TWO CLIPS

Marine Cleared in Killing of 2 Iraqi Detainees
The lieutenant says he acted in self-defense against the unarmed men to 'send a message.'
May 27, 2005
By David Zucchino, LA Times Staff Writer

A Marine lieutenant accused of murdering two unarmed detained Iraqis and hanging a taunting sign over their corpses was cleared of all charges Thursday, a decision the Marine Corps said was in "the best interests" of the officer and the country. Marine 2nd Lt. Ilario G. Pantano — a Wall Street energy trader who rejoined the military in response to the Sept. 11 attacks — did not deny shooting the suspected insurgents 60 times or hanging the sign that displayed a corps slogan: "No better friend, no worse enemy."

Maj. Gen. Richard Huck, commander of the 2nd Marine Division, dismissed all charges after "careful consideration" of the autopsies and an investigative report, the corps said in a statement at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Pantano's home base. "The best interests of 2nd Lt. Pantano and the government have been served by this process," the statement said.

Huck's ruling came two weeks after a Marine investigative officer had recommended in a 16-page report that the most serious charges be dropped. Lt. Col. Mark E. Winn wrote that prosecutors had not proved their charges in a case that was undermined by contradictory testimony. Pantano earlier had disciplined a sergeant who testified against him. If Pantano "did indeed feel he was about to be attacked, he was well within the rules of engagement to shoot to eliminate that threat," Winn wrote, while adding that the lieutenant had exhibited "extremely poor judgment" and made serious tactical errors. He recommended that Pantano receive administrative punishment for "desecrating" the men's bodies "to the disgrace of the armed forces." Huck rejected that recommendation.