Marines reassigned as probe continues

WASHINGTON – Three Marines have been relieved of their commands in connection with problems during their deployment to Iraq, including their battalion’s actions during a firefight that left 15 Iraqi civilians dead.

So far, no charges have been filed against the three officers, who were reassigned to new duties within the division because of a “lack of confidence in their leadership abilities,” said Lt. Lawton King, spokesman for the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

King would not comment on the officers’ specific connection to the firefight, which occurred in the western town of Haditha and is being investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

The officers are Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment; Capt. James S. Kimber, commanding officer of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment; and Capt. Lucas M. McConnell, commanding officer of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.

About a dozen 3rd Battalion Marines are being investigated for possible war crimes in connection with the firefight last November to determine if they violated rules of military engagement.

A videotape taken by an Iraqi shows the aftermath of the alleged attack by U.S. troops on civilians in Haditha: a blood-smeared bedroom floor, bits of what appear to be human flesh and bullet holes in the walls.

The video, obtained by Time magazine, was broadcast a day after Haditha residents told the Associated Press that American troops had entered homes and shot and killed 15 members of two families, including a 3-year-old girl, after a roadside bomb had killed a U.S. Marine.