Yesterday the AP reported that the military has "lost" key evidence in it's investigation into the death of an Iraqi, Nagem Hatab, who was beaten by Marine prison guards in a makeshift camp run by the Marines in Iraq.

Hatab, 52, died last year at a makeshift camp in Iraq that was run by Marines. He had been rumored to be an official of Saddam Hussein's Baath party and part of the ambush of a U.S. Army convoy that killed 11 soldiers and led to the capture of Pfc. Jessica Lynch and five others.

The missing evidence was to be used in the Court Marshal of one of the guards. Another guard has already been convicted of dereliction of duty and abuse of prisoners at the camp, but was cleared of assaulting Hatab.

Apparently the primary evidence that is holding up the current Court Marshal is the missing bones taken from the throat and chest of Hatab. And the presiding judge isn't happy about it.

"I'm looking at some extreme measures to make things right," said the judge, Col. Robert Chester. He did not elaborate.

He also called the missing evidence "serious problems that are interfering with a fair and just resolution in his case."

But The missing bones are just one of several "errors in the investigation" that came to light at Thursday's hearing. Here's what's missing:

* Hatab's neck and chest bones.

* Hatab's internal organs, "which were removed during autopsy, were subsequently destroyed when they were left for hours in the blazing heat on an Iraqi airstrip."

* A summary of the Marine interrogation of Hatab taken shortly before his death.

* A photo of Hatab that was taken during the interrogation.

What other evidence could there possibly be? It's as if someone or a group of someones systematically sought out and destroyed or otherwise hid all tangible evidence of Hatab's death which could in any way implicate the soldiers in his death. I have a hard time believing that this could have been done just by the accused or his friends.

Maj. Clarke Paulus, the Marine officer currently facing Court Marshal, is accused of ordering one of his men to drag Hatab by his neck after the Iraqi suffered a severe bout of diarrhea and lapsed into unconsciousness while in custody at the makeshift prison.

The convicted was Marine Sgt. Gary Pittman. So what we've got here is a convicted grunt and an officer who seems to be at the precipice of benefitting from what sure looks like a cover up. Sounds like Abu Ghraib to me.