The road to Haditha: changing face of war

Baltimore Sun ^ | 8/22/06 | George Bryjak

[Coop]

SAN DIEGO // On Nov. 19, 2005, a unit of Marines arrived at the Iraqi village of Haditha to remove the bodies of civilians reportedly killed by a roadside blast. What they found were infants, women and children shot in the face and chest and the body of a wheelchair-bound elderly man riddled with bullets.

A group of Marines are under criminal investigation that could lead to murder charges in the slayings of 24 civilians in the western Iraqi village. Like Abu Ghraib, Haditha has become synonymous with war atrocities, in this case an alleged act of retribution for the roadside bombing death of a fellow Marine. If the Marines are charged, it will be for a military court to determine their guilt or innocence. But some already have sought to explain what can never be condoned.

"Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood," Rep. John P. Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat and former Marine Corps officer, contended based on his discussions with military officials.

While stress may have been a factor in that particular incident, the changing nature of war and the American military's response to those changes provide a history and context for the challenges confronting U.S. servicemen and women in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere today.

...

Military sociologist Charles Moskos notes that when insurgents are supported by the local populace, innocent civilians are likely to be viewed as the bad guys. "In these situations of extreme stress," he notes, "one can lose one's moral balance."

... George J. Bryjak, a former Marine, is a research associate in the department of sociology at the University of San Diego. His e-mail is bryjak@verizon.net

[Semus Dynnen]

Powerful....

[Prost1]

I do not think a group of highly trained marines would execute civilians.

I do think that the terrorists in Haditha are quite capable of executing the civilians, even their own family if it serves their purpose.

What we are faced with is Liberal Hate. Nothing more. The marines have sworn to die for their country and they have not done so.

The Liberals will do everything to see that it happens.

And, there is no crime against the Liberals hating Marines.

There is a crime, it seems, in Marines not dying for their country or just not dying.

[freema]

"...they represent the true strength of the country and the heart and soul of its citizens." - President George W. Bush about the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, December 7th, 2004 www.semperfifund.org

[usmcobra]

I've often wondered how we can say to ourselves that a Bomber crew dumping tons of bombs on a city killing thousands of innocent civilians is different then a soldier that during combat killed a bunch of equally innocent civilians.

In both cases the intent is clear, the bomber crew and the soldier on the ground are tools of the nation for which they fight, and the civilians they kill are innocent pawns of our enemies.

It's been suggested to me that because the soldier on the ground can see the faces of those he kills in combat that some how he is personally responsible while the aircrew is not, because the aircrew cannot see what those are attacking.

In Haditha the events are clear enough for all but the most die hard defenders of our enemies. Our Marines were attacked, one was killed, several were injured and they fought back. That should have been the end of the story, this was not some preassigned attack meant to eradicate a village, or an example of genocide carried out against a selected bunch of people by elite troops, it was self defense as Marines are allowed to do under the rules of engagement they have to abide by.

And it is only an issue because a man that hates his Corps and country more then the truth is willing to lie and condemn those that once were his fellow Marines while they defend this country for him.

[freema]

~~~But the mission wasn’t en­tirely diplomatic. The Marines were also looking for known insurgents. They were authorized to search homes, interrogate residents and place snipers to fend off an enemy that blends in with the population. In the past, the Marines had rolled through towns like Karmah in caravans of Humvees, but after months of devastating IED attacks, commanders decided to try a new tactic: Foot patrols. The thinking was, if the Marines didn’t spend so much time on the roads, the insurgents would have fewer opportunities to stage their deadly ambushes. Small groups of a couple dozen Marines would stay in the town for several days at a stretch, instead of trucking out and back from the large, fortified Marine base down the road. There was, as the Marines discovered, a problem with the plan. The insurgents changed tactics too. They began planting explosives in the streets of the town itself. Insurgent scouts would track the Marines’ movements from the rooftops, and deto­nate the IEDs, buried in the ground, when the Marines were a few yards away. One of the ambushes nearly cost me my left arm. The morning started calmly enough. The Marines were setting out in search of an insurgent on their wanted list. They’d received a tip that the man might be found at an auto repair shop in town. The Marines questioned some people, but the man wasn’t there. On the way back, the unit’s radio operator got a call. Someone had spotted a black sedan like one involved in a sniper attack that had wounded a Ma­rine in the head the day before. The Marines didn’t get excited at the news. Photographer Laurent Van der Stockt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “There are a thousand f---g black cars in this place!” one smirked darkly. But a little while later, while patrolling the town, the Marines spotted a young man, maybe 18 years old, running away from them. They chased him down, hoping to find out why he had fled. The young man ran down a side street and jumped the iron gate into a courtyard, a feat of athleticism that impressed the Americans. The young lieutenant leading the group rang the bell at the gate and waited for someone to an­swer. I was next to him, taking pictures, when a feeling of dread came over me. The street, usually busy with people, was deserted. The blast came a second later. A blinding flash of light coupled with a thun­derous explosion so loud that it left me deaf for 24 hours. The kid we’d seen running away had likely been the one who set the device’s timer. Then I realized I had been hit. I looked down to find my arm in bad shape. The flesh and bone below the elbow were badly damaged, and I was losing blood. It was only later that doctors discovered an AK-47 slug in my arm, along with the shrapnel. Apparently, a rooftop sniper had fired at me at the same time the IED went off, shatter­ing the limb. I was in pain, but oddly, mostly what I felt was anger. It was the third time I had been injured in combat zones. In 2001, I’d been shot in the leg by an Israeli sniper in Ramallah. A decade earlier, a mortar blast in Yugoslavia had injured the same arm. My response was to pick up my camera and start taking pictures of the dusty chaos. Fortunately, only one Marine had been injured, and not badly. It turned out the person who planted the IED had buried it too deeply in the ground, which directed the force of the blast upward instead of hor­izontally—hindering its explosive force. We were put onto trucks headed to the Marine hospital in Fallujah. But along the way, the convoy was hit by another IED. That blast was too far away to do any damage. I am now back home in Paris. It will take a year of bone grafts and reconstructive surgery to rebuild my arm. No matter what they call them, there is nothing “improvised” about the way the insurgents are using IEDs to kill Marines and soldiers in Iraq. The de­vice went off just a few yards away from where the men were standing. It was planned that way. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11901549/site/newsweek/

[freema]

Jordan McDonald cries by his brother's M-16 after a ceremony honoring 15 fallen Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit at W.P.T. Field at Camp Lejeunee, N.C., on Thursday. McDonald's brother Cpl. Jonathan Beatty was killed in Iraq on Jan. 27 Marine Cpl. Cory Spencer weeps during a Service of Remembrance for nine Marines and one Navy corpsman killed in Iraq. Spencer was a close friend of one of the Marines, Lance Cpl. Franklin Sweger. Sgt. Joe Houser pauses at the casket of his brother, Sgt. Tom Houser, following funeral services at St. Joseph Cemetery in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Wednesday. Houser, a member of the 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company assigned to work with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed Jan. 3 by enemy fire in Iraq’s Anbar province, military officials said. Gunnery Sgt. Jorge Miranda, right, and Gunnery Sgt. Paul Faulkner knelt to pray during the funeral for Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas on Tuesday at St. Ignatius Catholic Church.

[freema]

[Marine_Uncle]

This has to be the most saddest post of the day. The pictures and the textual descriptions. Like I have said more then once in the past two years. Almost every day is Memorial Day for me. I wish none of our men and women in uniform have to be in any foreign land. But in my heart and mind I understand there simply is no alternative.

[freema]

I can only reiterate Coop's words:

"one can lose one's moral balance."

Indeed. For example, this author chose not to make a single mention of terrorists routinely using women and children as shields, but rather focused all his attention on blaming America (specifically, her military.

This garbage just makes my blood boil. The jerk didn't even consider that the Marines may not even be guilty of crimes.

This crap is only going to continue unless and until America's military supporters rise up. And I'm not sure that will ever happen.

[freema]

That was beautiful.

Especially the last paragraph.

[potlatch]

[Marine_Uncle]

It is a long battle we must endure. Now you understand what many in the past have eluded to when they would say, knowledge has a price.
Ignorance is bliss and spares one's soul. Those of us that seek knowledge often must carry a burden many choose not by some strange instinct to do.
But in their ignorance. They truely lose things of often immense value. Things one cannot set a price on. You have a great upcoming day. I gotta hit the rack.

[Smartass]

Thanks for the ping.
Another winner Potlatch...
He's going to provide lots of good entertainment!

 

[potlatch]

Thanks SmartA, just finished it!

[devolve]

A little collaboration - A huge payoff

[devolve]

An excellent graphic potlatch!

[potlatch]

Oh my! You have been working, that is so cute.

It's hard to paint when you're traveling like that, lol.

[potlatch]

Thank you devolve, you know me - I could keep doing things forever on it but said 'enough'!!

[Coop]

This republican and retired USAR is getting tired of the stupidity and incompetence eminating out of the White House and the Pentagon.

That's okay. This conservative independent and veteran Jarhead is getting tired of the moronic statements emanating from keyboard commandos on this forum.

Fortunately for us all, neither you nor I are in charge.

[Coop]

I don't argue with what you say. But what are we going to do about it? Just chattering away on a conservative forum isn't accomplishing anything.

So Rep. Murtha Accused American Marines of Cold-Blooded Murder... So What?