Marines testify about Afghan ambush

AP/NY Times:

Two Marines involved in a shooting that killed as many as 19 Afghan civilians testified Wednesday that their unit was responding to an ambush so intense that the crossfire took out tree branches as their convoy of Humvees fled from the scene.

''You could see branches falling across the road ... all along our route,'' said Sgt. Benjamin Baker. ''We were taking semiautomatic small arms fire all along this road.''

Baker's testimony followed that of Sgt. Brett Hayes, who told the administrative panel investigating the conduct of two officers involved in the shooting that the convoy was fired upon at least three times after it was attacked by a car bomb.

Hayes said the blast knocked a gunner in his vehicle out of the turret. The gunner returned to his position and began firing, shouting that he was taking small arms fire from both sides of the road near a bridge over a dry riverbed. Hayes said he heard fire from AK-47 rifles and cracks of the bullets passing overhead.

''I'm 100 percent sure we were taking fire,'' Hayes said. ''And I'm sure we had to kill some guys who were shooting at us.''

Hayes recalled the March 4 gunfire during the second day of testimony at a rarely used Court of Inquiry, which will recommend whether two officers -- Maj. Fred C. Galvin, 38, commander of the 120-person special operations company, and Capt. Vincent J. Noble, 29, a platoon leader -- should be charged with a crime.

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Baker told the court the van blew up shortly after passing his vehicle, the first in the six-vehicle convoy that was headed back to the unit's base after a patrol to the Pakistan border.

Hayes said that when his Humvee resumed its course after the bombing, the vehicle was fired at again from the right side of the road. The gunner fired back, then fired once or twice at a 45-degree angle toward the road, Hayes said, adding that he didn't know the intended target.

Hayes said that he gave the gunner a 200-round can of ammunition after the previous can was exhausted, and that the gunner used a hand-held rifle to fire for a time. When the gunner realized he had been hit in the arm with shrapnel, Hayes got into the turret for the trip back to the base. Hayes said he didn't fire the weapon.

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There is no mention in the story of Taliban war crimes such as camouflaging themselves as civilians and using civilian shields. this is a persistent pattern with the media as it reports on incidents like this one where it is alleged that civilians may have been killed or injured. It is a profound disservice to those who are risking their lief for us not to tell about the enemy war crimes that might precipitate action that endangers civilians.