Yet another slaughter by US military. This one in Hamandiyah.

[twilson]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12972552/

NBC News and news services
Updated: 7:36 p.m. ET May 25, 2006

WASHINGTON - As many as seven Marines are accused of dragging an innocent Iraqi man from his home in April, killing him in cold blood and then trying to cover up the crime, NBC News has learned.

Further, military officials tell NBC that at least one of the Marines has reportedly confessed in the killing, saying they find the allegations especially disturbing because the case appears to have been a premeditated killing and not carried out in the heat of combat.

The revelations come on the heels of a visit to Iraq by the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps to address concerns that Marines are becoming indifferent to killing and death.

 

[genkisan]

Big fucking surprise.


Raise a generation on violent video games and gangsta rap, and then send them off to war, and you're surprised when they start killing folks?


Get real.

 

[Guest]

Soldiers are an arm of the war machine, as stupid as some maybe, they are products of the Man - sent by the Man to kill for the Man.

So do you blame them for their illegal acts or the government for their illegal war?
The soldiers wrongness is part of a much bigger wrongness and you can't say Bush and Blair were raised on Grand Theft Auto and 2Pac either!

 

[mean mr.mustard]

You mean they're actually killing people over there!?!?!?! :jawdrop:

 

[Guest]

Apparently so...

And they're not being very nice about it either.

 

[Pure MoFo]

Because twilson's agenda is anti-US.


By Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu

When dealing with a generation of media that are unable to think of an American war without reflexively placing it into a Vietnam template, you just know that any opportunity to bend events into that mold will be irresistible. Such irrational but compulsive behavior is even more compelling when the newsmen are programmed to be anti-war, anti-US military, and anti-Bush.

So when the sandstorm hit eight days or so into Operation Iraqi Freedom they shrieked about a “quagmire.” When repugnant but highly localized misconduct took place at Abu Ghraib prison they elevated it to such prominence that it became a strategic defeat for America. When Marine Lieutenant Ilario Pantano was accused of murdering two men during combat operations in Iraq they called for his head, ultimately forcing him to leave the Marine Corps despite a court-martial acquittal, to the great loss of his service and his country.

And predictably when Iraq was not a quagmire, when Abu Ghraib was determined after multiple investigations not to be a result of administration policy but of poor supervision and individual misconduct, and when Lieutenant Pantano was trying to put his life together the same sanctimonious media scolds were absent without leave. Such is the parasitic life style they have chosen to live.

Now we are facing another investigation: a report that Marines allegedly killed up to 24 Iraqi civilians in a modest Sunni Triangle town of 90,000 called Haditha. The facts as we know them are limited: Marines have been operating in Haditha for some time and face the kind of entrenched terrorist resistance that characterized Fallujah and Tal Afar before they were liberated and returned to friendly Iraqi government control. On November 19, 2005 an IED exploded early on a morning patrol blowing one Marine in half, wounding several. From here on reports vary but official reports so far seem to confirm that the Marines received small arms fire from nearby houses and returned it. At some point the Marines stormed the houses, clearing them. Twenty four lay dead in the wake. Some were women and children.



For those of us who have been exposed to combat this brief summary yields more questions and answers. Of the dead how many were men, were they armed? Who were they, Iraqis or al Qaeda foreigners? Were the women or young people armed? What was found in the houses – weapons caches, explosives, jihadist materials? What kind of fire killed the Iraqis – long range, point-blank, or grenades? Were the wounds caused by US weapons or by AK-47s? These are just a few questions and answers to them will generate many more. But the point is that we need to have an idea of what happened before we have a rush to judgment. After all, these are America’s finest, the Marines who are all volunteers and who have risked their lives on a daily basis to defend us. They deserve at least the same presumption of innocence that we give to murders in the States, don’t they?



Apparently not, at least not in the eyes of media and certain human rights organizations. CNN, Time, mainstream and global media outlets, have convicted the US troops and are calling for punishment. They strain to make comparisons to the infamous Vietnam killings at My Lai. Marc Garlasco, of Human Rights Watch, told reporters recently, “What happened at Haditha appears to be outright murder. The Haditha massacre will go down as Iraq’s My Lai.” When Garlasco appeared on Sean Hannity’s radio show to discuss his views with Hannity and retired Marine colonel Oliver North, Garlasco immediately back-pedaled, admitting under questioning that he had “no idea of the facts” in the situation. Like his fellows he steadfastly refused to allow his ignorance to prevent him from judging the Marines. As one Marine said, “killers like O.J. Simpson and Scott Peterson received more respect from the press than our fellows are getting. It’s disgraceful.”



Nor do the Marines receive respect from one of their Corps veterans. Representative John Murtha (D-PA) who has a track record of insulting and slandering our troops has hit new lows. “These were wanton killings done in cold blood,” he told reporters, thereby passing judgment on a situation of which he is woefully ignorant. The anti-American media such as al Jazeera delights in Murtha quotations which boost terrorists’ morale as they prepare for their next strike against our troops.



So what was Haditha really? A pastoral Iraqi village filled with farmers and merchants trying to go about daily business? Maybe not. According to the Guardian Haditha was a “Sunni citadel” ruled by “brutal insurgents.” Murders, the British newspaper reports, took place daily at dawn on the Haqlania bridge. Victims, local Iraqis that the terrorists claimed were Coalition and Iraqi government “agents,” were beheaded with knives. Their prone bodies were left on display, pointed in the direction of Baghdad. If you were not a sufficiently early riser to catch the executions live, not to worry, you could get a DVD that afternoon in the local market. The terrorists give them out free.



Haditha is a “miniature Taliban-like state,” where the insurgents call all the shots. Who lives or who dies today is the most terrifying decision they make. With that power little wonder that civilians cooperate either out of fear, coercion, or the desire to be on the side of the knife wielders. Insurgents set the economic rules, the social mores – totally Sharia Islamic rules, by the way, and what news the people receive. Headscarves for women are mandatory, alcohol banned, music forbidden, and relations between the sexes closely monitored. Break the rules? You have a one-way trip to the bridge at dawn.



While a local group, Ansar al-Sunna ostensibly holds power, the real force is the al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Haditha is yet another example of what the entire country of Iraq will become if the U.S. pulls out precipitately. We ignored Afghanistan after the Soviet debacle to our bitter regret. Ignoring Iraq and turning it over to the murderous thugs like Zarqawi, giving him a bright population funded by billions in oil revenues, could be a suicide pact for America.



So in the face of such hellish conditions in which our Marines must slog their way through on a daily basis until the insurgents are killed, captured, or chased from the city, would it not seem charitable at the very least (forget legalities, that seems to obsess the media when discussing civil crimes but not apply to American military charges) to give our troops the benefit of the doubt until the facts in the case are known? We owe them that much. At the moment three independent investigations are ongoing, one by the Navy, another by Central Command, and a third by the Iraqi government.



The US military has proved that it polices itself well, despite hysterical muttering from the fever swamp left. There are Uniform Code of Military Justice procedures, similar to grand jury investigations, currently underway, that must be completed, reviewed, and recommendations forwarded before decisions to prosecute are made. While we wait for those investigations we would be respectful of our brave military by avoiding inflaming an already volatile Muslim population that will ultimately kill and wound more as a result of the hysterical, accusatory publicity.



That is certainly wistful thinking in regard to willful, venal politicians eager to win power by stepping on the bodies of American soldiers, and media willing to write stories with their blood. What can we do? Switch TV channels, cancel your subscription, and vote out those politicians who are so hungry for position that they would sacrifice the welfare of our soldiers to achieve it.

 

[Fat Albert]

Right on, PureMoFo!

Fat A

 

[dankedout]

a very very small group of soldiers killed one innocent person and you call it a slaughter ???? I dont condone killing innocent people but comon man why are you so eager to bash your own country. Our military looks like saints compared to what iraqis are doing to innocent people on a daily basis.... If youre truly concerned about innocent people being killed then tell the whole story dont just go on a american bashing spree evertime an isolated event occurs.

Hopefully if these soldiers knowingly killed an innocent man then they will be brought to justice. But for the love of god take the america bashing down a notch.

 

[ChaoticEntity]

swing one way or the other, ugh same old shit.

How about we stop trying to polarize the nation and actually acomplish something.

 

[twilson]

>> a very very small group of soldiers killed one innocent person and you call it a slaughter ?

Just the tip of the iceberg. Take a lot look my other threads on massacres by US troops. You will even find one person who is ex-military claiming that there are 10 or 15 that go unreported for everyone you find out about.

Thats news. Look up the definition.

Sorry that the news bothers you.

 

[Fat Albert]

Hey twilson,

If you want to dump on the US at every turn, then go to DailyKos or Atrios. Re-posting unfounded allegations against our troops does NOT constitute any sort of constructive or productive way of assessing the situation. There are some on this board who would gladly bury your misinformation with rebuttals that you'd have no answer for. But we don't, because this is not the place for it.

Once again, that's dailykos.com. Say hi to Markos "Screw Them" Zuniga for me!

Fat A

 

[genkisan]

How 'bout we just leave it at "war sucks".........



can't we all agree on that one?

 

[Verite]

Yeah I was wondering where twilsons post on the canadian terrorist ring went to?

Oops forgot if it doesnt slam the US then its not twilson newsworthy.

 

[dankedout]

>>

Sorry that the news bothers you.

yes of course its news, my point is you never make posts about any news unless its something that makes america look bad. How bout the 20 or so human heads found throughout iraq the last couple days, thats pretty big news why dont you post about that?


Iran said today the latest proposal by america and others from the EU look positive. Thats GREAT news, and it actually makes america look good. How come you havent posted anything about that. Why might be on the verge of actually avoiding a war but i dont hear a peep about that from you.

If your gonna post news stories for people to read please dont be so one sided. Unless its pro weed news, then its ok to be one sided .

 

[twilson]

>> my point is you never make posts about any news unless its something that makes america look bad.

Sorry.

I should have pointed out the upside of being murdered by the US military. But thats just me leaving out all the good things that amerikkka does.

 

[Creeptic]

Big fucking surprise.


Raise a generation on violent video games and gangsta rap, and then send them off to war, and you're surprised when they start killing folks?


Get real.

lol are you serious?

because no innocents were killed in vietnam? world war 1? 2? korea?

or did they have gangsta rap & video games too?

Its obviously horrible and not justified by any means... but innocents have died in every war that ever happened and placing any of the blame on music and video games is ridiculous

 

[Guest]

twilson..... Do you even grow the sacred herb? All I see is alot od America bashing and shit. Go back to the Yahoo boards you troll.

 

[twilson]

>> All I see is alot od America bashing and shit.

And all i see is a bunch of cowards that won't respond to any debate point except by saying "whaaaaaaa mommy he's picking on america"

Spinelessness as an art form.

 

[Fat Albert]

>> All I see is alot od America bashing and shit.

And all i see is a bunch of cowards that won't respond to any debate point except by saying "whaaaaaaa mommy he's picking on america"

Spinelessness as an art form.

Ummm....your "debate points" aren't so. All that you're doing is repeating allegations that have yet to be proven.

Let me guess: you probably think that Mumia abu-Jamal is innocent, despite the evidence that he was convicted with. Yet an allegation against US troops in a hostile zone is bought hook, line, and sinker. Why bother to wait out the investigation? They're troops of The Evil Shrub, so that's prima facie evidence for our boy twilson here that they're guilty.

Absolutely useless you are, twilson.

Cheers!
Fat A

 

[Farmer John]

Well, it is kinda weird, they just killed around 24 people on speed and booze, now if that isnt nice then what is...I love some parts of America, a very beautiful country indeed but the biggest problem is these inbred deepsouth dickheads that people seem to vote as president every fucking 4 years or so.