Haditha revisited

May 26, 2006

About a week ago, Rep. [tag]Jack Murtha[/tag] (D-Pa.) alerted the nation to a Pentagon investigation into the death of Iraqi civilians last November in the Iraqi city of [tag]Haditha[/tag]. The probe was reportedly brutal; Murtha said U.S. [tag]Marines[/tag] “killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”

Conservatives were incensed, not at the incident or at the military for offering a false initial account of the shootings, but at Murtha for telling the truth. Some called him “dishonorable.” Others labeled him a “traitor” and recommended that he literally be sent to “jail.” Another added, “Murtha has no honor left, no dignity, and will never be considered as a Marine except by his liberal buddies who would hate him for wearing that uniform in the first place.”

One of the suggestions was that Murtha was just stating his opinion. He wasn’t; Americans appear to have methodically murdered two dozen Iraqi civilians during the incident.

A military investigation into the deaths of two dozen Iraqis last November is expected to find that a small number of marines in western Iraq carried out extensive, unprovoked killings of civilians, Congressional, military and [tag]Pentagon[/tag] officials said Thursday.

Two lawyers involved in discussions about individual marines’ defenses said they thought the investigation could result in charges of murder, a capital offense. That possibility and the emerging details of the killings have raised fears that the incident could be the gravest case involving misconduct by American ground forces in Iraq.

Evidence indicates that the civilians were killed during a sustained sweep by a small group of marines that lasted three to five hours and included shootings of five men standing near a taxi at a checkpoint, and killings inside at least two homes that included women and children, officials said.

Keep in mind, these were tragic [tag]killings[/tag] … followed by an intentional [tag]cover-up[/tag].

The [tag]Pentagon[/tag] initially issued a statement last fall explaining that the civilians were killed by a roadside bomb, which officials knew wasn’t true. In fact, the Defense Department wasn’t even going to look into the incident until Time magazine started reporting on the shootings four months later.

At this point, there’s a very real possibility that the Haditha story is going to blow up in a dangerous way.

“When these investigations come out, there’s going to be a firestorm,” said retired Brig. Gen. David M. Brahms, formerly a top lawyer for the Marine Corps. “It will be worse than Abu Ghraib — nobody was killed at Abu Ghraib.”

As for all the conservatives who bashed [tag]Murtha[/tag] viciously and relentlessly for having the audacity to tell the truth, I’m sure the apologies will be forthcoming. Any minute now.

Luckily for the news media, someone reported a car backfiring in the capitol today, so they are spared from having to report anything about the Haditha story this weekend while we’re supposed to be ‘honoring our military heroes.”

  • “…nobody was killed at Abu Ghraib.”

    Ummm… really? Sorry, I don’t buy that either.

  • What I still completely fail to understand is how those who criticized murtha still have jobs.

  • Well, it’s a truly horrific event, but one that you would expect given the nature of the conflict. It happens in every war. They were probably a couple of soldiers who were upset over the death of their friend and made the wrong choice in killing these Iraqi civilians.

    Sadly, this is just going to move this country into a more divisive argument over Iraq. An argument that is starting to look more and more like the one we had 30 years ago over Vietnam.

  • This whole Haditha tragedy will most certainly be “misinterpreted in certain parts of the world.”

    This would appear to be a sign that the troops really don’t know what the hell they are in Iraq for. A senseless act like this comes from a military force that sees a buddy killed for no reason and retaliates to come away with some sense of retribution and “justice.” Support the troops … get them out of there for their sake. I’m reminded of the song soldiers in WWI sang: “We’re here because we’re here, because we’re here, because we’re here …”

  • There is no such thing as a war honorably fought. This one is looking more and more like the now-forgotten Philippine Insurrection (1900-1902), where one American officer told the men under his command to consider anyone over the age of ten a “combatant” and to act accordingly.

  • Murtha brings this up because he wants the Army and Marine Corps out of Iraq before they are premenantly damaged by this.

    Cheney and Rumsfeld want the Army and Marine Corps in Iraq because they are a couple of chicken hawks.

    Who is the traitor here?

  • Bad enough to have these kinds of disgraceful episodes in a “just” war (if you believe there is such a thing) , but even worse to have them in a war that should never have been fought in the first place.

    And I seriously seriously doubt this was an isolated episode. Fallujah, anyone?

  • I remember the Marines. At the PX, Philipines I chanced to share a table with an old gunny, a Clint Eastwood looking character. Lt. Patricia is how he refered to his platoon leader. That would be none other than Pat Robertson, moral leader, outstanding citizen, man of God. “Only person, (the word Marine hung in his throat) in the history of the Corps to suffer combat fatigue BEFORE the battle began.” He was talking about an amphibious landing at a place long forgotten, Enchon, (probably misspelled). The Korean Police Action was an effort to save the world from Godless communism. Only men of God can appreciate how important it was.

  • it’s a problem.

    1)the perception

    2) what this possibley means. we are responsible for the the state of war that we send our fellow citizen soldiers to

    3) the absolute inane logic of right wing conservatives, who wouldn’t stay democratic for more than three days in a non democratic regime, since they dont have a clue what democracy even means:

    nor do certain factions appear to have a clue what our constitution means, as the press bothes an issue that the history books (if we stay a democracy) will in hindsight labela very close call, and a very scary time for the U.S. and not just because of terrorism, where we may be misfocusing our efforts , in addition to forgetting what free democracy means, in addition to its most essential element necessary to protect it

    why do conservatives hate democracy. And, worse, when they call Murtha a traitor when America is a free and open country that can handle its information, and that that is part of what makes it strong (it is totalitarian countries that can not) — are they being purposefully manipulative, or just driven by belief, are they manipulating themselves as well as voters becuse they simply don’t understand the issues and so fall back on rhetoric and spin that appeals to our worst biases and fears?

    ……

  • I have a nephew (great? grand?) who was in Kuwait during the early days of our entry into the Iraq quagmire, prior to “Mission accomplished”. He wrote that his first night they were driving along a road when a camel came over to see what was going on. My nephew’s commander ordered him to shoot the camel, which he did.

    I’m sure that in the scheme of things one camel doesn’t amount to much, certainly not as much as the civilians you read about dying at the hands of our troops or those we’ve incited to civil war. I don’t know what anyone expects when you put such lethal weapons in the hands of young men. That’s one of the reasons we had better have a damned good reason for doing so. The greed of the chickenhawks and arms manufacturers doesn’t qualify.

  • They should apoligize, they need to realize that Murtha is acting in the intrest of sound military justice. Armies can’t kill at will, if they do they cease to be a army and are nothing more then a mob. Also what drove these men to these acts needs to be found out so measures can be taken against it, maybe they were out there to long, got conflicting orders, where fatigued, had a bad commander or any number of reasons. It’s hard to belived the pary of “law and order” can’t even recognize illeagal acts when it’s in there face and then are unwilling to pursue a investigation for fear of being “unpatriotic”. Darn it it’s patriotic to investigate this cause it’s unacceptable for us to just kill anyone we want. If we have to occupy Iraq we need to do it with disipline and honor, not with murder.

  • Sorry, Murtha gets no apology from me.

    He was publicly proclaiming his brother Marines’ guilt before they were convicted, before they were tried, before they were charged, before they were accused, before the investigation was completed.

    If these Marines are found guilty, there will be many Marines calling for their heads, but we’re going to wait to do that in its proper order, after the investigation, after the charges, after the trial, and after the conviction.

    Murtha has no one to blame for the condemnation he’s justly received but himself, he can’t even pass it on to those who might be found guilty.

  • God will punish me for responding to a troll, but…

    And of course you htom (who sure doesn’t sound like a genuine marine to me), have never observed that someone was guilty before they had been convicted. Not OJ and certainly not President Clinton. What a steaming crock of shit. Ten guys like you wouldn’t swell a pimple on Murtha’s ass.

    Oh, was that offensive? My bad.

  • Oh, far be it from any of Murtha’s detractors to let a little thing like the truth stand in their way.

    If a member of Congress, especially one with military knowledge, cannot cry foul in order to being an investigation, it is a sad day.

    No trial has ever started without someone accusing another of guilt. It’s an integral part of the justice system. Accusation, investigation, trial.

  • When soldiers (or marines, or sailors or airmen) do something like this, it has to be pointed out and condemned; if there’s solid a report with no follow-up investigation, the report has to be pointed out so it can be investigated. To do otherwise sends the message to troops who are bad apples to keep killing the wrong people. It’s not just that it’s a crime. It undermines our whole purpose for being there, putting our troops at risk.

    Anyone who accuses Murtha of being dishonorable is the one who needs to be told to keep his mouth shut, or to else think over what’s important and what’s smart.

  • Wow. Just…wow. So—htom—Murtha comes out and reports what he’s been told, and shown, in a briefing on the topic. Factual evidence, by the way. He’s just telling it like it is—something I thought the Marines were supposed to do.

    So—you think it’s okay to badmouth the guy? He’s got 2 Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, the VCG, and the DSM. All from the Marines, of course. Tell us, htom—what have you got? nothing? Maybe a bit of egg on your face? Yep—thought so.

    As for Murtha? I see a lot of people complaining about how he “doesn’t go after his detractors.” Isn’t it obvious as to why he won’t? After all—he’s a Marine. His detractors either were never in the uniform—or they’ve forgotten what the uniform stands for. “Semper Fi” is about faithfulness to the nation that puts you in that uniform—and the Constitution that allows for that uniform’s existence. If it’s meant to be about “being loyal to the gang,” then the Corps is just another brutish gang of insurrectionists—and has outlived both its usefulness—and its honor….

  • When the torture stories became public I had to ask myself who we are, morally, as a country. Are we willing to put up with torture, are we willing to let innocent civilians be killed over there so we can sleep safe and sound here? Do we have that right when we should not be in Iraq in the first place? Do family values only involve American families? Are we willing to sacrifice freedom and let our leadership become a dictatorship in the name of safety?
    Cowardly right wingers will allow any atrocity if they think it will make their pansy asses safer no matter how many other innocent children, men and women die or are maimed needlessly.

  • Interesting to remember the Philippines, where units under the command of General Jacob Devers killed approximately 40,000 residents of Panay Island in 1900 during the Philippine Insurrection (the Philippine war of independence after we “liberated” them from Spain). The General reported to his superiors that he had turned the island into “a howling wilderness.”

    The General was in for a promotion, until the news got out of what exactly he had done to deserve such promotion. He was then allowed to retire honorably.

    If you think this is ancient history that has no bearing on anyone, ask the most pro-American Filipino you know what is opinion of the Massacre on Panay is. 106 years later. I learned that story from a man who was later the Minister of Culture for the Philippines in the Aquino government after the overthrow of Marcos. He paid me a fair sum (out of his own pocket!) to
    write a screenplay about it – he planned to make a movie and he was willing to call in every old debt in the American movie industry he had to distribute it here. He met universal opposition (from good liberals in Hollywood), failed to obtain the necessary funding, and the project died.

    We’re always so fucking “innocent” and shocked -shocked! – to discover thatt “fine American boys” do this. Bullshit. My great-great grandfather was proud of the fact he participated as a scout in Custer’s massacres the
    year before he finally got what was coming to him. I was actually raised to think of him as a hero on the level of my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Isaac Cleaver, who crossed the Delaware with General Washington.

    That’s how bad and useless our “history lessons” are. Vietnam was not an aberration, and neither is Iraq. It’s World War II that was the aberration. All the rest from the War of 1812 (fought to steal Canada), to the Mexican War (fought to steal Texas and California), to the Indian Wars (fought to kill the original owners) were the “conquer we must/when the cause it is just” from the second verse of the national anthem.

  • America, America, What have we become?
    The reality is the Iraq war could not be won by a force of any size or by an expenditure of any amount… Bush and Rumsfeld have done more than merely bungle a war and damage the Army; they have destroyed the foundation of the post-Cold War world security system, which was the accepted authority of American military power. Dumbya’s US-led aggression against Iraq has led to “delegitimization” of America across the world … Now the fuss over whether we were misled/bushit lied us into war—Is the sky blue? Is the grass green?—stands in the way of a deeper debate that should start quite soon and ask this question: Now that Bush and Rumsfeld have screwed up the only successful known model for world security under our leadership, what the devil do we do now?

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