Three U.S. Marines have been given censures, the military's most serious administrative punishment, for their roles in an investigation into the death of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq.Major General Richard Huck, former commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division, received a letter of censure from the secretary of the Navy for the “actions he took and failed to take” in response to the killings, according to a Marine Corps statement issued Wednesday.A senior Marine official told the Associated Press that no investigation was initiated immediately after the killings and that the first inquiry didn't begin until the media reported on the deaths. He added that “there was no evidence of an intentional coverup.”Huck, the top general in charge of Marines in Iraq's Al Anbar province at the time of the deaths, testified in May that he knew about the killings when they occurred but considered them simply a “truly unfortunate” consequence of war. He said he only later learned of allegations that the civilians had been targeted.Huck's chief of staff, Colonel Robert Sokoloski, also received a censure, for unsatisfactory performance of his duties. Colonel Stephen Davis was given a censure for failure to take action. Major General Stephen Johnson was exonerated, the statement said.The disciplinary measures all stem from a November 2005 incident in which 24 civilians were killed by a Marine squad that is alleged to have gone on the rampage after a roadside bomb killed a squad member.Four enlisted Marines were charged with murder, and four officers were charged with dereliction of duty for failing to investigate; charges against two of the enlisted men and one officer have since been dropped.One of the men, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich is currently facing a decision on whether he should appear before a court-martial on charges of unpremeditated murder.Wuterich has acknowledged shooting five men near the scene of the bomb blast but claims he did so because they were running from the site of the explosion. Prosecutors say a witness will testify that the men were not running and had their hands in the air when he saw Wuterich shoot them. Wuterich's lead civilian attorney says Dela Cruz's account was false.
