Posted on 05/30/2006 6:00:23 AM PDT by Peach
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., May 29 — In this "company town" where everything and everyone caters to the well-being of the Marine Corps, there is no shortage of people, both military and civilian, who are willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the troops accused of unjustified killings last November in Haditha, Iraq.
Relatives and neighbors gathered near the shrouded bodies of civilians said to have been killed by marines in Haditha, Iraq, in November.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/world/middleeast/30voices.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Only the anti-military and anti-American are judging our Marines guilty before all of the facts come out. There are the usual suspects that HOPE that this story is true. They are the usual cast of characters and they are all on the left side of the political spectrum. They are rooting for the enemy.
Semper Fi'
Jarhead
BUMP!
I'm not saying it will be "good". I'm saying that most of us are willing to wait until an actual trial.
You DID see I hope the letter I linked upthread about a Marine charged with premeditated murder and war atrocities in Iraq. He stood trial and heard himself described in the most viscious terms but was later cleared due to autopsy evidence.
I didn't hear that but agree with it 100%.
Excuse me, I do NOT support wanton murder of civilians, and anyone who DOES has NEVER supported the USMC. In case you missed the memo by Gen. Peter Pace, USMC, that is NOT---repeat, NOT---what the USMC is about, and it tarnishes the honor of that organization to say "I support them no matter what."
I'm telling you there is no way on God's green earth that the Marines purposely executed the women and children at "close range" in "cold blood" while they were "kneeling in prayer".
I understand that we're only getting the one side. But by "bad feeling," I mean that I have a bad feeling that Marines actually did it, and did it under circumstances that can't be justified as "heat of battle." I have no factual basis for the feeling -- just a hunch, and a sense that it had (or has) to happen eventually.
If that turns out to be the case, I would hope to see a harsh punishment for those responsible. As you've seen on this and other threads, there are already quite a few people who are saying that it's no big deal, even if Marines did do it.
You are of course correct about the loss of reputation of those who may be charged but exonerated....one of life's cruel and inexplicable slaps.
Laura has been wrong more than once.
Cut the drama, it does not work with me.
Murderers do deserve to be put away forever. But it doesn't happen very often in this country, does it?
So let's take young men who are shot at daily, whose lives are on the line, who probably saw a gun and MAYBE over-reacted.
Do I want them on the battlefield? No.
Do I want them to be punished for bad judgement? No
Do I think they literally spent 4-5 hours going house to house and forcing women and children to their knees and executed them? No.
We can certainly hope so. But if it turns out otherwise, I trust you'll agree with me that the perpetrator(s) need to be put away forever.
Me too...Thanks for posting that once again, peach.
That's where this stuff gets surreal. Patton had to hang four GIs who were raping Italian women in Sicily in 1943, and he did so without compunction or without hesitation when they were proven guilty. It's ostrich-like to pretend that there are not atrocities, and, unfortunately some of our people do occasionally commit them.
What you should be concentrating on is WHY we don't do this more often, let alone routinely---WHY we alone seem to be able to control the "baser instincts" of man in combat---and WHY we above all armies maintain soldiers and sailors of honor in the worst of circumstances, despite some of the bad apples.
Comment I posted on another thread:
"Don't anyone be fooled. This is only partially about justice in this case and much more about breaking the morale of our troops so that they will doubt the mission they are on and by extension the leadership of the President. We must redouble our efforts in support of the troops and their sacrifice. The fact that this was highlighted on Memorial Day weekend shows the lengths that the old, drive-by media will go to in pursuit of that objective."
No kidding?!?! Wow, thanks! I couldn't have grasped that without your assistance.
I think you are short-sighted if you don't think this will be "ok." When insiders are telling conservatives that it's bad, it's bad.
So what? That does not for one second excuse the despicable and treasonous behavior of Jack Murtha! Why some of you are unable to distinguish between "publicly convicting through the press" and "a slaughter that may be as bad as the rumors" is simply beyond me.
I find it quite ironic that you're accusing others of being short-sighted. You come across as quite myopic, in my "short-sighted" view.
If these Marines are guilty, they'll pay dearly. If not, it doesn't really matter. You, Murtha, Linda Heard and others will go about your lives. And them and their families?
It is wiser to prepare than to ignore.
That's not what the USMC stands for, it's not what Gen. Peter Pace said the Marines would do, and it's not the code of honor that ALL US Marines subscribe to. It may be your code of honor, but it isn't theirs. They aspire to something higher, and I say we support them in their mission, not yours.
I see now. Thanks for clearing that up. He condemns Murtha for good cause. I just think these people need to defend themselves, and when that isn't possible, we will tolerate no complaints on how we go about it.
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