BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON – Facing a new political storm
over the unprovoked killing of dozens of Iraqi civilians by US marines
in the western city of Haditha, the US decided on Thursday, April 1,
to give ethic training to all its troops in the Arab country.
"As military professionals, it is important
that we take time to reflect on the values that separate us from our
enemies," Lieutenant General Peter W. Chiarelli, the number two
US general in Iraq, said in a statement cited by Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
In the new training, set to take place over the
next 30 days, US troops will receive "core warrior values
training, highlighting the importance of adhering to legal, moral and
ethical standards on the battlefield."
The training will emphasize "professional
military values and the importance of disciplined, professional
conduct in combat, Iraqi cultural expectations and the second and
third order effects of actions that are contrary to professional
military values."
Last November, US soldiers killed 24 Iraqi
civilians, including seven women and three children, near Haditha as
they had gone on rampage after their patrol was attacked.
The US Marine Commandant, Gen. Michael W. Hagee,
traveled to Iraq last week and cautioned troops on the danger of
becoming "indifferent to the loss of a human life."
The US keeps up to 130,000 troops in Iraq.
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"Those who violated the law, if they did, will be punished," said Bush. (Reuters)
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The Washington Post said Thursday a US Army
investigation into the killings will conclude that false information
was given about what really happened and recommend changes in how US
troops are trained.
The three-month probe, led by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon
Bargewell, will say that Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, a squad leader
involved in the shootings, gave false information to his superiors
about the killing, one official told the daily.
The squad leader reported that 15 Iraqi civilians
had been killed in a roadside bombing that killed a US soldier and
touched off the incident.
He further claimed that the other nine dead had
been "insurgent fighters"- the US term for resistance
fighters.
That report was entered into an official database
of "significant acts" maintained by the US military in Iraq.
Bargewell's report will fault the US military for
failing to scrutinize the false account.
It will say that a Marine team, that helped collect
the dead, failed to observe that the Iraqi civilians were killed by
gunshot, mostly in the head and chest, not by a bomb.
The official, however, did not say whether the
Bargewell's report had determined that there was a cover-up for the
incident.
Congressman John Murtha on Sunday, 28, accused the
military of trying to "cover up" the civilian killings.
"Troubled"
US President George W. Bush told reporters
Wednesday, May 31, he was "troubled " by the Haditha
accusations.
"I am troubled by the initial news
stories," he said after a White House meeting with Rwandan
President Paul Kagame.
"If, in fact, laws were broken, there will be
punishment," Bush said. "Those who violated the law, if they
did, will be punished."
The Bargewell's report is expected to spark furor
in the US over the handling of the administration and the military of
American wrongdoings in Iraq.
Many analysts compared the Haditha incident to the
1968 My Lai killings which helped turn the tide of public opinion
against the Vietnam War.
Iraqi Probe
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"We cannot forgive violations of the dignity of the Iraqi people," Maliki told reporters. (Reuters)
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The Iraqi government decided Thursday to launch its
own investigation into the Haditha killings.
"We cannot forgive violations of the dignity
of the Iraqi people," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said at a
news conference.
"The cabinet will follow up on this matter
with the multinational forces and we will issue a statement to
denounce the event and reveal others like it that have happened in the
past."
The investigation will be carried out by a special
committee made up of the Justice and Human Rights ministries along
with security officials.
Maliki said he asked a ministerial committee to
hold talks with the US military to set ground rules for raids and
detentions.
The controversy, however, appeared to have no
immediate impact on how American soldiers handle situations involving
Iraqi civilians.
Two Iraqi women, one pregnant, were killed by jumpy
US troops at a military checkpoint on Wednesday as they rushed to the
hospital in the central city of Samarra.
Nabiha Mohammed Jassim, 35, was being rushed to the
central Samarra hospital to give birth in the company of her cousin
Saliha Hamad Hassan al-Aswadi, and driven by her brother when the two
women were shot dead by US soldiers.
Civilians are increasingly bearing the brunt of the
violence in war-ravaged Iraq with the Health Ministry reporting 932
civilians killed in May, a 36 percent increase over April.
