The Killings In Haditha

(CBS)  This segment was originally broadcast on March 18, 2007. It was updated on Aug. 22, 2008.

On Nov. 19, 2005, a squad of United States Marines killed 24 apparently innocent civilians in an Iraqi town called Haditha. The dead included men, women, and children as young as two. Iraqi witnesses said the Marines were on a rampage, slaughtering people in the street and in their homes. A year after the attack, four Marines were charged with murder.

Were the killings in Haditha a massacre? A military jury will decide. But, there's no question that Haditha is symbolic of a war that leaves American troops with terrible choices.

As correspondent Scott Pelley first reported in March 2007, the Marine making those choices in Haditha that day was a 25-year-old sergeant named Frank Wuterich. He was charged with 18 murders. Wuterich sat down with 60 Minutes for his only interview. He said he wanted to tell the truth about the day he decided who would live and who would die in Haditha.

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"Everyone visualizes me as a monster, a baby killer, cold-blooded, that sort of thing. And, it's, you know, that's not accurate, and neither is the story that most of them know of this incident. They need to know the truth," Wuterich tells Pelley.

Wuterich does not believe 24 dead civilians equates to a massacre. "No, absolutely not… A massacre in my mind, by definition, is a large group of people being executed, being killed for absolutely no reason and that's absolutely not what happened here," he says.

The day after the killings, bodies were wrapped to conceal the sight of 24 civilians: 15 men, three women and six children, killed by shrapnel and gunshot. A year after they died, the Marine Corps announced the charges, which included murder, dereliction of duty, false official statement, and obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors charged Wuterich and three of his Marines with unpremeditated murder - essentially killing without military justification. To understand how this happened, you need to know where it happened.

Haditha is a town of 70,000, in Anbar province, the heart of the Sunni resistance, where, among the residents, anti-American passions run high. In the months before Wuterich's unit arrived, other Marines there were suffering some of the heaviest causalities in all of Iraq, including the bombing of an armored vehicle that killed 14 Marines. Days before that, six Marines in Haditha were ambushed, tortured and killed. The enemy put it on the Internet where Wuterich and his men saw the bodies and the dog tags of their dead comrades.

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[PS131313]

Blame Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Rice, Tenet, Powell, etc... They are the ones who sent us into a Nazi like occupation of a country that posed ZERO threat to us for oil. US/NATO forces have killed over 1 million innocent Iraqi citizens, but I guess according to most Americans they don't matter. GET REAL!

This guy deserves this line of questioning and we are doing nothing but invading countries that have done nothing to us.


However, I think the ultimate blame needs to be put on the entire Bush admin. and the Obama admin, for not ending the occupations, and the entire Main Stream Media for being a bunch of gaggle heads and not questioning the prior administration when they decided to play world occupier. All of them need to be put on trial.

[JoePatriot]

Scott Pelley's segment was a disgrace. I thought Mr. Pelley was an investigative reporter, instead he acted like a prosecutor. I always loved 60 Minutes and have been watching since the 70's. Scott Pelley's treatment of this Marine was a turning point for me and I will never forgive or excuse his behavior. He should have been fired and I am very dissappointed in 60 Min's for not either firing him or for airing such an abomination of justice in the first place. Thank God our troops are fighting for our right to freedom of speach, even if it means that such distasteful reporters such as Scott Pelley get to reap those very same benefits!!!

[livelife13]

I can't believe 60 Minutes would treat a soldier like this. Try living with one that fought at Haditha, you have no idea how bad this war affects the soldiers.

[tracybates]

Scott Pelley should be ashamed. How dare he call himself an American! How many combat situations has he been in? I doubt ANY after listening to the despicable way he spoke to a brave Marine that voluntarily served our country. We send our brave men and women into dangerous and often deadly situations when they are 22 or 23 years of age, and expect them make decisions that we think we might have made while we are sitting over here in complete and total safety. Until you have been in a life or death combat situation, I doubt anyone would be able to say with certainty what he or she would do. I used to enjoy watching 60 Minutes, but after that deplorable display of a liberal media blood bath, I think I will find a more respectful, non-biased news program that can treat our men and women of the armed forces with the dignity they deserve. Shame on all of you at 60 Minutes!

[billorights]

For well over 20 years I have considered 60 Minutes to be the one program that I could trust to bring honest and informative insights on the world to my home. After watching Scott Pelley%u2019s disgraceful treatment of Sgt. Wuterich, I will never again expose myself to your rubbish.

This young man, a volunteer, is a United States Marine, who defended his men, and his country, exactly as he was trained. That innocents die in war is always tragic, but sadly expected, to some degree. The innocent Iraqi victims, in this case, were not lined up and executed in cold blood. They were in a zone that was supposed to have been evacuated, where suspected terrorists had just been running from the site of an IED explosion that killed and injured Marines. The Marines pursued and neutralized the threat, per their training.

Sgt. Wuterich, I thank you for your service, and sacrifice, and I am glad to know that you made it home safely. I hope that you survive this ordeal, too. Please continue to hold your head high.

As far as I am concerned, 60 Minutes, and Scott Pelley in particular, you are fired.

[maryannmac]

I was sickened watching Scott Pelley interview the young soldier, Sgt. Wuterich. Looking into that young man''s eyes as he responded to Scott Pelley''s clearly biased comments and questions, there is no doubt this young man is haunted by his experience... and yet he remained composed, focused and honorable.

It is not Scott Pelley or 60 Minute''s job to tell us what your personal opinion is... it is your job to report it responsibly and comprehensively and allow us to make our own decisions.

Mr. Pelley treated a soldier of war, who had risked his life at the direction of our elected officials, with disrespect, aggression and hostility.

This is a conflict were the enemy is invisible and you must assume the worst - knocking first is not an option.

I give thanks to and pray for Sgt Wuderick and all of our soldiers of war - past and present. This is not a Democrat or Republican issue, this is not a conservative or liberal issue, this is not a pro-war or anti-war issue.

God bless this young man and other soldiers like him - they risk their lives and endure what most of us cannot even imagine - they should come home to welcoming, grateful and compassionate nation... regardless of our personal politics.

[jangle117]

This was the most painful interview I have ever watched. Scott Pelley should be ashamed of himself. Without soldiers such as Marine SSgt. Frank Wuterich and others, he wouldn''t be reporting his BIASED opinions.

How dare that man sit with his manicured fingernails pointed at a soldier and refer to him as a murderer. How dare he judge the actions of men in combat while he hides behind his microphone.

I have never faced combat, never served my country. But I surely have a better understanding of kill or be killed than what your experienced reporter obviously has. I absolutely have more respect than Mr. Pelley for the ''job'' that those men and women do everyday, and for far less compensation and gratitude than what Mr. Pelley enjoys on a daily basis.

CBS, you have hit a new low in allowing such an interview to be aired. It was shameful, unAmerican, unpatriotic and simply, border-lined traitor-ship.

Unless Scott Pelley is released from his contract with 60 minutes and removed from the news team(s) of CBS after a public apology, I will never view another CBS news program. Nor will I purchase any type of merchandise advertised during the episodes. Know why? Because Marines like that are out there fighting to ensure my RIGHT TO CHOOSE!

[me1234569]

Scott Pelley & CBS News should be ashamed of Frank Wuterich''''s interview. I was saddened to see such a brave young man grilled over a decision that at best was under horrible conditions. This was a life changing decision for Frank, even if no one ever said a word to him afterward. I for one want him to know that some of us here at home find his courage and commitment a blessing and would give him a LARGE hug for all he did for us in Iraq. I have always thought that you can disagree with a war but honor a veteran. CBS and Sixty minutes again displayed their liberal agenda and sacrificed a hero in front of his country to misinform and misdirect those that watch this show. I place this type of interview along with the sleazy interviews with "now that your child has been found dead, can you tell us how you feel?" Journalism should be held to a higher standard.
I hope that Mr. Pelley loses as much sleep over his deplorable interview as our young men and women will. I doubt it, after all, what life threatening decision has he made in the last year? Whether he should use the elevator or stairs?
Frank Wuterich, if your reading these, In Texas you have a huge fan who thanks you for your service and especially thanks you for bringing yourself and others alive. Good Job!

[katydid51]

scott pelley
be real! until you''re in their boots, you had no right to interview this young man under scrutiny! i agree with all the negative commens that was presented on this issue.it was indeed a terrible tradegy, these young men have to live with this for the rest of their lives. especially the people who voted to call up our armed forces to fight in the middle east and who are not held accountable for putting our armed forces and innocent people in harms way. put part of the scrutiny on these guys,. but no way this will ever happen! wherever there are arms and suicide bombers, there is a fine line when split second decisions about survival have to be made. the lives of these soldiers are ruined no matter what the outcome may be. what does this do to the moral of our armed forces? just take a chance to be slaughtered by an unseen enemy! i pray that everyone can get on with their lives. i want to thank the men and women in the armed forces for their sacrifice!

[popos212]

The gentleman that did the interview on Staff Stg Wuterich, was he ever in a hot zone ? Was he ever in the service ? Has he ever fired a weapon at another human ? Has he ever been in a fire fight ? Has he ever seen a comrade blown in half ? If the answer is YES to at least two of these question so be it, but if the answer is NO, he had know business whatsoever doing that interview.