Associated Press
updated 5:52 p.m. CT, Mon., Jan. 7, 2008

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - The Marine Corps launched a rare tribunal Monday to publicly investigate disputed allegations that a special forces unit killed as many as 19 Afghan civilians after its military convoy was rammed by a car bomb.

The court of inquiry, an administrative proceeding last used by the Marine Corps more than 50 years ago, will focus on the actions of Maj. Fred C. Galvin, commander of the 120-person unit, and platoon leader Capt. Vincent J. Noble.

The officers were members of a Marine special operations company that opened fire March 4 along a crowded roadway in Nangahar province after an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into their convoy. No Marines were killed and only one was wounded.

Witnesses said the Marines fired indiscriminately at pedestrians and people in cars, buses and taxis in six locations along a 10-mile stretch of the road, according to a report issued by Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission.

A defense attorney said evidence would show the patrol followed regulations. Testimony was to start on Tuesday.

more ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22545291/
This is looking more and more like a railroad job.