Nothing to apologize for

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Aug 15, 2006
ABC News

Congressman makes apology to Haditha marines

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. lawmaker apologized on Tuesday to U.S. Marines under investigation in the deaths of two dozen Iraqi civilians in Haditha in a statement his office said spared him from a libel lawsuit.

Minnesota Republican Rep. John Kline, a retired Marine Corps colonel, issued a three-paragraph statement under a deal with lawyers for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, one of the Marines under investigation.

Wuterich's lawyers filed a libel lawsuit against another congressman, Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, on August 2 following his comments on the case.

Kline has been quoted as saying the allegations indicated the killings were "not an accident. This was direct fire by Marines at civilians." But Young said Kline "never accused these Marines of being guilty in this incident."

Murtha, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and leading Iraq war critic, (also) said in May of the Haditha incident: "Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."


full report: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2315913