US Marine investigated for war crimes after newspaper interview

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
1

US Marine investigated for war crimes after newspaper interview
Wed Apr 30, 4:16 PM ET Add Mideast - AFP to My Yahoo!

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US Marine sergeant is under investigation for possible war crimes committed in Iraq (news - web sites) based on statements he made to his hometown newspaper, military officials said.

Gunnery Sergeant Gus Covarrubias became the target of the preliminary inquiry after he described for the Las Vegas, Nevada, Review-Journal daily how he had hunted down and shot two Iraqi soldiers after a firefight.

“A preliminary inquiry has been initiated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to examine the circumstances surrounding the statements made by Gunnery Sergeant Covarrubias,” the statement said. “The preliminary inquiry will determine if the actions described by Gunnery Sergeant Covarrubias during combat operations met the established rules of engagement and complied with the law of war.”

A Marine Forces Reserve spokeswoman refused further comment, referring media inquiries to naval investigators.

In the interview published Friday, Covarrubias, 38, said he was searching for the source of a grenade attack during the April 8 battle and found a soldier in a nearby home with a grenade launcher next to him.

**
Covarrubias told the daily he ordered the man to stop and to turn around. “I went behind him and shot him in the back of the head – twice,” he was quoted as saying.

Covarrubias said he noticed another Iraqi soldier trying to escape and also shot him, then grabbed their identification cards, a rifle and one of their berets for souvenirs.
**

Covarrubias is assigned to the Second Battalion, 23rd Marines, a reserve unit from the western United States.

In the interview, he was quoted as saying the killings were “justice,” but the daily quoted a military expert as saying the first one could have been a war crime.

“We do not allow our soldiers to execute (prisoners of war) at their own discretion. And this, as described, looks like the summary execution of a (prisoner of war),” said John Pike, director of globalsecurity.org.

===========================================
Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More

geneva convension?
is it applicable to this soldier?
:slight_smile:

2

Actually it isnt. Why? The US govt wont allow it. Plus this would be admissable under the ICC. However the US cant be brought to the ICC according to the rules and regulations of its charter.

3

^^^^

The article makes no mention of the ICC. He's under investigation for war crimes by the US Navy's internal police and legal force.

If enough evidence is found, he could be liable to a US military court-martial and sentencing without trial by jury.

I don't know what punishment exists within the US military's legal system for activities like this.

4

Medic this aint the My Lai massacre or something. I do believe they will find some excuse to let him off. But according to the ICC charter, if a war crime is committed, and the nation is a signatory to the charter, they have to conduct a trial within their domestic system. This will be swept under the carpet soon enough.

5

I agree, this incident will be swept under the carpet soon enough. They always are.

6

The justice will be the Congressional Medal of Honour, bestseller biography, multi million dollar film deal, numerous lucrative interviews and a top consultantcy job with a security firm.

7

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Fret Wizard: *
I agree, this incident will be swept under the carpet soon enough. They always are.
[/QUOTE]

Just like a few years back a maverick USAF pilot, wanting to show off, snapped the lines of a cable car system in Northern Italy (Cermis, if I recall correctly) plunging about 20 people to their deaths. Of course the pilot was taken back to America, the US would not hear of him being tried in Italy. As far as I'm aware he got off pretty lightly, some reprimand or other.
The captain of the US navy ship Vincennes who shot an Iran Air airbus, with about 300 passengers on board, out of the sky was actually given a medal !
So none of your bull about international law, justice, etc. We are the super power and what we say goes.

8

Any latest on this little reported story?