Troops cleared in Iraq deaths case

They will all be cleared, Georgie can't afford to allow anything else, with his polls at an all time low, the people of America are up in arms already that none of the top eschalons, heads have rolled for this calamity.

A house destroyed during the U.S. raid in Ishaqi.
A probe into claims U.S. troops intentionally killed Iraqi civilians in Ishaqi, north of Baghdad, has cleared the troops of misconduct, the Pentagon told CNN Friday. It is one of at least three incidents being investigated -- the most notorious being an alleged massacre of 24 civilians in Haditha.


DEVELOPING STORY

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
41 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - A military investigation into allegations that U.S. troops intentionally killed Iraqi civilians in a March 15 raid in a village north of Baghdad has cleared the troops of misconduct, two defense officials said Friday.

The investigation concluded that the U.S. troops followed proper procedures in raising the level of force as they came under attack upon approaching a building where they believed an al-Qaida terrorist was hiding, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the results had not been publicly released.

The investigation concluded that no troops committed acts that merited disciplinary action, they added.

The Army's Criminal Investigation Division reviewed the results of the investigation and found no reason to probe further, the officials said.

The nighttime raid was conducted in the village of Ishaqi, about 50 miles north of Baghdad, by a ground assault force. After being fired upon from the targeted building, the soldiers pulled back and called in airstrikes by an Air Force AC-130 gunship, which attacked and collapsed the building, the defense officials said.

Local Iraqis said there were 11 total dead, and contended that they were killed by U.S. troops before the house was leveled.

The incident came months after an alleged massacre by Marines of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha last November. The military is still conducting two investigations into the Haditha case, one to see if U.S. troops committed crimes there and a second to see if the actions were covered up.

The Marine Corps, meanwhile, released a videotape of portions of Gen. Michael Hagee's remarks on Memorial Day about the Haditha investigations. Hagee, the Marine Corps commandant, flew to Iraq last weekend to reinforce Marine Corps behavioral standards and to stress a need to treat civilians properly.

No news coverage of his visit to Iraq was permitted. In the videotape released Friday, Hagee is seen addressing a room full of Marines, assuring them that every effort was being made to discover the truth about Haditha.

"As soon as it was brought to the attention of senior leadership, the investigation started," Hagee said. "There are actually two investigations going on right now. One having to do with what actually occurred on that particular morning. And two, what did the chain of command know, when did they know it and why wasn't action taken on that day? We're going to find out, and if anyone did anything wrong we're going to hold them accountable."

One defense official said the investigation into the circumstances of the Ishaqi attack found that four people in the building were killed by U.S. forces, including two women and a child. The main target of the attack, said by U.S. intelligence to be an al-Qaida figure, ran from the building but was later captured, the official said.

Although it has been known that U.S. air power was involved in the assault on the building in Ishaqi, it was not previously reported that there was an AC-130 gunship, a devastating weapon capable of operating at night and pummeling its target with side-firing guns, including a 105mm cannon. The gunship is flown by Air Force Special Operations crews.

Footage shot by an AP Television News cameraman at the location showed at least five children dead and at least one adult male and four of the children with deep head wounds that could have been caused by bullets or shrapnel. The inside of the walls left standing were pocked with bullet holes.

Iraqi Police Capt. Laith Mohammed said the March 15 attack that hit Ishaqi involved U.S. warplanes and armor.

Riyadh Majid, who identified himself as the nephew of Faez Khalaf, the household head who was killed, told AP at the time that U.S. forces landed in helicopters and raided the home.

Khalaf's brother, Ahmed, said nine of the victims were family members who lived at the house and two were visitors. >>>cont

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