its troops accountable for misdeeds or meet the standards of conduct it attempts to impose on other countries.
“This is only going to reinforce that sense,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, which seeks to curtail inhumane conduct in war. “This has contributed significantly to the cynicisms of people in the region about America’s rhetoric — about America standing for principles. When push comes to shove, when it comes to looking at the misconduct of their own soldiers, there is no accountability.”
Wuterich will plead guilty to a single count of negligent dereliction of duty, with a maximum sentence of three months in the brig. Other charges were dropped. Wuterich, 31, was accused of manslaughter, assault and dereliction of duty for allegedly leading his squad on a bloody rampage on the morning of Nov. 19, 2005, after a roadside bomb killed one Marine and injured two in the Euphrates River town of Haditha. Twenty-four unarmed Iraqis died.
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