ARTICLE 32

The war in Iraq has generated scandal, numerous investigations, and stories of fear, death, and redemption. The men and women fighting on the battlefields of Iraq are involved in a violent guerilla conflict that is testing the physical and mental capabilities of the American military. Within this conflict and on the frontlines of the battlefield, are young Marines who stare death in the face every day and straddle a fine line, fighting an enemy that includes Al-Qaeda, Sunni death squads, and Shiite insurgents.
Within this complex battlefield and where defining the enemy is a split-second decision, there have been various incidents where the rules of engagement and the killing of Iraqis have posed moral and psychological quandaries.
ARTICLE 32, the documentary, will examine the stories of two murder investigations that have transpired in insurgent strongholds on the streets and alleyways of Iraq involving Marine platoons and the military investigative service, the NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service).
In examining the accusations of murder, the investigation, and the proceeding court marshals and trial of the Marines, ARTICLE 32 will give the viewer an unprecedented and unique view into the conflict in IRAQ from the point of view of the young Marines fighting daily and their families. The incidents in Haditha, Iraq involving Marine Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, as well as another incident in Hamdania, Iraq concerning Marines called the Pendleton 8 are at the center of ARTICLE 32. This documentary will explore the aftermath of hair-trigger decisions that represent a defining moment in the struggle for Iraq and the near impossible position soldiers find themselves when confronted with an enemy who has no defining characteristic or mark.
These cases and proceeding trials, have led to outrage from the media and the liberal left concerning the murder of what they consider innocent Iraqis. The military families and supporters are now fighting for the lives of their beloved sons who now face the grim reality of long prison sentences in military or civilian jails and dishonorable discharges after serving their country honorably. The conflict between the two factions poses an interesting question and narrative structure. Who really is supporting our troops? Who can judge the actions of these men when a war has no defined intentions?  Additionally, the enemy combatants blend into society as they calculate and plan how to kill American soldiers.

These explosive stories have generated ARTICLE 32, a story that has been buried by the power of politics and a media that is quick to condemn any American warrior accused of a crime on the front lines of Iraq.