U.S. Troops in Iraq to Get Ethics Training

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki makes a speech in the southern city of Basra in Iraq Wednesday, May 31, 2006 in which he appealed for unity and promised to crack down on sectarian violence in Basra in a forceful address aimed at stemming the deteriorating security in the restive southern city. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani) (Nabil Al-jurani - AP)

U.S. military investigators have evidence that points toward unprovoked murders by the Marines, a senior defense official said last week. The Washington Post reported Thursday that the investigators will conclude some officers gave false testimony to their superiors, who then failed to scrutinize the reports adequately.

It took nearly a month for President Bush to be told of the Haditha investigation, the White House said Thursday. Earlier this week, Bush aides had said the president was briefed "soon after" the probe began.

The decision to launch an Iraqi inquiry was made at a Cabinet meeting Thursday, according to Adnan al-Kazimi, an adviser to the prime minister.

A committee of security experts as well as officials from the Justice and Human Rights ministries will look into the Haditha incident as well as other cases where misconduct by U.S. troops is suspected, al-Kazimi told The Associated Press.

An Iraqi government statement said the Haditha "tragedy" violated the guidelines of justice and human rights" and demanded no leniency be shown to its perpetrators.

"The Council of Ministers demands that generous financial compensations be paid to the victims' families and an official apology be presented to the Iraqi government after the results of the investigation are announced," the statement said. It emphasized, however, the need for coordination between the Iraqi side and the U.S.-led coalition forces.

Prime Minister al-Maliki's tone was even tougher.

"It appears to be a horrible crime," he told reporters. "A large number of women, men and children have been killed because of an explosion that targeted a vehicle of the multinational forces."

He said the list of human rights breaches by coalition forces in Iraq was long.

Reinforcing "core values" training could help prevent such alleged incidents, experts said.

"I think it's a healthy thing," said Howard Prince, director of the Center for Ethical Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin. "It's time to step back and do refresher training to remind those how the United States wages war."

However, Prince, a retired Army general, cautioned that training needs to be constantly reinforced. "I think it'll have an effect, but the effect won't be as powerful if it's not sustained by continuous efforts on part of leadership at every level," he said.

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Associated Press Writers Antonio Castaneda, Kim Gamel and Patrick Quinn contributed to this report.