Thursday, June 01, 2006

Report: False Testimony in Haditha Probe

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Thursday promised to disclose the results of an investigation into reports that Marines killed unarmed civilians in Iraq. "The world will see the full and complete investigation," Bush said.

The U.S. military is conducting at least two investigations into the Nov. 19 killings of 24 people in Haditha, including women and children, following a bomb attack on a military convoy in which a Marine died. The Iraqi government is doing a separate investigation.

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The Washington Post reported that a U.S. military investigation into actions taken following the deadly incident in Haditha will conclude that some officers gave false testimony to their superiors.

The Post reported that Marine commanders failed to scrutinize reports adequately, according to an article that first appeared on the paper's Web site Wednesday night.

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The Iraqi government announced Thursday its own investigation into the Haditha reports. The decision to begin an Iraqi inquiry was made at a Cabinet meeting, Adnan al-Kazimi, an adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, told The Associated Press.

The investigation will be carried out by a special committee made up of the Justice and Human Rights ministries along with security officials, al-Kazimi said.

Military investigators have evidence that points toward unprovoked murders by Marines, a senior defense official said last week.

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