Alison St John (Guest Host): Just up the road in North San Diego County, a handful of marines are facing, not praise and honor for their valor in war, but possible court martial and life imprisonment for war crimes. This week, the court marital has begun for one of three marines accused of murder and kidnapping an Iraqi civilian in Hamdania last year.
Court hearings are also underway for seven men accused of killing 24 civilians, including women and children in Haditha in 2005. And now new charges are looming against marines accused of killing up to eight unarmed civilians during the battle of Fallujah in 2004. The military judges and juries have to decide if these marines acted reasonably and justifiably under the circumstances, or stepped over the line into committing war atrocities. It's a thin line.
Guests
- Mark Walker, reporter for the North County Times .
- Tony Perry, San Diego bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times.