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According to Mr. Puckett, Sergeant Wuterich and his men believed their rules of engagement permitted them to shoot men of military age running away from the site of an improvised explosive device.
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Seems a sensible military practice to me.
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"Saying who's a civilian or a 'muj' in Iraq, you really can't," the marine said. "That's how wishy-washy it was. This town did not want us there at all." Mr. Puckett, the lawyer, said that the marines in Haditha believed that they were operating within established rules when they cleared the house.
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The neighborhood was described by one of the marines as a "kill zone", colloquial among them for a place where Coalitioneers would regularly come under fire. At least one of the 'civilians' was killed holding a loaded and fully-functional AK-47.