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Convicted Marine Apologizes to Iraqi Civilians
(ABC News) – The 31-year-old Camp Pendleton Marine apologized for the loss of their loved ones and said he never intended to harm them or their families. He went on to tell the court that his guilty plea in no way suggests that his squad behaved badly or dishonorably.
“But even with the best intentions, sometimes combat actions can cause tragic results,” Wuterich said in an unsworn statement.The lone Marine was convicted of a single count of negligent dereliction of duty. He faces having his rank reduced but he will not go to jail as a part of a plea agreement that abruptly ended his long-awaited manslaughter trial.
The deal is “a sign that the US judiciary is belittling Iraq’s blood”, said Talal Al Zoubai, an Iraqi lawmaker from Anbar province, of which Haditha is part of.
“The ugly crime [Haditha massacre] contradicts human values and rights, and the principles of democracy which the US brought to Iraq, [but] left us with armies of widows and orphans, armed society and divided it along sectarian lines” Al Zoubai said in a statement to Gulf News.
“There should have been a strong sentence that is appropriate to the size of the tragedy for the relatives of the victims and martyrs’ kins,” Al Zoubai added.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."