Posted on 06/27/2007 1:50:35 PM PDT by RedRover
I know that a good number of people here on Free Republic support the Haditha Marines.
I would like to ask why.
My reason for asking is this. There is growing media interest in the support the Haditha Marines are receiving. Don Dinsmore (for one) has been sharing our threads with the press on his travels.
So, if you support the Haditha Marines, please take a moment and say why. And if you've donated some of your hard-earned cash to the defense funds, please say why you've gone that extra step to help see that justice is done.
Your pal,
RedRover
They represent a bias the Stone Age Press has had against the military since Nam. They wanted so bad to make this Me Lie II and it turns out they were the liars.
The Marines deserved to be considered innocent and never got that from either PravdABDNC or Turda. Turns out we were Right and they were Themselves.
Pray for W and Our Troops
I detest the way the media and Murtha have found these guys guilty before the trial ..they haven’t been given the benefit of the dought (like Dean gave Osama).
Most of the evidence that has been sited is from the enemy.
One of these young men could be my son. The forces of the left have tried to sacrifice these boys on the altar of political expediency. It stinks.
Many of my friends are serving or have served in the military from Army to Air Force, Navy and my oldest friend is a retired Marine pilot.
The armed forces face guns overseas and knives back home, they deserve the same "innocent until proven guilty" rights that we do at home and they deserve an extra nod given the circumstances they face.
Given those odds and circumstances, the Haditha charges are a sham and no soldier or marine should have to worry about doing their job.
I supported them first of all because I’m a soldier, and what happens on the battlefield is beyond the ken of normal men. That which is crazy is sane on the battlefield, and the guys on it AUTOMATICALLY deserve the benefit of the doubt.
I supported them because Murtha and the Media came out of the gate declaring them “cold-bloooded murderers” before the very first inquiry was held. Our Marines deserve better than that; at least a neutral “innocent until proven guilty.”
I spent a career praying for troops. I’ll not stop now.
I care because there is no credible evidence to support their guilt.
I care because there is credible evidence they are being used to support a political agenda.
I care because the left is trying to lose this war the way they lost the Viet Nam war.
I care because justice is an integral part of the American experiment.
I care because these men should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
I care because they have already been judged guilty by the mainstream media.
I care because an enemy of my enemy (John Murtha, John Kerry, Jane Fonda) is my friend.
I care because we owe the troops our support, and blind justice, like any other American.
They fight without regard to politics and should be tried for any crimes or violations without regard to politics.
My first knowledge of Haditha came from the Media’s report of Murtha’s denouncement. While he is a slime-bag politician, he was a Marine, and I accepted that this was possibly a Mi Lia situation. Bad things do happen in wars — all wars — but the military does its best to contain and prevent such occurances. After I ran into some of your early posts, I came to the realisation that this is a concocted story from our enemies, both foreign and domestic. Yes, Murtha IS an enemy, ex-marine or not.
The Criminal Justice System — both civilian and military, is loaded against the innocent. True — for the most part it works, unless politics is the driving force; see OJ; Duke Lacrosse; Haditha — all examples of political interference where only public outcry changed the politically-derived decision. Criminals may get justice, Victims rarely do.
I contributed a little because the Prosecutor has unlimited funds, people, and experts, to draw upon. Defendants are severely limited’ especially where the defense has to get the sitting judge to authorise such expenses.
I would also like to see all the Haditha Families sue Murtha, Tim McGirk, and Time Magazine for slander and libel once this is all done. I’ll add money to that pot too.
In the case of these Marines, the media who hate the war and this administration, would do anything to grasp an incident such as this to further their agenda of the backstabbing of both and they did.
Also, because a politician who should be in prison instead of the U.S. House of Representatives used this incident to further his own political ambitions by making absurd statements in denying them their presumption of innocence, a presumption they are risking their lives to protect while this coward of a Congressman tries to take that from them.
Lastly because of the investigation that was handled very poorly by some in the NCIS, not only in this case but others. These men deserve better than that by all.
I might add that I am very angered and disappointed in the way the Marine Corps has handled the Haditha Marines, and to a lesser degree, the Hamdania Marines.
My son is a Marine, and while I fully support his sacrifice, up to a willingness to give his life in service to our country, I have to second guess the wisdom of serving, voluntarily or otherwise, under the command of those who are not willing to give up their life and or career to protect and defend the honor/integrity/life of their troops, absent proven violations of orders and/or the UCMJ.
When I heard about this in the news with SSgt Wuterich, the first thing that I thought of is this guy is a Marine, somebody’s son (nice mom btw) and probably somebody’s husband. I don’t believe for one second that anybody with kids would want to be in the position that SSgt Wuterich was in that day. No doubt he did the right thing. As much as we banter back and forth on these threads, please realize I have the deepest sympathy for all of the families and total respect for what they stand for. I feel they are being punished for staying alive and coming home.
Making a donation to his defense fund is not a hard choice. How much is your freedom worth to you?
The reason I support these men is that they are in a frickin war. This is not a police activity. This is war. If mistakes were made in the heat of battle I do not care. They deserve medals, not sanction.
When I first read about the so-called Haditha Massacre, I honestly thought something didn’t sound right. Yes, the thought of one or two “rogue” Marines “going off” was a possibility, but the whole unit? My hinky meter lit up on that nugget, alone.
Shortly after McGirk’s story was published, it really started to stink. I could see that the Iraqis were being painted as innocent victims, even though we were already seeing many reports of insurgents using Iraqis as human shields and taking over their homes and towns and posing as regular townspeople. On top of that, it seemed that Mr. McGirk was actually taking the word of these Iraqis before even talking to any of the Marines. The press accounts were getting even more outrageous and the comparisons to Mi Lai were outrageous. Press reports said that there was a photo of an innocent Iraqi “kneeling, as if in prayer” before he was executed. Entire families were “huddled in prayer” before they were executed, but when pressed, had to retract because they hadn’t actually seen the pictures. Additionally, the story originated from a “budding journalism student” who just happened to possess a convenient crime scene video. Budding journalism student, puhlease.
I was disgusted.
By the time Murtha was frothing at any camera that our Marines were out murdering innocent civilians “in cold blood”, I was incensed. I started reading everything I could about the Haditha ambush that day and the atmosphere up to that time. Interesting tidbits were there for any journalist to find. I kept waiting for any of the major publications or MSM outlets to unearth the real story, but there seemed to be no interest in anything that pointed out the flaws in the template that war turns young men into bloodthirsty savages who commit war crimes routinely.
Having been a reader of Michael Yon’s incredible blog, I knew that just wasn’t true. I read extraordinary stories about our troops. The Haditha “Massacre” was so out of bounds, I just would not believe it. This was in no way a purposeful slaughter.
Really, why do I care so much? These men are HEROES! They are over there fighting, so we don’t have to fight the savages here. I truly believe that. We OWE them the presumption of innocence—at the very least. The people on Capitol Hill that voted to SEND THEM THERE owe them that much.
I thank God every day that we have such honorable, brave souls who sacrifice their very lives so that we can continue to live the very cushy lives we live. I am so humbled by their service. I pray that the light will shine on this case and the lies be exposed—and every rat that scurried away as the truth started to be revealed will be unveiled for the cowards and liars they are.
The same reason I supported the three young men falsely accused of Rape at Duke University.
Truth and Justice!
At the same time, the trial system had to follow its course to show that these allegations had no credibility. The military had to place them before an Art. 32 tribunal, because otherwise there would be howls of "coverup!"
I have supported the Haditha Marines because they were accused of war crimes in a war that I, as an American, asked them to fight. Their fight to prove their innocence has been an unfair, uphill struggle. As a responsible citizen, I must have their back, and presume their innocence.
From day one, it has not been a fair fight. Between the media, both foreign and American, the politicians, the Marine Corps, and even the CIC - nobody has forcefully and vigorously stood up for OUR Marine’s innocence. Each has added immeasurable PR dollars to the enemy’s agenda to convict these Marines and reduce the American will to wage and win this war.
At the same time the Marines and their families have been forced to mortgage their homes or raid 401K’s just to try to defend their actions in a battle. The only counteracting PR has been from bloggers and a few conservative media sources, and even those have dwindled as the process has drug on.
The impact of these cases on our Rules of Engagement, our will to continue the war, is already being felt. I daresay we could never have fought and persevered in WWII with the same PC mentality.
The war against radical Islamicism is a war worth fighting. They represented me in this war, I will stand up for them.
I support these Marines (and all of our military) because they volunteer to put their lives on the line to save ours. The media and the Left has gone over and above to portray them as the “bad guys” since the war started.
Murtha’s “cold blooded murder” comment hit a raw nerve with me and the inconsistencies just didn’t add up. The more I read and heard, the madder I got. The rush to judgment and the deliberate failure by many to look at the facts only encouraged me to keep digging. I knew in my heart that these Marines were innocent and vowed to keep fighting back by exposing the lies and the media bias.
Then I found Defend our Marines and the Haditha Ping List here. I contributed to the defense funds because these Marines could have been my son, my brother or my husband. I even bought a Haditha t-shirt and wore it every casual Friday at work. It was the very least I could do.
These Marines are heroes who were in the middle of a kill or be killed situation. They deserve so much more than the treatment they have received. At the very least they deserve an apology from those that rushed to judgment.
Thanks for starting this thread Red - you are the best!
Our Marines were set up by a traitor working for the gain of the enemy and have been cast aside and thrown under the bus by a command structure that’s scared to death that the traitors and enemy sympathizers that infest our government, education system and our media will turn on them too.
No society has any right to have good men and women fight on their behalf while that society allows treason to prosper in its midst.
The Enemy is ALL enemy, foreign AND domestic.
I pretty much withheld judgment until Art. 32 hearings. There was no reason (other than ideology or hoping for the best) to reject the allegations out of hand - and the allegations were serious enough to warrant further investigation. The hearings have so far confirmed my hopes that they were innocent.
I know this is small comfort to the Marines in question, but it's better for them to have gone through the Art. 32 hearing. Anyone who knows enough about Haditha to recognize their names will know that they were exonerated. Anyone who knows only the name "Haditha" wouldn't have their minds changed anyway.
Special Request Ping
I would like to ask why.
Very simple my son could end up in the same boat.
I prefer to believe that if someone only knows the name “Haditha”, they WOULD change their minds once they know the FACTS. If the FACTS had not been MANGLED by the leftwing media and certain politicians to BEGIN with, this whole mess would never have happened!
Thanks for this, Red.
That’s an easy question. I support them because I knew they were innocent.
Because I knew this whole thing was based on lies by Iraqis, the leftwing media, and certain politicians.
And because I knew it could have just as easily been my son.
And I am disgusted with our government that these Marines and their families have had to go through this.
No better friend.
No worse enemy.
I care about these Marines because my son served with them in Haditha. We, in our own way, are working hard to see that justice be carried out in the case of all the Haditha Marines. We are heartened to see that the truth is coming out. Please cancel all subscriptions to the New York Times. Time Magazine, Newsweek and Vanity Fair. Economic sanctions do work. Demand that Time Magazine, Tim McGirk, John Murtha, The NCIS and the Marine Corps publicly acknowledge the innocence of these men. This is a military version of the abuses of the Duke case. We demand that abuse of power stop. We must stop eating our young and let them do their jobs.
Welcome to Free Republic.
The reason why I care about the Haditha Marines is because my son served with them in Haditha. These men may have saved my son’s life during his combat tour there. We have been disgusted with the persecution of these honorable young men by the Marines, the NCIS, John Murtha, the media, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and Vanity Fair. The scapegoating of these Marines who were in mortal danger in the service of our country in order to serve the agendas of power hungry politicians and blood thirsty media is criminal. It is just like the Duke “rape” case. When will we stop eating our young?
Thanks for your post and your son’s service. And welcome to Free Republic.
Because they are my brothers, and they are now on the recieving end of the same kind of sh!t that has gone on at least since I first enlisted under Carter.
The support I have for the Haditha Marines is simply stated, they are good men.
They defend us from the darkness and they are innocent.
Thanks for this Red. It is certainly uplifting and heartwarming. Just what I needed!
The Marines of 3/1 didn't leave me, my neighbors, the store clerk, or even my dog behind.
Instead, they've offered their lives to keep us all safe. Many have had to make good on that offer, while we go on with our lives in peace and quiet.
These men are beset by an evil, one many of us have faced in our lives, but never with the stakes this high. They now fight not just for us, their safety and their mission.
They are fighting for their own freedom, and for maintaining the line in the sand that the Marine Corps has traditionally represented to the rest of the world.
Should that line be perceived to have blown away, America, and her symbolism of righteousness, the wall against which tyrants and despots inexplicitly expire, will never be the same.
I'm not capable of standing beside them in a firefight, but I am capable of fighting the evil deeds bestowed on these heroes, as is everyone joined here to support them.
It may not seem like much, but I believe that every thought, every prayer, every letter, phone call, or moment of our time we dedicate to research or comments, takes away from the vacum, the darkness in which their enemies plot. Take away the shadows in which they lurk, and they will scurry off like the feeble mice they truly are.
As for the money, it's just pennies..nickles, actually....;~)
I support them because they were only doing their job and what they were trained to do. War is not something that a solider should have to worry about every move he makes when fighting in the war. That kind of thinking puts him in even more danger. Worrying about what the media will say or a politician will critic is wrong.
I am a firm believer in letting our military do what they do best. And that anyone else, the couch wanna be generals and the anti-war media etc. need to be greatful for the freedom they have to be that couch wanna be general etc.
I have supported the The Haditha Marines from day one, from the second I head the news about them. I never questioned what they did not even for one second and I am proud of them.
Because it could have been my son. He was also attached to the 3/1 in Haditha during that time period. His squad could have been the one hit by the IED and had to battle the terrorist that morning.
I support them because I think they are getting shafted.
I don’t know any of these accused Marines personally. But I have learned of the character of several of the fallen 3/1 Marines through their families, not to mention a couple dozen who fell in Haditha/Haqlaniyah/Barwana. I get the impression that these Marines are not vicious killers, unless engaged by the enemy. But what do I know?
You know, Pop.
You raise an interesting point in terms of military trials.
I would suggest that the military prosecutor must tally all hours, dollars spent, and outside expertise consulted, and a real-world dollar value be put on the total.
Given "innocent until proven guilty" AND given that the military is required to provide defense counsel for soldiers, I would recommend a legal financing rule that requires the government to grant at least as much money to the defense as the prosecution uses.
This would level the field a bit. As you point out, the government -- especially in a high profile case -- has nearly unlimited resources.
Red, for sure many on here espouse support of the Haditha Marines on patriotic grounds, as is justified. Many espouse support for the Haditha Marines because they see injustice for what it is - WRONG. Personally, I support the Haditha Marines for both of the above reasons along with the fact that I believe in two things that were taught to me when the United States Marine Corps accepted me into it’s midst some twenty years ago - “Esprit de Corps” and “Semper Fidelis”. Never turn your back on those who taught you what duty, honor and courage were all about.
I support the Haditha Marines for several reasons.
1) I have NO doubt they are innocent.
2) I have read everything I could get my hands on and nothing has convinced me they are anything other than innocent.
3) They volunteered for their country, they were trained and sent to war, they did what I believe anyone would have done in their shoes.
4) We must stand up for what’s right. Being able to send a little money is the very least that can be done. These Marines and their families deserve our support. They’ve earned it through blood, sweat, tears and many many sleepless nights.
>> So, if you support the Haditha Marines, please take a moment and say why
For me, it’s a matter of faith. From the first days of the sensational reports to the truth being unveiled today, my prayers were always with our nation’s defenders. The Haditha Marines deserve our unwavering support through every battle, crisis, and political persecution.
I doubt we'll get a full accounting of the costs, but I did share info about Col. Mendonca from the UK and his Basra ordeal. Here are some links:
That £20 million is around $38 Million. Hell of a price to pay for undermining your Military, and I doubt most of ours will re-up either.
News
Colonel cleared over mistreatment of Iraqis
14/02/2007 00:01AM GMT | Duncan Hooper and agencies
Cleared: Col Jorge Mendonca Four of Col Jorge Mendonca's men were similarly cleared of charges at their trial at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. For the past five months Col Jorge Mendonca MBE, 43, former commander of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, has been ...read
News
Mendonca quits Army over inquiry 'injustice'
01/06/2007 00:01AM BST | Stephanie Condron
Mendonca quits Army over inquiry 'injustice'. Timeline: The failed prosecution of Col Mendonca Colonel Jorge Mendonca, who was cleared after a £20 million court martial over the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners , is leaving the Army, it was disclosed ...read
News
Officers attack MoD over 'scapegoat' Mendonca
02/06/2007 00:01AM BST | Stewart Payne and Nigel Bunyan
Officers attack MoD over 'scapegoat' Mendonca. Senior military figures rallied behind Colonel Jorge Mendonca yesterday following his decision to leave the Army in disgust at the prospect of facing another military inquiry over the alleged abuse of Iraqi ...read
In the US, the defense as well as the prosecution is supposed to be a part of the UCMJ. Adequate defense is demanded by the UCMJ.
It is hardly “adequate defense” to give one side 38 million bucks and give the other side a couple thousand and change.
I care because it’s wrong to send a young man into combat and then prosecute him for defending himself and his comrades in arms.
I care because this conflict is being micromanaged from DC when decisions should be made by those in the arena.
I care because I know anti-American hype and propaganda when I see it.
I care because there’s every appearance that the decision was made a priori to hang these Marines out to dry for political purposes.
I care because their treatment is worse than we mete out to any terrorist prisoner.
I agree with all of the prior post.
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