REGION: Mattis testifies no one influenced Haditha decision
General refutes allegations of influence, pressure
By TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | ∞
CAMP PENDLETON ---- A four-star general testified Monday that a lower-ranking officer did not influence his decision to bring criminal charges against the battalion commander in charge of Marines tied to the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq.
Gen. James N. Mattis also testified there was no pressure from above ---- be it from the Pentagon, congressional contacts or the Marine Corps commandant ---- for him to criminally charge anyone in the Haditha killings.
"I make my own decisions," Mattis said.
Allegations that political pressures from on high led to the criminal charges have dogged the Haditha cases from the start.
Mattis took the stand in a Camp Pendleton courtroom to fend off allegations that a junior officer tainted his decision to bring charges.
The NATO general was testifying to refute an argument that a legal adviser on his staff, Col. John Ewers, colored his decision to criminally charge Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani for allegedly failing to fully investigate the Nov. 19, 2005, civilian deaths.
The Haditha killings led to the largest war-crimes case involving civilian deaths at the hands of U.S. forces since the start of the Iraq war in 2003. Chessani is the highest-ranking officer charged in the incident.
The civilian deaths followed a roadside bombing that killed a Marine. The dead included a number of women and children.
The killings, when they came to light months later, sparked an international outcry.
Eight Marines ---- four enlisted men and four officers ---- from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment were originally charged with wrongdoing. The cases against five of the men ---- including three admitted triggermen ---- were later dropped.
The decision to bring criminal charges in the case fell to Mattis, who was head of U.S. Marine forces in Iraq.
Mattis' turn on the stand came after the military judge presiding over Chessani's case found the possibility of undue influence by Ewers in Mattis' decision to charge the Colorado native.
Testimony from Mattis, who is now also in charge of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, could help decide the future of Chessani's case.
Lawyers prosecuting the case against Chessani must prove that Mattis was not influenced by Ewers, who was an investigator on the Haditha case and then later became a legal adviser on Mattis' team.
Closing arguments in the pretrial hearing are set for Tuesday morning. Chessani's lawyers are pushing to have the charges dropped.
Mattis said Ewers may have been at meetings about the Haditha case, but his counsel was not sought ---- nor was it welcome as it related to the war crimes accusations.
"He had no input, he was not asked for his opinion, nor did he offer it," Mattis said. "Nor would I have accepted it."
Mattis said that before Ewers was assigned as his legal adviser, the colonel assisted U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell in a review of how commanders responded to the Haditha deaths.
And that, Mattis said, "was enough to make me dismiss any input from him."
In the course of that investigation, Ewers took Chessani's official statement ---- a role that makes him a potential witness in Chessani's criminal case.
Also, Mattis said, Ewers' position as a legal adviser did not include giving input on the Haditha case, because that case fell under the purview of a military command of which Ewers was not a part.
Before getting his fourth star last fall, Mattis was a lieutenant general who served as commander of the Camp Pendleton-based I Marine Expeditionary Force and the head of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East and, as such, had authority to bring prosecutions in the Haditha matter.
Critics of the war crimes cases have decried statements from U.S. Rep John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, who, soon after the killings came to light, asserted publicly that he had learned from Marine Corps officials, including the then-commandant, that innocent Iraqis had been killed "in cold blood."
Although Murtha's name did not come up in court Monday, Mattis said there had been no improper congressional contact with him in the case. He also said "nobody in the Pentagon ever talked to me" about the charges in the Haditha case.
And his routine conversations with Marine Corps commandants never included chat about the war crimes case.
"They didn't bring it up to me; I didn't bring it up to them," Mattis said. "We played it by the book."
He also said the intense media spotlight on the killings "had no influence whatsoever" in his decision to bring charges.
"I was uninterested in the media's view," the general said.
Mattis ---- who testified that he does not own a television ---- has a reputation as a strong-willed and well-read leader, and has been dubbed the "warrior monk."
The general's testimony gave a rare peek into the internal workings of his handling of the war crimes cases.
Mattis said he personally pored over the cases and by the end of 2006 had read more than 9,000 pages of evidence and statements.
He said he did so because the troops were operating in the most "ethically bruising, morally bruising" environment he had ever seen, and he didn't want the information about the matter "filtered" through others.
Reading the evidence and investigation materials for himself, Mattis said, allowed him to "bluntly challenge" prosecutors.
He was overseeing not just the Haditha case but also an unrelated war crimes case arising from a kidnapping and killing in Hamdania, Iraq. In that case, he eventually ordered criminal charges against eight Camp Pendleton troops.
He said he also had a number of meetings about the cases and that the frequency and duration of the meetings ---- sometimes four times a week, and sometimes running five hours at a time ---- were unmatched by any other meetings he had, including meetings about intelligence, operations and logistics.
By the end of 2006, Mattis had ordered criminal charges against eight men in the Hamdania case, and eight men in the Haditha case.
Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 740-5442 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
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pamela wrote on Jun 2, 2008 2:07 PM:Could it be the Marines are like some big companies??? Get rid of people not long before they can retire, or, fix it so they get no retirement at all. Maybe this general should retire. He sure doesn't understand or know the meaning of brotherhood!
Free Em wrote on Jun 2, 2008 2:42 PM:Free all Marines NOW!
This is the Thanks our Marines get for risking their live!?
AWcryinoutloud wrote on Jun 2, 2008 2:45 PM:Does the General "choose" his legal adviser? If so, why; knowing that even the 'appearance' of impropriety is unlawful under the UCMJ, would a General choose as his "legal adviser" someone who had investigated the Haditha incident, taken a statement from a suspect, and was a potential witness? Why would he choose someone with the authority to guide him and influence his opinion? This is only one instance of legal advisers to the General either unlawfully influencing or, at the least, appearing to influence, the Haditha case. TWO legal advisors have been involved in charges of Unlawful Command Influence. But, hey! Let's forget about the UCMJ. It has served its real purpose. The General has spoken!
DonnaD wrote on Jun 2, 2008 6:17 PM:Well now, I don't suppose the angry mob here might consider that:
1. The Haditha cases were assigned to Mattis' because he was the CG of the IMEF at the time. He did not initiate the cases. (You should address your wrath east of California.)
2. In the past General Mattis has been a man of his word, aggressive ...yes, but still honest.
3. In any incident you can most likely find cause for further investigation.
Mattis was legally bound to examine the
evidence and make a recommendation. He did not pronounce anyone guilty.
I believe him, and I believe that my Haditha Marines are innocent as well.
The defense would not have performed their due diligence in this case had they not brought the issue of undue command influence to the front. However, it doesn't mean that Mattis is guilty of it.
Once again, these comments should be directed at the people in the Pentagon, and the White House who allowed Murtha and the press to perpetrate this hellish folly upon these Marines and the people of the United States.
Our lawmakers and Pentagon officials should have stood up for our Marines instead of trying to save their lousy careers at the expense of ALL US Marines.
Peter wrote on Jun 2, 2008 8:57 PM:Though I support full pardons for the Marines involved in the Haditha and Hamdania cases, the negative comments here reflect a lack of understanding of the concept of convening authority as part of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Suffice to say that Gen. Mattis’s accepting of the recommended charges and ordering Courts Martial is based on whether the evidence supports going forward with the charges, but with full realization that the prosecution must still prove the charges in the course of the Courts Martial.
JJs Dad wrote on Jun 2, 2008 9:25 PM:General Mattis is a straight shooter. I met the man and tested his mettle during my interview with him. But like all of those in a position of great responsibility, General Mattis has and had a keen sense of the big picture and Rep Murtha has spent a lot of time here in SD County. Sometimes, you are forced to do something due to political winds blowing, and General Mattis.... you placed the P8 in chains due to the "big picture"- a mistake you have admitted. I would venture that Haditha had similar "mistakes".
RON wrote on Jun 3, 2008 3:42 PM:DonnaD: "the White House who allowed Murtha and the press to perpetrate this hellish folly upon these Marines and the people of the United States." The President has no control over Murtha. Murtha is Democrat Congressman, so even political pressure could not have been exerted on him by the President. The President is not a dictator. Can you imagine the uproar if the President tried to silence the press? Clearly, it would be very unconstitutional for him to even suggest such a thing. The President must follow the law, just like anybody else. I know of no evidence that Bush instigated the charges against Marines. He certainly couldn't interfere with a legal process such as a court martial, any more than he could meddle in a proceeding in any court of law. He'd be subject to impeachment if he did. Bush's popularity is poor now, but let's not fault him for something beyond his power. Mattis is just an average 4-star USMC general in my opinion. Anybody who attains that rank is outstanding in some way, possibly as an office politician. I believe him though when he says he was not "unduly" influenced. That's a dead issue now. Let the court martial determine guilt or innocence in these cases. That's the system; there's none better.
DonnaD wrote on Jun 3, 2008 7:19 PM:Ron - You're right, Bush has no control over Murtha nor should he. However you read many things into my comments that are not there and were not at all impled.
The White House did however have a hand in condoning this mess. No one at either the White House or the Pentagon had the backbone to stand up for these men and say "No, you won't prosecute them for doing their job." This never should have gotten to courts martials, and both the White House and the Pentagon could have stopped it.
These Marines were scapegoats served up to quiet the press and wild-eyed liberals.
Ron FYI- I'm a Texan and voted for Bush, both times. I didn't support going into Iraq in 2003, but now that we are there we should stay and finish the job.
Steve wrote on Jun 5, 2008 1:02 PM:Mattis said he would handle 1 thing before he left I-MEF and Camp Pendleton. He did not do it. I am sorry to say He is a Great Marine leader, but I do not consider him to be a may of his word.
MorallyRight wrote on Jun 8, 2008 5:31 PM:What a joke! If he did not listen to his advisors, then of what use are they? Get rid of them. He is human, and in being so, he is open to the opinions of anyone around him. How can a man in his position say he makes his own decisions? Does he think by any stretch of the imagination, that he knows all, sees all?
Again, what a joke! And, Thank You Steve, well said.
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