Charges dropped against Haditha marine
Charges against LCpl Stephen Tatum have been dropped in the inquiry into the Haditha incident.
The incident, in which Marines were ambushed by Iraqi insurgents using civilians as human shields, took place on November 19, 2005. It resulted in a number of civilian casualties. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa) and others tried to portray the incident as a My Lai-style massacre of innocent civilians by berserk Americans, and charges were brought gainst Tatum and three other Marines. TIME sensationalized the charges with a prejudicial and one-sided article on the incident, and a major scandal seemed to be brewing.
But in the meantime, the case has steadily fallen apart, and the evidence has begun to suggest an exercise in self-defense in which innocent people happened to be tragically caught in the line of fire. Needless to say, we haven't heard much in the media about Haditha since the case began to unravel, and the news about LCpl Tatum seems to be a further development in the process.
The incident, in which Marines were ambushed by Iraqi insurgents using civilians as human shields, took place on November 19, 2005. It resulted in a number of civilian casualties. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa) and others tried to portray the incident as a My Lai-style massacre of innocent civilians by berserk Americans, and charges were brought gainst Tatum and three other Marines. TIME sensationalized the charges with a prejudicial and one-sided article on the incident, and a major scandal seemed to be brewing.
But in the meantime, the case has steadily fallen apart, and the evidence has begun to suggest an exercise in self-defense in which innocent people happened to be tragically caught in the line of fire. Needless to say, we haven't heard much in the media about Haditha since the case began to unravel, and the news about LCpl Tatum seems to be a further development in the process.
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