Carlsbad attorney critical of leaks in Marine probe

By: DAVID STERRETT and MARK WALKER - Staff Writers | Wednesday, June 7, 2006 1:52 PM PDT ∞

CAMP PENDLETON -- A Carlsbad attorney blasted military officials Monday for leaking information about an ongoing investigation of 11 Camp Pendleton Marines and a Navy Corpsman for the alleged April 26 kidnapping and killing of an Iraq man.

David Brahms, who said he is representing one of the Marines under investigation, said the men from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment are being charged, sentenced and executed in the media because of reports from unnamed military sources.

"The bastards who leaked the information should be hung in a public square," said Brahms, who declined to identify his client. "My Marines are being thrown under the goddamn bus."

He said reports about the incident that took place in the village of Hamdania west of Baghdad are just speculation until the investigation is complete. Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman are being held in the brig and the four others are restricted to the base. The town had previously been misidentified by the military as "Hamandiya."

"I'm very angry," Brahms said of the confinement, adding he expects charges to come down in the next few days, and "we are just waiting to see what happens."

Military officials have declined to discuss pending investigations, but details of the incident have appeared in recent news reports.

Hashim Ibrahim Awad al-Zobaie was shot dead by Marines on April 26, according to reports from the Washington Post.

The newspaper reported family members and friends of the 52-year-old Iraqi said Marines took him from his home, shot him four times in the face and then planted an assault rifle and shovel next to his body.

But some of the Marines under investigation said in written statements that Hashim was digging a hole in an apparent attempt to place a roadside bomb and was killed after a brief gunbattle, according to the Post report.

The paper quoted family members of Hashim saying military officials tried to bribe them into saying that Hashim was an insurgent.

The military announced its investigation of the killing in Hamdania on May 25.

Haditha probe


The Naval Criminal Investigative Service also is investigating Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment for the alleged killing of 24 unarmed civilians on Nov. 19 in the town of Haditha. No charges have been filed in that case, which also involves Marines from that regiment's Kilo Company, and none are being held.

A probe of whether some Marine commanders attempted to cover up the Haditha incident is being conducted under the direction of U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell.

Attorneys last week said the fact that some Marines are in custody in the Hamdania case is indicative of possible fears of flight or collusion involving those being held.

Seven of the eight appeared before a magistrate to determine the appropriateness of the confinement and ultimately were ordered kept in the brig. The eighth is slated to appear before a magistrate sometime this week.

Robert Wities, a San Diego defense attorney and former U.S. Navy military judge who also presided over Marine cases, said the service has not been confronted with such serious allegations since the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam in which a U.S. Army unit killed more than 300 civilians.

"What strikes me about these cases are the fact they are so rare," Wities said, adding current military lawyers and judges have little or no experience with cases of the magnitude these could represent.

"It will be a new experience for everyone in the courtroom," Wities said. "There is no standard script."

At Camp Pendleton base spokesman, 2nd Lt. Lawton King, said Monday that he had no clear indication when, if any, charges will be filed. Last week, San Diego attorney Jeremiah Sullivan III said he was representing one of those in custody and that he anticipated homicide, conspiracy and kidnapping charges would be filed soon.

Sullivan declined to speak with a reporter when his office was contacted on Monday.

'Core values'


Marines around the country and in Iraq and Afghanistan are getting refresher courses in "core values" training at the direction of the Corps' commandant, Gen. Michael Hagee.

Hagee took that message to Iraq in May and was back at his Washington offices Monday.

Base spokesman King said Pendleton units have yet to receive the lessons.

"The training packages are being refined," King said.

Later in a written statement, King said: "The 1st Marine Division has reemphasized its Corps Values training and is directing more command attention to the small-unit leaders who in turn are in the best position to influence the Marines on the ground. In addition, the stress placed on the rules of engagement and law of armed conflict in the pre-deployment briefs will be formalized and reinforced by a new policy letter that is scheduled to take effect this month."

At the Marine Corps Combat Training Center at Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert, where most Marine units do final training before deploying, spokeswoman Lt. Christy Kercheval said Hagee will be at the Mojave desert base June 12 to drive the message home.

Marines and sailors there are routinely trained in the rules of engagement and "tactical cultural awareness," Kercheval said in a written statement.

In an indication of the growing demands on the public affairs office at Pendleton, Marine Lt. Col. Sean Gibson from the headquarters of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., is now at Pendleton to help oversee responses to reporters' questions.

The House and Senate Armed Services committees are scheduled to conduct hearings into the incidents later this month. The dates of those hearings and what ground each will cover has not yet been determined.

-- Contact staff writer David Sterrett (760) 740-3516 or dsterrett@nctimes.com. Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.