Posted on 06/05/2006 6:59:40 PM PDT by pissant
I’ve spent a lot of time with Marines in war zones, and I spent two days and one night in Haditha with the Marine unit that replaced the men who may be accused of murdering two dozen innocent civilians in that western Iraqi town.
This doesn't qualify me as an expert, and I have no additional information about the incident, but I’ve been asked to make some observations, so here goes:
1. There is no excuse for the murder of innocent, unarmed civilians, especially women and children, even in a war zone.
2. We are all presumed innocent until proven guilty, even in a war zone.
The Marines in Haditha, and elsewhere in the al Anbar province, are under daily attack. The unit I was embedded with discovered more than 30 IEDs (improvised explosive devices, or roadside bombs) in the two months preceding my visit. These are IEDs that DIDN'T explode. Many other bombs did, claiming the lives of Marines, including four killed in two separate attacks while I was there.
Eyewitness accounts almost always vary, and are often wrong or exaggerated, especially in places where there is great distrust or hatred of authority, or in this case, of Americans.
Every Iraqi is allowed to own one AK-47 assault rifle and 30 rounds of ammunition, and most people own more than one weapon. Iraqi citizens are among the most heavily-armed in the world. Do we know if the Marines were fired on by people inside any of the homes they entered? Is it possible they faced resistance? Is it possible innocents were killed during an overreaction to hostilities?
As a group, Marines are among the most impressive people I’ve ever met. They are dedicated, motivated, tough, polite, and responsible.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Over here.....
Rick is one of the few that I feel for. I spent a long sleepless night during the invasion. He had cameras rolling then, and I have respect for a man who's there when the tanks stop.
He was THE reporter to watch during the initial push to Baghdad.
Not one mention of that turd Murtha by Rick L. or any of the posters (or E-mailers) on the forum.
WOW...I remember when we first entered Iraq...I was watching TV all night long...and Rick was always my favorite...seemed like a "real" guy.
Did you read the e-mails sent to him on that site, after his post???
Those are some powerful messages he got.
I have often wondered how the REMFs sitting on their fat asses - Murtha - can accuse a soldier/Marine in combat, in the heat of battle, of shooting innocent civilians. The enemy in Iraq, as well as other recent wars, does not wear a uniform and often use women and children to hide themselves. If you shoot a civilian clothed person shooting at you with an AK -47 and subsequently recover his/her body without the AK-47, is he/she an innocent civilian? Is that what beings like Murtha and the MSM claim? If so, and we believe that, we don't deserve to beat terrorism. Let them come and rid us from this world, for the sake of the rest of the world.
I read a piece by the BBC on FR last night. The pixies at the BBC were whining about all the bullet holes in the walls in the house. They said that they were all marked with Roman numerals by the military, doo dah doo dah. If the Marines were in there executing unarmed "civilian," why would they be shooting holes in the walls. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm thinking that the DemocRATS "freedom fighter" pals were in that house with those civilians and that a gunfight occurred after the IED exploded. Those not killed in the crossfire during the firefight were shot by the DemocRATS' "freedom fighting" buddies before they pulled out. That's just my opinion.
Those posts really are powerful.
I know...and I have to tell you, I had a lump in my throat with a few of them...
My nephew is over in Iraq right now...and I have no clue where in Iraq he is...
But, these days, the troops have some access to computers sometimes...which is a LOT better than even when they were fighting in Vietnam...and loved ones would have to wait forever for a letter...
But...e-mail or not, it seems like a different WORLD away...not just another country.
He was the main reason I watched Fox's coverage. the others seemed lost.
Agreed
He didn't want to sully his keyboard.
Good opinion piece here:
http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/storage/paper244/news/2006/06/05/Opinion/Marines.Arent.The.Only.Ones.Who.Need.To.Show.Restraint-2015917.shtml?norewrite200606052241&sourcedomain=www.dailyutahchronicle.com
I did not. I'll go back and read them.
Thank you Rick.
We know next to nothing at this point. But I'm CERTAIN that Murtha's and Time's versions are about as wrong as you can get it.
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