lederhosen: (Default)
lederhosen ([personal profile] lederhosen) wrote2006-05-19 09:55 am
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Haditha

MSNBC reports:

A Pentagon probe into the death of Iraqi civilians last November in the Iraqi city of Haditha will show that U.S. Marines "killed innocent civilians in cold blood," a U.S. lawmaker [John Murtha] said Wednesday.

Article summary: on November 20th, a USMC spokesman announced that a roadside bomb in Haditha has killed one Marine and fifteen Iraqi civilians. From what Murtha and unnamed 'military officials' are saying about the investigation, it now appears that the civilians - some as young as three - were not killed by the bomb, but shot in cold blood by Marines as payback for the death of one of their own.

Military officials say Marine Corp photos taken immediately after the incident show many of the victims were shot at close range, in the head and chest, execution-style. One photo shows a mother and young child bent over on the floor as if in prayer, shot dead, said the officials, who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity because the investigation hasn't been completed.

A couple of points of note:
- According to his Wikipedia entry, Murtha spent nearly forty years in the Marines and Marine Reserves, including action in Korea and Vietnam, so presumably he does not make these claims lightly.
- The 'roadside bomb' story seems to have been abandoned only after Time got hold of video evidence to the contrary; don't go assuming that the incidents that make the news are the only ones that happen.

[identity profile] usekh.livejournal.com 2006-05-19 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
I fear what is likely to happen is similiar to Mei Lai(sp?) a few scapegoats are set free quietly soon after. If it is even allowed to go that far.

[identity profile] capn-arrgh.livejournal.com 2006-05-19 06:46 am (UTC)(link)
Mai Lai: Of the fourteen officers charged with the cover-up, and 26 others with direct involvement, the only Officer convicted was one Lt. William Calley who led ONE platoon of the force which exterminated some 504 civilians aged from 1 to 84 years of age. His initial Life sentence was reduced to house arrest before, after three years, he received a presidential pardon from Nixon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mai_lai

The hero of the event only died this year. Reviled by the us military as a traitor, it took him over 30 years to receive any award for bravely putting his life on the line.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Thompson%2C_Jr.

Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat it.