Marine Charged With Murder In Iraqi Death

Lie-Detector Test Exposed Sgt. Ryan Weemer's Involvement In Fallujah Incident

(AP)  A Marine was charged Tuesday with murder and dereliction of duty in the death of a detainee in Fallujah, Iraq, after authorities say his involvement came to light during a lie-detector test for a job with the Secret Service.

Sgt. Ryan Weemer is the third person charged in the case, which centers on allegations that a Marine squad shot a group of unarmed captives during heavy fighting in November 2004.

The case arose when Weemer, 25, applied for a job with the Secret Service. Investigators claim Weemer described the killing during a polygraph test that included a question about whether he had participated in a wrongful death.

Weemer had completed his active duty and was in the Marine Corps' Individual Ready Reserve until the Marine Corps reactivated him this week, said Lt. Col. Sean Gibson, a Marine spokesman. The move allows the military to court-martial Weemer.

Weemer, of Hindsboro, Ill., has been assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, while he awaits trial at Camp Pendleton. He was not being held in the brig.

Weemer's attorney, Paul Hackett, said he had not been notified that Weemer had been charged. He declined to comment immediately.

The battle of Fallujah was the second time Marines tried to take the city that year. The first fight in April 2004 came after the killing and mutilation of four Blackwater private security contractors, whose bodies were strung from a bridge.

Ground forces entered Fallujah and faced some of the heaviest fighting seen at that point in the war, often engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

The killings on Nov. 9, 2004, came after troops captured men they believed had been shooting at them from a house. Weemer was a rifleman in a four-man fire team.

At the time, Weemer was a corporal. Weemer was promoted to sergeant in April 2006 as a reservist before he came under investigation, Gibson said.

Also facing court-martial is Sgt. Jermaine A. Nelson, who was charged with murder and dereliction of duty, and squad leader Jose Nazario Jr., who was charged with one count of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of two captives. Because he completed his military service, the former sergeant faces charges in federal court.

[david1737]

Such a sad story.

Our Military is stretched too thin. Such stress can result in tragic events such as this.

[sassalin]

FeelFree1,

One more thing you may have overlooked. You can always go join the other side if you like. I will be happy to purchase a oneway ticket to the Middle east for you.

You are a disgrace. You spout information with no proof. You use the freedom of free speech to badmouth the very people who have provided you this freedom. You are a faceless coward sitting behind your computer while our soliders are killed or injured.

[sassalin]

FeelFree1,

That "shameful bunch" keeps you safe and has for many many years....SHOW SOME RESPECT.

andrew_693,

You forget that the soliders pay taxes also. Myself or the rest of the military does not answer to you!

What these men might have done is horrible but like some of these peoples comments put yourself in their shoes. It''s easy to pass judgement from the safe seat in front of your computer.

[bks59]

war is an ickky proposition, innocent people get killed, it is a simple fact of warfare.

sad but true.

[andrew_693]

None of you people have any idea about what our soldiers have had to witness, participate in and endure! Many of them have watched as their close friends died in their arms,fellow soldiers blown to bits,heat beyond what you could imagine, not enough food, water,or sleep, etc. Not to mention knowing that they may never go home alive. BEFORE YOU CONDEMN ANY OF THESE MEN, TRY TO PUT YOURSELVES IN THEIR SHOES! THEY DON''''T AND SOMETIMES CAN''''T TELL WHO IS FREIND OR FOE. You try it for awhile and see just how you act.

Posted by Spaspy at 02:15 AM : Mar 19, 2008
+ report abuse




I didn''t send them there, I didn''t vote republican. It''s a volunteer force, if you are there is because you believe in the mission, so they are responsible to the rest of society since we are the ones paying their salaries, their uniforms, etc... This is a poor excuse by the way, I can''t imagine that all the soldiers there are murdering, stealing and raping, it''s some of them only, the ones that are committing the crimes are the weak links, the ones not tough enough to handle their job.

[feelfree1]

Related-

"about two-thirds of Marines and half the Army troops surveyed said they would not report a team member for mistreating a civilian or for destroying civilian property unnecessarily. "Less than half of Soldiers and Marines believed that non-combatants should be treated with dignity and respect," the Army report stated."

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/04/AR2007050402151_pf.html

America''s finest.

What a shameful bunch.

[spaspy]

None of you people have any idea about what our soldiers have had to witness, participate in and endure! Many of them have watched as their close friends died in their arms,fellow soldiers blown to bits,heat beyond what you could imagine, not enough food, water,or sleep, etc. Not to mention knowing that they may never go home alive. BEFORE YOU CONDEMN ANY OF THESE MEN, TRY TO PUT YOURSELVES IN THEIR SHOES! THEY DON''T AND SOMETIMES CAN''T TELL WHO IS FREIND OR FOE. You try it for awhile and see just how you act.

[feelfree1]

The people of Iraq obviously have every right to defend themselves against the brutal and criminal invasion of their country.

Good luck to them.

[feelfree1]

The U.S. military led mass murder rampages of civilians, following the killing of the Blackwater mercenaries, mark 2 of the most concentrated periods of war crimes and atrocities that our soldiers have committed during the entire illegal and shameful invasion.

The regime and their collaborators should face a tribunal, gallows, firing squad, etc., for what they did to the city of Fallujah, alone.

This low-ranking soldier should not be made a scape-goat for Fallujah. I am in favor of immunity for any soldier who provides evidence, leading to the conviction of any of their superiors, who are ultimately responsible for these war crimes.

[ranger1948]

We need o wait for all the facts to come out before we decide what is right and wrong here. Were th men trying to escape ? Were they attacking our marines ? I am proud of our soldiers and marines and hope that this is a case where the killings were justified. If not then i would support prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.