No charges against Marines special forces troops

AP/CNN:

A Marine Corps general has decided not to bring criminal changes against two officers whose unit was accused of killing as many as 19 Afghan civilians in 2007.

The Marines said Friday that Lt. General Samuel Helland, the commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Central Command, made the decision after reviewing the findings of a special tribunal that heard more than three weeks of testimony in January at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

The tribunal investigated allegations that as many as 19 Afghan civilians died when a unit of Marines Special Operations troops opened fire after a car bomb targeted their convoy in March 2007 in Nangahar Province.

The Marines said Helland determined that the Marines in the convoy "acted appropriately and in accordance with the rules of engagement and tactics, techniques and procedures in place at the time in response to a complex attack."

It was the first time in more than 50 years that the Marines empanelled a Court of Inquiry. The panel, comprised of two Marine Corps colonels and a lieutenant colonel, considered the actions of only the company's commander, 38-year-old Maj. Fred C. Galvin of the Kansas City, Missouri, area; and a platoon leader, Capt. Vincent J. Noble, 29, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"Obviously, I am delighted about the findings," said civilian attorney Knox Nunnally, who represented Noble before the Court of Inquiry. "From a legal standpoint, it was overwhelming that this was going to be the result."

The Marines, however, said "administrative, manning and training issues" related to the incident were uncovered by the court's investigation. Those unspecified issues have been sent to the commander of the Marine Corps's Special Operations command for action.

The Corps also said Galvin, Noble and a third officer -- Capt. Robert Olsen -- will face administrative actions. It was not immediately clear what those actions might be.

Citing witness accounts, Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission concluded that the Marines fired indiscriminately at vehicles and pedestrians in six locations on a 10-mile stretch of road. Nearly a dozen Marines told the court they heard gunfire after the bombing and called the unit's fire a disciplined response to a well-planned ambush.

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I think this is a good outcome. When you have an enemy like the Taliban that camouflages itself as civilians and uses civilians as human shields, it is obvious that the enemy war crimes put the non combatants at risk. If the enemy wore identifying uniforms as required by the Geneva Conventions the Marines would not be put in a position of making a mistake on who was shooting at them.

BTW, Knox Nunnally is from Texas and has a son who was a Marine officer. They are both good guys who have gone out of their way to help Marines and their families.