Haditha Squad Leader in Military Court

This 2005 family photo provided by attorney Mark S. Zaid shows Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn. By his own account, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich told his junior Marines to shoot first and ask questions later as they assaulted several houses in November, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq, killing the occupants with grenades and gunfire. Now, nearly two years later, a hearing officer at Camp Pendleton was to begin taking evidence Thursday Aug. 30, 2007 to determine whether the squad leader should stand trial on murder charges from the Nov. 19, 2005, attack that left 24 Iraqis dead. (AP Photo/family photo provided by Mark S. Zaid, File) (Anonymous - AP)

Navin said she taught Marines to have "knowledge to a reasonable certainty that the target you are engaging is a lawful military target," though she conceded there were occasions when positive identification of every individual in a military strike is not needed.

One of Wuterich's military defense attorneys, Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, said the government was no longer charging Wuterich with murdering an Iraqi man who died in the final house cleared by Marines.

The count was withdrawn after the general overseeing the case dismissed charges against another Marine accused of killing three other men in the same room of the house, ruling that they posed a legitimate threat, Vokey said.

Mendoza is one of several Marines granted immunity by prosecutors to testify. He claimed not to have seen Wuterich kill anyone in the two houses he helped clear with Wuterich.

"I think he's a great Marine, sir," Mendoza said when asked by a defense attorney what he thought of Wuterich.

Wuterich, who like all Marines in the court wore desert camouflage, sat with his tattooed arms folded on the table in front of him and appeared to be grinding his teeth.

Mendoza testified that he saw Wuterich open fire by the scene of the bomb blast before the house clearing began. Wuterich is accused of shooting five men who had pulled up in a car at the scene.

Again, Mendoza did not specify whether he saw Wuterich kill anyone.

The Article 32 hearing is similar to a grand jury probe, but the defense gets to cross-examine government witnesses.

At the end of the hearing, investigating officer Lt. Col. Paul Ware will recommend whether Wuterich should stand trial. Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the general overseeing the case, makes the final decision.

Wuterich faces a possible life sentence and dishonorable discharge if court-martialed.

Ware has already presided over two separate hearings in the case, when he listened to evidence against two of Wuterich's lance corporals _ Stephen Tatum and Justin Sharratt _ who were charged with murder. In both cases, Ware found prosecutors could not prove the Marines operated outside combat rules, and he recommended the charges be dismissed.

Prosecutors last year charged four enlisted Marines with murder and four officers with dereliction of duty for failing to investigate the killings. Since then, charges against two of the enlisted Marines and one officer have been dropped.

Also Thursday, prosecutors announced two more counts of dereliction of duty against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest ranking of those charged. He was previously charged with two counts of dereliction of duty and one count of violation of a lawful order.

Chessani has already had an Article 32 hearing, in which the investigating officer recommended that he stand trial. No final decision has been made.