General's report on Haditha condemns Marines

April 21, 2007
General's report on Haditha condemns Marines

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army general concluded the Marine Corps chain of command in Iraq ignored "obvious" signs of "serious misconduct" in the slayings of two dozen civilians in Haditha, Iraq, in 2005, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.

The report by Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell, obtained by the newspaper, also found that commanders fostered a climate that devalued the life of innocent Iraqis to the point that U.S. soldiers considered their deaths insignificant.

Bargewell's investigation found officers may have willfully ignored reports of the civilian deaths to protect themselves and their units from blame.

The investigation covered enlisted personnel through the two-star general commanding the 2nd Marine Division at the time.

Bargewell found no specific cover-up, but he concluded there also was no interest at any level in investigating allegations of a massacre, the Post reported.