The first report, regarding any possible cover-up of the Haditha deaths, has been completed and is being reviewed. The LA Times gives a leaked summary:

The general charged with investigating whether Marines tried to cover up the killing of 24 civilians in Haditha has completed his report, finding that Marine officers failed to ask the right questions, an official close to the investigation said Friday.

Nothing in the report points to a "knowing cover-up" of the facts by the officers supervising the Marines involved in the November incident, the official said. Rather, he said, officers from the company level through the staff of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in Baghdad failed to demand "a thorough explanation" of what happened in Haditha.

The man who compiled the report was profiled in the WaPo and sounds like a real soldier.

The 59-year-old general is seen as unlikely to bend to pressure to sway his conclusions, both by virtue of his character and because he plans to retire this year after nearly four decades in the Army. "He has unimpeachable integrity," said retired Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Lambert, a Special Forces officer who has known Bargewell for decades. "He has no constituency that could influence findings. Bargewell is his own man."

Bargewell is considered so unflinchingly candid that another officer suggested that military leaders "may be sorry they chose him" to lead the probe.

Overall, this is good news. We still need to wait for the report on whether the Marines did anything wrong. My gut feeling is that they will not be charged, but Rules of Engagement will be tightened.

Posted by: cbjohnson at 02:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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