Back in November of last year Kevin Sites, a journalist/photographer embedded in Iraq, released video which appeared to show a Marine shooting a wounded and unarmed Iraqi. My original post on the story is here with followups here and here.

Now the military has just announced that there is not enough evidence to bring formal charges against the Marine in question.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Military investigators have decided there is not enough evidence to bring formal charges against a Marine who killed an unarmed Iraqi while his unit searched a Fallujah mosque, CBS reported on Wednesday.

The Marines entered the mosque last fall during an offensive aimed at clearing insurgents from Fallujah. They were seeking the source of insurgent gunfire and found several men wrapped in blankets on the mosque floor.

After what he reported as movement, a Marine fired at one of the men on the floor, killing him.

"The insurgents, it turned out, were unarmed," CBS reported. "But investigators say the Iraqi the Marine thought he saw moving could have been going for a weapon."

I think that's the right decision. After all, more than once our soldiers have walked past apparently dead bodies only to have those bodies turn into armed enemies. Mistakes happen in war. Its unfortunate when things like this happen, but we cannot convict a soldier every time they do.

(via Wizbang)