Military orders ethical training for U.S. troops

The action follows allegations that Marines shot and killed 24 civilians.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The U.S. military ordered American commanders to hold ethical training on battlefield conduct, and the Iraqi government Thursday announced its own investigation into reports that U.S. Marines killed unarmed civilians last year.
Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the commander of U.S.-led forces in Iraq, said the ethical training would emphasize "professional military values and the importance of disciplined, professional conduct in combat," as well as Iraqi cultural expectations.
"As military professionals, it is important that we take time to reflect on the values that separate us from our enemies," he said in a statement. "The challenge for us is to make sure the actions of a few do not tarnish the good work of the many."
The training will be conducted in units in the next 30 days and was aimed at reinforcing training service members received before coming to Iraq.The U.S. Marine Commandant, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, traveled to Iraq last week and cautioned troops on the danger of becoming "indifferent to the loss of a human life."
Background
Their comments came amid rising anger over allegations that U.S. Marines shot and killed 24 civilians, including women and children, in the western city of Haditha on Nov. 19, after a bomb attack on a military convoy killed a Marine.
"It appears to be a horrible crime," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told a news conference. "A large number of women, men and children have been eliminated because of an explosion that targeted a vehicle of the multinational forces."
The U.S. military already is conducting at least two investigations into the killings, and now Iraqi Cabinet members have decided to launch a separate inquiry, Adnan al-Kazimi, an adviser to al-Maliki, told The Associated Press.
He said a special committee of the Justice and Human Rights ministries, along with security officials, will handle the probe.
U.S. military investigators have evidence that points toward unprovoked murders by Marines in Haditha, a senior defense official said last week. And a U.S. military investigation will conclude that some officers gave false testimony to their superiors, who then failed to scrutinize the reports adequately, The Washington Post reported.
The military probe, which is separate from an investigation into possible criminal actions by the Marines, also will call for changes in how troops are trained for duty in Iraq, the Post reported.
Also on Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki he would fill vacancies at the crucial defense and interior ministries over the weekend, despite failing to reach an agreement on candidates with Iraq's fractious ethnic and sectarian parties.
The appointments, which must be approved by parliament, are the keystone of al-Maliki's plan to take complete control of security around Iraq from U.S.-led forces within the next 18 months.
Thursday's violence
In violence Thursday, a mortar barrage struck a number of houses in Baghdad's southern Dora district. A first barrage of seven mortar rounds killed nine and wounded 40, while another five rounds killed four and wounded 29. Mortar attacks are usually carried out by insurgent groups.
Earlier, a bomb struck a group of construction workers seeking jobs in central Baghdad, killing at least two and wounding 18, police said.
Al-Maliki apparently decided to go ahead with the appointment of ministers for defense, interior and national security -- a lesser post -- to end two weeks of uncertainty. The two key posts were temporarily being held by al-Maliki and one of his deputy prime ministers since the Cabinet was sworn in on May 20.
Al-Maliki said disagreements among the political blocs proved insurmountable so he decided to "present the names that we believe in to parliament to let it ... decide the issue, because total agreement by all the blocs is almost impossible."
Leaving a Cabinet meeting, the Shiite prime minister said "the names of the interior and defense ministers will be announced at parliament's next session" Sunday, ending protracted negotiations with Sunni Arabs and Kurds.
He did not divulge the names of the candidates, who must be approved by an overwhelming majority in the 275-member parliament.
Any security force will need to tame insurgent hotbeds like Ramadi, in Iraq's volatile Anbar province.
A U.S. military spokesman said American forces are "very concerned" about the situation in Ramadi because al-Qaida in Iraq is taking advantage of sectarian differences to make inroads in the city.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell confirmed that about 1,500 combat troops have been moved from a reserve force in Kuwait into Anbar province, which surrounds Ramadi, to help authorities establish order.
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