Posted on 11/16/2004 7:01:14 AM PST by areafiftyone
FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. Marines rallied round a comrade under investigation for killing a wounded Iraqi during the offensive in Falluja, saying he was probably under combat stress in unpredictable, hair-trigger circumstances.
Marines interviewed on Tuesday said they didn't see the shooting as a scandal, rather the act of a comrade who faced intense pressure during the effort to quell the insurgency in the city.
"I can see why he would do it. He was probably running around being shot at for days on end in Falluja. There should be an investigation but they should look into the circumstances," said Lance Corporal Christopher Hanson.
"I would have shot the insurgent too. Two shots to the head," said Sergeant Nicholas Graham, 24, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "You can't trust these people. He should not be investigated. He did nothing wrong."
The military command launched an investigation after video footage showed a U.S. Marine shooting a wounded and unarmed man in a mosque in the city on Saturday. The man was one of five wounded and left in the mosque after Marines fought their way through the area.
A pool report by NBC correspondent Kevin Sites said the mosque had been used by insurgents to attack U.S. forces, who stormed it, killing 10 militants and wounding the five. Sites said the wounded had been left for others to pick up.
A second group of Marines entered the mosque on Saturday after reports it had been reoccupied. Footage from the embedded television crew showed the five still in the mosque, although several appeared to be close to death, Sites said.
He said a Marine noticed one prisoner was still breathing.
A Marine can be heard saying on the pool footage provided to Reuters Television: "He's fucking faking he's dead."
"The Marine then raises his rifle and fires into the man's head," Sites said.
NBC said the Marine, who had reportedly been shot in the face himself the previous day, said immediately after the shooting: "Well, he's dead now."
THOROUGH PROBE PROMISED
The Marine commander in Falluja, Lieutenant General John Sattler, said his men followed the law of conflict and held themselves to a high standard of accountability.
"The facts of this case will be thoroughly pursued to make an informed decision and to protect the rights of all persons involved," he said.
Marines have repeatedly described the rebels they fought against in Falluja as ruthless fighters who didn't play by the rules. They say the investigation is politically motivated.
"It's all political. This Marine has been under attack for days. It has nothing to do with what he did," said Corporal Keith Hoy, 23.
Rights group Amnesty International said on Monday both sides in the Falluja fighting had broken the rules of war governing the protection of civilians and wounded combatants.
Gunnery Sergeant Christopher Garza, 30, favored an investigation but like other Marines said the Pentagon should weigh its decision carefully.
"He should have captured him. Maybe the insurgent had some valuable information. There may have been mitigating circumstances. Maybe his two buddies died in Falluja," he said.
Sites said: "I have witnessed the Marines behaving as a disciplined and professional force throughout this offensive. In this particular case, it certainly was a confusing situation to say the least."
The U.S. military has been embarrassed by scandals in Iraq, most prominently the Abu Ghraib affair in which at least eight U.S. soldiers have been tried or face courts-martial over the abuse of prisoners at the jail outside Baghdad.
There have also been several cases in which soldiers have been charged with wrongfully killing Iraqis during operations.
As a former grunt from '69 to '72, I am too old and outta shape for current duty but I do volunteer to be on his reveiw board, if it comes to that. Semper Fi.
I am sure he would appreciate your support.
Kerry shot a Vietnamese guy in the back who was running away and he's a hero. Go figure.
I don't hate all of the media. But, I do hate the media who take things out of context and lie by omission.
john kerry got a medal for doing this very thing.
You can't depend on the left to be consistent.
It is time for our President to use some of the capital he earned in the election to warn of the buzzards(MSM).
I just called NBC Washington. It took four calls being hung up on until they put me through to some manager.
I think NBC was ready to be given the Pulitzer Prize for this story and they are in shock how it is being received.
CALL NOW AND COMPLAIN
202-885-4200
This "innocent" civilian had since April to GT*O--sure glad we didn`t put any panties on his head!
And the stupid, vicious, worthless piece of slime of the imbed reporter--maybe next time, the Marines can send the reporter over to check out the possibly boobytrapped "body."
I agree with everything except for the Brig. But one more thing NO MEDIA ALLOWED! We need to get this over with ASAP so the media won't be able to keep this on Front page as much as they want like the did with the prison scandal. They had a field day with that one and they should NEVER EVER be able to target our soldiers like that EVER AGAIN!
Well heck yes. Let's get our illustrious Senator Kerry who knows all about these sorts of incidents and everything else pertaining to warfare, according to his followers, to weigh in on the situation.
(Do I need the sarcasm tag?)
Prairie
I'm glad the Marines on the ground are vocally supporting their comrade. I hope there's a ground swell of support from us as well. A shot heard round the world? Hellsbells, there should be loud show of support heard round the world too.
I don't want to add to the load our troops need to carry in their packs, but it may be necesary to make Pulitzer Prize medals standard issue. That way, they can hand them out to those very special imbedded reporters, and the reporter will go home with what he wants. Everyone will be happy!
Sometimes, we can be so incredibly stupid it boggles the imagination. We truly do make most of our own problems.
OK...here's the standing order for the rest of the time we're eliminating terrorists.
NO - repeat NO media, press with cameras (other than approved military recorders as approved by next higher command), press with written notes, or other civilian types are to be allowed within fifteen miles of any known or suspected combat operations. This is for their own safety.
This order is to be implemented with Draconian swiftness and vigor NOW.
Further, any media, press with cameras, or other civilian types now "embedded" with units are to have all papers, cameras, film, notes or other paraphenalia confiscated (reasons of National Security) and be immediately evacuated to a place not less than 15 miles distance from the unit and no closer than 15 miles from any other military unit.
Proceed.
I'm sure others will explain it better than I can, but here's my take on it. The idiotic reporter bit the hand that probably saved his worthless life. His sole aim was to make the Marine--and the military, and by extension, the President himself--look as bad as possible. The Iraqis have been boobytrapping the wounded and dead over there--and those who weren't boobytrapped would "play dead" then fire on people checking on their health.
In my estimation, the reporter was no better than the "play dead" terrorists.
Where's the picture of the 4 American Engineers that were seen HANGING from that bridge in Iraq??
You know the pic??--the one where the American CIVILIANs were Beaten, then dismembered ( no one knows if they were dead before they were dismembered ) then BURNED--THEN.......
dragged thru the streets and shown al jazzera with NO Outrage form OUR media??
That picture.
NBC is toast--I never believed in Boycotts--but I do now.
Reporters are turning into money grubbing whores too.
Airborne
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