Haditha
Not a good story. So now Iraq has its own My Lai. If you thought Abu Ghraib was My Lai, read about Haditha.
24 civilians murdered? Without any provocation? That went on for hours? And then a cover-up? This is a nightmare.
Military to Report Marines Killed Iraqi Civilians
A military investigation into the deaths of two dozen Iraqis last November is expected to find that a small number of marines in western Iraq carried out extensive, unprovoked killings of civilians, Congressional, military and Pentagon officials said Thursday.Two lawyers involved in discussions about individual marines’ defenses said they thought the investigation could result in charges of murder, a capital offense. That possibility and the emerging details of the killings have raised fears that the incident could be the gravest case involving misconduct by American ground forces in Iraq.
Officials briefed on preliminary results of the inquiry said the civilians killed at Haditha, a lawless, insurgent-plagued city deep in Sunni-dominated Anbar Province, did not die from a makeshift bomb, as the military first reported, or in cross-fire between marines and attackers, as was later announced. A separate inquiry has begun to find whether the events were deliberately covered up.
Evidence indicates that the civilians were killed during a sustained sweep by a small group of marines that lasted three to five hours and included shootings of five men standing near a taxi at a checkpoint, and killings inside at least two homes that included women and children, officials said.
One senior Defense Department official who has been briefed on the initial findings, when asked how many of the 24 dead Iraqis were killed by the improvised bomb as initially reported, paused and said, “Zero.”
from the L.A. Times:
An administrative inquiry overseen by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell found that several infantry Marines fatally shot as many as 24 Iraqis and that other Marines either failed to stop them or filed misleading or blatantly false reports. The report concludes that a dozen Marines acted improperly after a roadside bomb explosion killed a fellow Marine, Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas. Looking for insurgents, the Marines entered several homes and began firing their weapons, according to the report.
We are all going to hear at lot more about this in the coming months and years. I have to agree with Allahpundit, we can’t downplay this or attack those who report it.
I’m just saying that it’s bad form to kill the messenger when serious malfeasance might be afoot. … We’ll be hearing more about this story — check that; we’ll be hearing nothing but this story — for months to come. Stay tuned.
I’m sick. So is John Cole. It’s hard not to over-react to this. TIME’s March 19, 2006 article is grim reading.
Update: After seeing some comments and other bloggers’ reactions —
This story is not about Murtha, nor his detractors. (Personally, I never mentioned Murtha’s comments on this.) The Haditha story is a tragedy for the victims and their families. It is another tragedy for the people of Iraq, as the blowback from this story will play into the terrorists’ hands. It is a tragedy for the armed forces of the United States, who will be tarred by the actions of a few. It is a tragedy for the people of the United States, as it will help inflame global terrorists; our own security is weaker today due to this story.
Conservative bloggers who supported the war in Iraq should face this story head on, and report it vigorously. I also recommend we lay off the whole “who said what about whom in relation to their earlier comments about …, etc..” This is too tragic and important to devolve into an ever-widening pissing contest over Murtha’s word, Malkin’s words, TBogg’s words, etc..
Others have noted that over 500 were killed at My Lai, compared to 24 at Haditha. The global media’s extreme sensitivity to casualties of American wars and to atrocities committed by American soldiers is a reality. Sure, World War Two dwarfed Vietnam on any scale. And yes, the violence in Vietnam dwarfed the events in Iraq (not just My Lai relative to Haditha). But, in the environment of 2006, Haditha will loom as large in the global media, if not in literal body count.
Haditha: Investigation looks bad for Marines
Vinnie on Haditha
Two reports from Haditha
Hot Air »Haditha
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