The North County Times (serving San Diego and Riverside Counties) reported today:

Two Marines involved in the slaying of 24 Iraqi civilians and its aftermath in Haditha in 2005 have been ordered to trial by court-martial. A Marine Corps spokesman said Monday that Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich will face trial on charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice. Also ordered to stand trial is 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, who faces charges of making false official statements, obstruction of justice and attempting to fraudulently separate from the Marine Corps. The two join Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani and Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum as having been ordered to trial for their actions following a roadside bombing at Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005.

You can learn more about the Haditha Marines here and here.

To date, five of the eight United States Marines initially charged in connection with civilians being killed in Haditha, Iraq, on November 19, 2005, have been cleared. On May 17, 2006, Congressman John Murtha slandered those Marines long before the investigation against them had been completed by saying they had, “killed innocent civilians in cold blood.” While it remains to be seen whether any of the remaining three will be prosecuted, Congressman John Murtha remains a coward, afraid to apologize to those five cleared Marines:

My thanks goes to Jason Mattera, of the Young America’s Foundation, for confronting “Pinker” John Murtha and the folks at HotAir.com for the video.