Is There a Massacre in Waiting Due to America's Inactions?

Lt. Colonel James G. Zumwalt, USMC (ret)

The last chapter of the 2005 Haditha Masscre—the Iraq war’s equivalent to Vietnam’s 1968 My Lai Massacre—was written last month. Both incidents involved examples of leaders gone wild—i.e., leaders who got so caught up in the emotions of battle, they allowed it to cloud the better judgment they had been trained to exercise in combat. Sadly, while the last chapter of the Haditha massacre may have been written, the chapter on the last massacre of the Iraq war may not have. If so, responsibility for failing to prevent it will lie directly at the feet of our President.

My Lai and Haditha involved eerily similar circumstances. In both, massacres were precipitated after fellow warriors were killed by an unseen enemy. At My Lai, Viet Cong snipers had taken their toll; at Haditha, an IED did. In both, the losses triggered frustration and then rage in leaders who irresponsibly directed it against victims unable to defend themselves. In both, unlawful orders to kill indiscriminately were issued. In both, defenseless men, women and children died.

At My Lai, estimates are that over 350 people were killed; at Haditha, 24 deaths were reported. In both, criminal charges were brought against many—26 for their involvement in My Lai; all eight in the Haditha incident were implicated. In both, only one person charged was ultimately convicted: Second Lieutenant William Calley for his actions at My Lai; Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, following a plea bargain agreement, for his at Haditha. In both, the guilty received light sentences. Calley, convicted of murder, received a life sentence, only spending three and a half years under house arrest before eventually being pardoned by President Richard Nixon; Wuterich, who pleaded guilty to one count of negligent dereliction of duty, will serve no time. In both, the guilty were about the same age, 25, at the time of their actions.

The taking of an innocent life is tragic. But when it is done by those wearing a U.S. uniform, it leaves a black mark on an entire professional fighting force whose members overwhelmingly have abided by the law of war. For years after My Lai, those returning home from Vietnam, after serving honorably, found Calley’s actions gave fuel to U.S. anti-war activists seeking to label honorable men as “baby-killers.”

While residents of Haditha voiced their outrage that a “U.S. soldier will receive a punishment that is suitable for a traffic violation,” Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s administration has been untypically muted in responding to Wuterich’s punishment. When the Deputy Justice Minister was asked to comment about the case, he said, “We have nothing to do with this issue.” And, the most al-Maliki would say is, “Such an issue needs to be studied carefully before giving any statement.”

Why has Baghdad exercised such restraint? It certainly is not motivated by concerns over lambasting its U.S. ally. With Iran exerting more and more influence over al-Maliki, an opportunity to disparage the U.S. would not normally be lost. Al-Maliki’s silence stems from an international outcry that his own actions, directed against an unarmed Iranian opposition group residing in Iraq known as the MEK, be investigated.

Al-Maliki clearly ignores commenting on Haditha to keep the spotlight off his orders to attack the MEK in 2009 and 2011, recognizing it would be very hypocritical for him to do so. He also maintains silence as his anti-MEK actions underscore his role as a puppet for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Two massacres occurred at Camp Ashraf, located in Iraq approximately 75 miles west of its border with Iran. Ashraf is home to the MEK, Iranians who fled the country’s clerical rule after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini came to power in 1979 and declared open season on its members, killing thousands. In 1986, Saddam Hussein invited MEK to take up residence at Ashraf, from where they conducted attacks against Iran. As the only armed resistance group to challenge Tehran’s violent rule, MEK became a target for Iran’s mullahs who have sought ever since to exterminate every man, woman and child residing there.

Today, MEK’s fate hangs in the wind, largely due to U.S. inaction after promising to ensure the group’s safety in exchange for it voluntarily disarming during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. As an occupying force in Iraq, the U.S.—under the Geneva Conventions—immediately became responsible for MEK’s safety. It did so until January 1, 2009 when MEK’s control was turned over to the Iraqis, after accepting responsibility for their safety.

Since that time, two major unprovoked raids have been conducted by the Iraqi army, killing dozens of Ashraf residents. The first occurred July 28, 2009. Videos taken by residents show Iraqi army vehicles running over unarmed victims. A second major raid occurred April 8, 2011, during which unarmed residents were shot and killed. Interestingly, this raid took place the day before al-Maliki visited Ahmadinejad in Tehran—the timing of which suggests the Iraqi leader was presenting a “gift” to his Iranian counterpart.

After the 2009 raid, Iraq agreed to initiate an investigation into what happened. The results were never released. The second raid generated international calls for an independent investigation.

Upon the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq at the end of 2011, Baghdad sought to close Ashraf and return MEK members to Iran. Only international outrage caused al-Maliki not to do so, indicating instead he would transfer all 3,300 residents to Camp Liberty just outside Baghdad. As a good will gesture, the first 400 residents voluntarily relocated on February 18^th on the guarantee they would be peacefully sent on to other countries willing to take them in.

During their relocation, MEK members were treated as criminals, with unnecessary searches of personal belongings and body cavities. They were threatened that Colonel Nazar awaited their arrival at Camp Liberty. (Nazar, involved in the brutal April 2011 attack against MEK, subsequently spent time at Ashraf threatening and harassing residents.) Relocation of the other MEK residents is still to follow.

With Iran’s influence growing stronger in Iraq, however, MEK’s safety remains at issue. Having twice attacked MEK, Baghdad’s guarantee of safe passage to nations willing to take them in is meaningless. Therefore, the group’s fate may well rest with the U.S. which, to date, has demonstrated no willingness to honor its obligations under international law to protect those it now leaves defenseless against Iranian-inspired Iraqi aggression. Petitioned repeatedly by various human rights groups, senior retired military officers and government officials as well as active U.S. congressional members to safeguard MEK, President Obama has consistently turned a deaf ear to their calls for protective action.

No one can accuse al-Maliki of not being an equal opportunity executioner. Since 2004, Iraq has executed approximately 1200 people. In a single day, January 19^th, Baghdad executed 34 Iraqis, including two women, for various crimes. The lack of judicial transparency, the use of torture to extract confessions and the wide range of crimes (including, in some cases, minor crimes such as property damage) eligible for the death penalty should cause Iraq’s wheels of justice to move with utmost caution, before implementing the death penalty. Yet on January 19^th, not a single person convicted was pardoned or had their execution delayed on appeal.

Iraq’s justice system is reminiscent of life under the Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin after World War II—of no concern is whether there is substance to a charge an offense against the state has been committed; the only concern is the number of executions taking place. In shocking similarity to the execution rate of its own citizens by Iran, Iraq is turning prisoner execution into a “puppy mill” operation. If Baghdad treats its own citizens this way, one can imagine what treatment awaits MEK.

While the U.S. government held Calley and Wuterich accountable for deaths occurring at My Lai and Haditha respectively, who will hold Washington accountable for the deaths awaiting Camp Ashraf’s MEK? That will be the final chapter on America’s involvement in the Iraq war.

Family Security Matters Contributing Editor Lt. Colonel James G. Zumwalt, USMC (ret) is a retired Marine infantry officer who served in the Vietnam War, the US invasion of Panama and the first Gulf war. He is the author of "Bare Feet, Iron Will--Stories from the Other Side of Vietnam's Battlefields" and frequently writes on foreign policy and defense issues.

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