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| Iraq |
| New Evidence Emerges in Haditha Case |
| 2006-06-26 |
| New evidence continues to emerge that U.S. Marines did not wantonly kill Iraqi civilians in Haditha last November - and the soldiers' accounts of what happened are backed up by videotape shot by an ultralight vehicle, NewsMax has learned. According to media reports, last Nov. 19 members of a Marine Corps company killed some 24 innocent civilian Iraqis in Haditha, a town140 miles northwest of Baghdad and near the Syrian border. In the ensuing media firestorm that broke out after the story was revealed, many news reports here and abroad compared the Haditha deaths to the infamous My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. Michael Sallah, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his May Lai reporting, has said: "You would have difficulties finding a single newspaper in Germany or elsewhere in Europe which does not deal with My Lai." But the facts and accounts from Marines and others on the ground tell another story. What is not in dispute is that the Marine's engagement in Haditha began when an IED (improvised explosive device) detonated, killing a Marine from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. In the aftermath of the action two investigations were launched, one by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon Bargewell, who was charged with investigating how the incident was reported through the chain of command. A second investigation, headed by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), is looking into any possible criminal aspects of the incident. The Bargewell report has not been released and is still being reviewed by Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, a top U.S. commander in Iraq. But military officials told the Los Angeles Times that although it concludes there was no deliberate cover-up by senior Marine officers, the Corps failed to follow up and ask questions that the known details should have provoked them to ask. The NCIS investigation is still ongoing. Last May, when Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., appeared on "Good Morning America," he accused the Marines of K Company of killing innocent civilians in "cold blood" and that the killings were covered up by higher officers. The Bargewell report has disproved that allegation and with the NCIS investigation so far incomplete, and no soldier has been charged with a crime, how would Murtha know? |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #13 "On that same note, would it be too much to ask of posters to do a little homework, and know the difference between a Senator and a Congressman?" I know the difference between a contributing poster and a pedantic ass. You are not the former. |
| Posted by: Fordesque 2006-06-26 21:16 |
| #12 Whoops! My bad! |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-06-26 18:00 |
| #11 Representative 8205, Congressman is merely the honorific. Please keep up |
| Posted by: 6 2006-06-26 17:58 |
| #10 Belapolosi call yur orafice |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-06-26 14:49 |
| #9 "I guess its too much to ask that the senate grow a backbone and censor Mr Murtha and kick his sorry treasonous excuse for a senator out on his ass." Well...considering that he is not a Senator, but a Congressman, it might be better if the House of Representatives performed the things you mention. On that same note, would it be too much to ask of posters to do a little homework, and know the difference between a Senator and a Congressman? Just sayin'. |
| Posted by: Uleretch Huping8205 2006-06-26 14:42 |
| #8 (1) I don't think the Marines are guilty and I certainly would give them the benefit of the doubt until someone proves them guilty. (2) I would not have cared if Haditha was leveled by repeated B-52 strikes since it was a bastion of enemy activity and thus behind enemy lines (as were Berlin and Hanoi in previous wars) as this would have put less of our folks into the line of fire and sent a really strong message to other villages and towns thinking of lining up on the side of the bad guys. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-06-26 14:05 |
| #7 Can the Narines in question sue Murtha in civil court for slander and liable? I guess its too much to ask that the senate grow a backbone and censor Mr Murtha and kick his sorry treasonous excuse for a senator out on his ass. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-06-26 13:36 |
| #6 Sounds like Time has some s'plainin' to do. This also is defamation and is actionable in civil courts. |
| Posted by: badanov 2006-06-26 12:59 |
| #5 Just like the Gaza Beach Pallywood act, all over again. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2006-06-26 11:38 |
| #4 Only if the word gets out, I'm afraid, tw. Lots of people have seen the TIME cover and the TV reports. How many retractions will they see - and of similar impact?? |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-06-26 11:33 |
| #3 and the soldiers' accounts of what happened are backed up by videotape shot by an ultralight vehicle Very good. And yet another major blow to the reputation of the press and the anti-War on Terror movement. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-06-26 11:29 |
| #2 Doesn't matter how much evidence emerges to absolve the Marines - Murtha and his ilk have already cemeted the "fact" that the Marines were murderers in international minds. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-06-26 11:28 |
| #1 Piss on John Murtha and Time. That's ABSCAM Murtha, the whore for DOD contractors. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2006-06-26 11:08 |