Haditha Platoon Commander: 'We Were in the Right'

The rules of engagement played a major role Friday in the trial of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who is facing manslaughter charges after his squad killed 24 men, women and children Nov. 19, 2005 in Haditha, Iraq.

First to testify was former First Lt. William Kallop. A platoon commander at the time, he met up with the squad after a roadside bomb attack that killed one Marine. The squad had killed five unarmed men near the road and suspected the bomb’s triggerman to be hiding in a house overlooking the bomb site.

Kallop ordered the men to “clear south” — the direction of the home. Wuterich then led his Marines in a house-to-house search that left 19 men, women and children dead.

Kallop told the court Marines in his unit had been attacked early in the deployment and had found makeshift bombs dug into roads.

“We were expecting resistance,” he said.

When the squad was hit, it lost one fire team as a result, putting the Marines in even more danger, he told the court.

“The situation was not good, because of the number of Marines,” he said.

In his , defense attorney Haytham Faraj said Wuterich and the squad believed an insurgent was in the home and cleared it — and other homes — with grenades and fire.

Maj. Kathryn Navin — a Marine lawyer who briefed the team on the rules of engagement — said in afternoon testimony that the Marines should only use deadly force to clear a structure if they are receiving fire from the home and can positively identify the hostile individual.

She also said a structure housing hostile forces cannot be considered a target — only the individuals inside.

In question during the trial is whether or not the homes — or their occupants —were considered hostile enough to warrant deadly force and if the squad properly identified the threat.

The court is in recess until Tuesday morning. 

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