Attorney: Marine patrol performed correctly

[unhappycamper]

Attorney: Marine patrol performed correctly
By Estes Thompson - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jan 14, 2008 5:47:05 EST

CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina — Testimony this week from several Marines whose convoy was attacked in Afghanistan shows that their unit’s response was justified and that troops did not fire haphazardly at civilians, an attorney said Friday.

Eleven witnesses have testified so far before the Court of Inquiry, a rarely used fact-finding proceeding underway at Camp Lejeune to investigate the shootings that killed as many as 19 Afghan civilians. The Marines said their Humvees were targeted by a car bombing followed by small arms fire from both sides of the road.

“The hearing so far has confirmed that in the March 4 patrol, the Marine patrol was actually the target of two ambushes,” said civilian lawyer Mark Waple, who represents one of the two officers under investigation. “The first was partially successful and fortunately, the second wasn’t successful at all.”

The Court of Inquiry is focusing on two officers involved in the shootings: Maj. Fred C. Galvin, 38, of the Kansas City, Missouri, area, the company commander, and Capt. Vincent J. Noble, 29, of Philadelphia, a platoon leader. The court, which is to resume Monday and is expected hold hearings through the end of next week, will recommend whether charges should filed against the officers.

Citing witness accounts, Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission concluded last year that the Marines responded to the car bombing by firing indiscriminately at pedestrians and people in cars, buses and taxis in six different locations along a 10-mile (17-kilometer) stretch of roadway.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_inquiry_080111/