CNN/AP: U.S. troops charged in Iraqi killing face hearings

[DeepModem Mom]

U.S. troops charged in Iraqi killing face hearings
August 30, 2006

SAN DIEGO, California (AP) -- Hashim Ibrahim Awad was shot to death in a hole by a dusty road west of Baghdad. How the 52-year-old Iraqi came to be there is the focus of an inquiry with possible life and death consequences for seven Marines and a Navy corpsman.

Pretrial hearings for the eight soldiers charged with Awad's murder are set to start Wednesday, four months after his death. It will be the first time the facts have been explored in public.

Prosecutors claim the troops went into the rural Iraqi town of Hamdaniya, took Awad from his home, tied him up, put him in the hole and shot him without provocation April 26. The accused have been held in the brig at Camp Pendleton since May.

Defense lawyers say the troops are innocent and question the credibility of the Iraqis who reported the incident to U.S. authorities.

If convicted, the troops face the death penalty....

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/08/30/hamdaniya.ap/index.html

[saigon68]

1. Its time for THUGS ON PARADE