A Shooting in Fallujah (Marine in Falujah INNOCENT)

National Review ^ | 11-19-04 | Mackubin Owen

[Imnotalib]

This is just one story most don't hear:

A young Marine and his cover man cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with AK-47s and RPGs. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insurgent can be heard saying, "Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor (doctor)!" He is badly wounded, lying in a pool of his own blood. The Marine and his cover man slowly walk toward the injured man, scanning to make sure no enemies come from behind. In a split second, the pressure in the room greatly exceeds that of the outside, and the concussion seems to be felt before the blast is heard. Marines outside rush to the room, and look in horror as the dust gradually settles. The result is a room filled with the barely recognizable remains of the deceased, caused by an insurgent setting off several pounds of explosives.

The Marines' remains are gathered by teary-eyed comrades, brothers in arms, and shipped home in a box. The families can only mourn over a casket and a picture of their loved one, a life cut short by someone who hid behind a white flag. But no one hears these stories, except those who have lived to carry remains of a friend, and the families who loved the dead. No one hears this, so no one cares.

This is the story everyone hears:

A young Marine and his fire team cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with AK-47s and RPGs. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insurgent can be heard saying, "Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor (doctor)!" He is badly wounded. Suddenly, he pulls from under his bloody clothes a grenade, without the pin. The explosion rocks the room, killing one Marine, wounding the others. The young Marine catches shrapnel in the face.

The next day, same Marine, same type of situation, a different story. The young Marine and his cover man enter a room with two wounded insurgents. One lies on the floor in puddle of blood, another against the wall. A reporter and his camera survey the wreckage inside, and in the background can be heard the voice of a Marine, "He's moving, he's moving!"

The pop of a rifle is heard, and the insurgent against the wall is now dead.

Minutes, hours later, the scene is aired on national television, and the Marine is being held for committing a war crime. Unlawful killing.

And now, another Marine has the possibility of being burned at the stake for protecting the life of his brethren. His family now wrings their hands in grief, tears streaming down their face. Brother, should I have been in your boots, I too would have done the same.

For those of you who don't know, we Marines, Band of Brothers, Jarheads, Leathernecks, etc., do not fight because we think it is right, or think it is wrong. We are here for the man to our left, and the man to our right. We choose to give our lives so that the man or woman next to us can go home and see their husbands, wives, children, friends and families.

For those of you who sit on your couches in front of your television, and choose to condemn this man's actions, I have but one thing to say to you. Get out of you recliner, lace up my boots, pick up a rifle, leave your family behind, and join me. See what I've seen, walk where I have walked. To those of you who support us, my sincerest gratitude. You keep us alive.

I am a Marine currently doing his second tour in Iraq. These are my opinions and mine alone. They do not represent those of the Marine Corps or of the U.S. military, or any other.

[diamond6]

bump

[Imnotalib]

One of those e-mails to Sites was from me.
I should have mentioned when I posted this article that al-Jazeera (all terrorist, all the time) news network has shown Sites' tape repeatedly, but didn't show the execution of Margaret Hassan because it was 'too grisly'.
In other words, they publicize the PR that hurts us, while withholding the PR that damages THEIR 'freedom fighters' (aka 'cold blooded lowlife Islamic scumbag murderers'.

[EnigmaticAnomaly]

bump

[mvpel]

As has been pointed out already, to use a religious building for military purposes or to feign death in combat when you are not indeed dead, ALL OF WHICH THE TERRORISTS HERE WERE DOING, are already violations of the Geneva Convention.

And how do you tell the difference between feigning death when you are not indeed dead, versus being nearly unconcsious due to your injuries? Is our new SOP to blow the brains out of any enemy fighter who appears to be unconscious?

[NormsRevenge]

[ZULU]

"Is our new SOP to blow the brains out of any enemy fighter who appears to be unconscious?"

In a situation where you are dealing with suicidial maniacs who have had a consistent track record of feigning death or surrender, then blowing up themselves and your troops, you always err on the safe side.

And this WAS SOP in the Pacific theatre in WW2 where the Japanese were similarly inclined.

I'd rather see an American soldier inadvertently blow away a guy who was not feigning death, than pass up one of these lunatics with a bomb who would then blow up him and his buddies.

We are in Iraq because we were attacked by an international terror cartel and these lunatics are part of that cartel. They are hardly conventional soldiers fighting a conventional war.

[twntaipan]

Wow. Poor little Sites gets a bit of hate mail for his work. But the Marine he has set up may get the brig for poor little Kevin's lying efforts.

[TexKat]

Not enough evidence to charge marine in point-blank Fallujah shooting: report

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US marine, captured on film killing a wounded Iraqi at point blank range during November's assault on Fallujah, will not be formally charged due to lack of evidence.

The November 13 shooting occurred during a search of a mosque in a widely broadcast incident that sparked worldwide outrage and was described by the International Committee of the Red Cross as a demonstration of "utter contempt for humanity."

In the incident, a trooper raised his rifle and shot point blank at an apparently unarmed, wounded Iraqi who was slumped against one of the mosque walls, in footage captured by an embedded cameraman working for the NBC network.

Although the insurgents were found to be unarmed, investigators said the one the Marine believed he had seen moving could have been reaching for a weapon.

The rifleman was withdrawn from combat pending the results of the investigation, but the graphic footage enraged many, months after the scandal over US troops' abuse of inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison.

CBS News said Wednesday it had learned that military investigators had concluded insufficient evidence existed to formally charge the marine.

The raid on Fallujah, part of an attempt at reclaiming key lawless enclaves across the country ahead of January elections, has been the largest military operation in Iraq since the March 2003.

[Bahbah]

Thank GOD, how great. Right decision. Bump him up a grade.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Good news.

It is about time that folks learn that going to war, includes killing the enemy.

I wish they would let the men and women fight the war to win, and no more of this game playing.

[Blowtorch]

I cannot imagine the experience of having to pick up the parts of a fellow soldier killed that just moments before was talking with you and protecting you. The experience would scar every moment and hinder any feelings of enjoyment or fulfillment you might have for the rest of your life. I imagine feelings of "why wasn't that me" would be the most painful. May God help relieve suffering of our brave soldiers and may we always remember the valor of the fallen.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I wish they would let the men and women fight the war to win, and no more of this game playing.

Everyone needs to realize that there are really two wars, one over there....and one here at home.....

___________________________________________________________

Unholy Alliance
by David Horowitz
Regnery Publishing, Inc.; ISBN: 089526076X
Hardcover - 256 pages (September 2004)

In this tour de force on the most important issue of our time, David Horowitz, confronts the paradox of how so many Americans, including the leadership of the Democratic Party, could turn against the War on Terror. He finds an answer in a political Left that shares a view of America as the “Great Satan” with America’s radical Islamic enemies. This Left, which once made common cause with Communists, has now joined forces with radical Islam in attacking America’s defenses at home and its policies abroad. From their positions of influence in the university and media culture, leftists have defined America as the “root cause” of the attacks against it. In a remarkable exploration of the “Mind of the Left,” Horowitz traces the evolution of American radicalism from its Communist past to its “anti-war” present. He then shows how this Left was able to turn the Democratic Party presidential campaign around and reshape its views on the War on Terror.

Horowitz’s Unholy Alliance, writes John Haynes, the noted historian of American Communism, “is an insightful, brilliant examination of the mental world of the radical left. Horowitz shows how today’s radicals, unwilling to reflect on the internal flaws that destroyed Marxism-Leninism from within, have embraced an all-consuming nihilism in its place. This has led them to a hatred of American institutions and a solidarity with Islamic terrorists that makes the radical left more properly regarded as dangerous than loony.”

Unholy Alliance is an eye-opening book that should unsettle conventional assumptions and reveals why intellectuals and political leaders who applaud Michael Moore are no laughing matter. As Harvey Klehr, author of Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America, writes, “The world Communist movement may be moribund, but its habits of mind and ideological fantasies have not disappeared. This is a fascinating and depressing account.”

Price: $19.01 - Click here to order:

[nw_arizona_granny]

Everyone needs to realize that there are really two wars, one over
there....and one here at home.....
........................................................

We have lost the the war at home.

They have been brainwashed - beyond help.

I am constantly amazed at the callers on the radio talk shows, they really do think we should not have gone to war.

It is time to add the nazi movement to the communist and the muslim terrorists, they are mixed up in it and are out of
hiding.