The Truth About Haditha
Who is holding the "lions (cough pardon me cough) pussies of Jihad" accountable for things like dressing in women's clothes and bombing mosques?
CNN...Chirp....CBS....chirp.....NBC.....chirp...Nazi Public Radio...chirp....
Democrat Rep. John "Cut and Run" Murtha thinks he knows the truth about Haditha—and he has been blabbing it to every last cable show host that will host him. The loose-lipped former Marine has accused troops of wantonly killing some two dozen civilians, including children, "in cold blood" in the terrorist stronghold in Iraq last November. There are two ongoing military investigations into the incident itself and the actions of higher-ups in the Haditha aftermath.
Let me repeat that: The investigations are ongoing. Not complete. Official reports aren't expected for several weeks.
I do not know the truth about Haditha. Neither do Murtha and the media outlets calling the alleged massacre a massacre before all the facts are in. It would be helpful if they could handle these grave charges without serving as al Jazeera satellite offices. GOP Sen. John Warner, who like Murtha also served in the Marines, struck the right tone over the weekend—refusing, unlike Murtha, to render a verdict against the Marines before trial and avoiding Bush Derangement Syndrome, but also taking the allegations very seriously.
I do know this. Children are dead. Other children have been orphaned. There are pictures of bullet holes and bloodied homes. There are evolving stories about what happened last Nov. 19 and serious allegations of a possible cover-up.
I also know this: Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, the Marine who was killed by a roadside IED (improvised explosive device) that day, followed a proud family tradition of military service. He had received a commendation for bravery on his first tour of duty in Iraq in 2004. One of his fellow Marines said Terrazas's body was split in two by the bomb explosion that rocked his Hummer while on patrol that morning.
And there's this: Haditha is crawling with terrorists. The Associated Press points out that "in just three days last August, six Marine snipers were killed in Haditha and 14 Marines died in nearby Parwana in the deadliest roadside bombing of the war." Most-wanted al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is reported to have lived in Haditha. The Washington Post quoted a military lawyer noting that Nov. 19 was the Marine 3rd Battalion's "hottest day" in Iraq.
"In addition to drone surveillance that day," the paper reported, "AV-8 Harriers were dropping bombs, helicopters were evacuating wounded, and a large firefight occurred about one-third of a mile from the site of the civilian shootings, said several people familiar with the investigation." [Drone's Video May Aid Marine Inquiry, By Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post, May 29, 2006]Audio of radio traffic that day reportedly contradicts Rep. Murtha's claim that the Marines did not come under small-arms fire after the roadside explosion, according to one of the Post's military sources.
We know this, too: Naval Criminal Investigative Service officials have not turned their backs. Time magazine, which initially broke the story of survivors' accounts that prompted the military probe, reports that Haditha residents—who have yet to be visited by any of Iraq's own officials—"were gratified by [the investigation's] thoroughness" and "were especially impressed by the NCIS investigators" conducting three separate enquiries.
Finally, there is this incontrovertible fact: There are countless numbers of anti-war zealots on the American Left rooting for failure. They believe the worst about the troops. They've blindly embraced frauds who've lied about their military service and lied about wartime atrocities. They've allied themselves with socialist kooks and coddled murderous dictators. They are looking for any excuse to pull out, abandon military operations and reconstruction, and impeach the president.
They insist on giving suspected foreign terrorists more benefit of the doubt than our own men and women in uniform. And that, I know, I am not willing to do.
I will wait. I will pray. And I will remind you that while the murder of civilians is and remains an anomaly in American military history, it is the jihadists' way of life.
Comment(s) »
» Leave a comment
- Your E-mail address is never displayed. If you enter it, it will only be visible to the blog author
- Since there already are over 25 comments to this post, your eventual comment will no longer trigger a notification e-mail to the persons that commented before you.
- The line and paragraph breaks automatically
Don't condone. Don't prejudge. And Murtha, shut up.
Comment by Rosemary— 2006/06/02 @ 03:01 AM — (Reply)
The liberal media jumps the gun on the story as do the other America haters as if our armed forces are genocidal maniacs. Few facts are out there--I wonder if in the end this will just be another "rather-gate" black eye for the biased press.
Comment by FlorianGuerrero— 2006/06/02 @ 01:20 PM — (Reply)
Murtha and just about everyone on the left are doing what they can to erode support for the war and tarnish the reputation of the military. Daniel Henninger from the WSJ has a great article on "the incident".
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/dhenninger/?id=110008458
Comment by Joe Gringo— 2006/06/02 @ 09:23 AM — (Reply)
the problem I see is this accountability issue is one sided and hypocritical.
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/02 @ 09:37 AM — (Reply)
Comment by A Conservative Realist— 2006/06/02 @ 11:00 AM — (Reply)
Thanks to Dee at democracyfrontline.org
Comment by — 2006/06/02 @ 01:04 PM — (Reply)
Kudos to that long comment!
Comment by Always On Watch— 2006/06/03 @ 02:59 AM — (Reply)
I do too.
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/02 @ 01:15 PM — (Reply)
We should be used to this "they are killing the innocent" howling used by both the left and Muzzies, who by now know how to exploit the leftist media.
The Israelis had to deal with this shiite for eons now.
Remember Jenin??
Comment by MissingLink— 2006/06/02 @ 02:53 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Dugg— 2006/06/02 @ 02:59 PM — (Reply)
What is inconceivable to me is how these "Americans" are so quick to deny the benefit of the doubt to these brave souls, but they would contort themselves into believing some piece of crap (democart) until the facts came out into the open, at which time, they would yell about the accusation being "old news". I'm not surprised; I'm disgusted.
Comment by cube— 2006/06/02 @ 03:21 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Cate— 2006/06/02 @ 04:29 PM — (Reply)
I got another word for the "MF" abbreviation
Comment by elmers brother— 2006/06/02 @ 04:41 PM — (Reply)
I do three. It's a conspiracy going on.
Comment by FlorianGuerrero— 2006/06/02 @ 03:23 PM — (Reply)
if it did happen it only shows that sin is universal. Marine or not. But as cubed said innocent until proven guilty.
Comment by elmers brother— 2006/06/02 @ 04:05 PM — (Reply)
posse comitatus makes guarding the border difficult for the armed forces. At best they can do what the national guard is doing. Passing on info to the Border patrol
ML - "they are killing the innocent"
do you think that has anything to do with the weariness that Israel has and the constant shrieking by the left there?
Comment by elmers brother— 2006/06/02 @ 04:07 PM — (Reply)
I think you're right EB.
In the mid 90's the Israelis had some hope for settling all the violent disputes and start more or less a normal life.
They entrusted the likes of Carter and Clinton, they tried to please the leftoid and/or otherwise pro Muslim leaders of many European countries.
As a result they were forced to fight with one arm tied up behind their back and according to some rules, which their enemies did not have any intentions to follow.
Muslims use their own women and children as a shield, from behind which they open fire and later they use their families use as a hideout.
Civilian casulties follow, and then the the PR machine starts screaming "rape", "violence", "murder".
The US puts pressure upon Israeli politicians, the UN inspectors are send in and although nothing is ususally found the taste in the "public" mouth remains (facts are always easily forgotten by the media).
What the US military is facing now is exactly what Israel had to deal with since its birth.
Comment by MissingLink— 2006/06/02 @ 08:52 PM — (Reply)
None of us know what happened in Haditha. But the media are automatically assuming that our Marines committed egregious deeds.
I've thought a lot about the story. Know what? I don't believe that a whole group of Marines went off like psychos and slaughtered Iraqi civilians!
Instead of condemning these Marines, why don't the media broadcast complete videos of a few beheadings so as to show just what kind of animals our Forces are up against?
Comment by Always On Watch— 2006/06/03 @ 02:57 AM — (Reply)
MF: An astute and very accurate description of Murtha!
Comment by Brooke— 2006/06/03 @ 02:42 PM — (Reply)
his lie filled war. Imagine if your biggest crime was that you had an asshole for a leader (like Bush) and suddenly your neighbors, family, friends are all being blown up over it. Imagine marines storming your house and blowing your kids away. You war mongers have already spun condoning torture - Stop being so desperate to prove your right in supporting Bush that your willing to spin anything to the
point of besmirching your soul.
Comment by Dugg— 2006/06/03 @ 02:59 PM — (Reply)
I wouldn't describe myself as a Bushie, nor do I listed to Limbaugh.
My point is that I don't like to see the media trying any Marines who might have committed egrerious deeds, yet giving a pass to others who have definitely committed atrocities.
I repeat...I don't know what happened in Haditha. And EB eloquently stated my position:
Dugg, it is your right to oppose the war. But I think it is important to recognize that we are indeed engaged in a war.
From the June 5, 2006 edition of Time Magazine:
"...Haditha, the kind of place where the enemy attacks U.S. troops from the cover of mosques, schools and homes and uses civilians as shields, complicating Marine engagement rules to shoot only when threatened."
So, I'll await the results of the investigation before I condemn those Marines in Haditha. That investigative procedure may not be perfect, but at least an investigation will be conducted.
Comment by Always On Watch— 2006/06/04 @ 02:30 AM — (Reply)
http://www.rense.com/general71/line.htm
Comment by Dugg— 2006/06/03 @ 03:03 PM — (Reply)
Comment by A Conservative Realist— 2006/06/03 @ 03:06 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Dugg— 2006/06/03 @ 03:12 PM — (Reply)
Dugg I understand your frustration. Set aside Loose Change for a minute. Ask yourself where is the outrage over what the enemy is doing? Where is the outrage over the 3 year old kid who is staked to the ground because the insurgents think he is helping the Americans? Where are the pictures on the media of these atrocitites? Why doesn't the media remind us of what happened on 9/11? Regardless of whether you think the war is right or not, the atrocities of the enemy are rarely reported and if they are it's in the some of the most innocuous terms.
This isn't a right and left issue so much as it is a fundamental fairness issue. Why aren't people as outraged that these same people who are fighting to keep you and I "innocent till proven guilty" afforded the same benefit of the doubt?
the "f" bomb thing...no worries. I think the world of you Dugg.
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/03 @ 04:49 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Dugg— 2006/06/05 @ 10:55 AM — (Reply)
I think at least one action we should take is to support the huge democratic movement in Iran. It could cool things off if the theocratic government were overthrown.
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/05 @ 12:18 PM — (Reply)
A friend of mine sent me the following article, and I thought I'd pass it along:
Hell & Haditha
Understanding war.
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Nothing in the human experience is more physically exhausting, mentally challenging, and emotionally rattling than ground combat, particularly that which is fought in tooth-to-eyeball proximity to the enemy. It does things to soldiers that people who have never experienced it will never truly comprehend.
“Everyone in ground combat is in a constant state of exhaustion, sleep deprivation, high strung emotions and nervous tension. All are anticipating the next action,” says retired U.S. Marine Col. John W. Ripley.
He should know: As the legendary leatherneck who almost single-handedly blunted the North Vietnamese Army’s Easter Offensive in 1972 by blowing up the Dong-Ha bridge while under heavy enemy fire, Ripley would testify 20 years later before a Presidential Commission on the very subject of ground combat. He described it as an “overt, aggressive, purposely violent act where violence has an advantageous role.”
In a conversation earlier this week, Ripley told me, “Marines are always alert and prepared to react in combat. The responsibility then falls to the leader to prevent them from overreacting, and often it is not easy.”
For those tasked with engaging the enemy in violent ground combat, the potential for overreaction is a variable that simply never goes away.
What Happened in Haditha?
Which brings us to the remote town of Haditha, in Iraq’s notorious Al Anbar Province. There on November 19, 2005, a handful of U.S. Marines allegedly killed some two-dozen Iraqi civilians, some said to be women and children.
Though the facts are not yet known, the killings are alleged to be the result of an emotionally charged retaliation for the ambush killing of Marine Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, who was driving a Humvee on patrol when the vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED).
According to preliminary reports, after Terrazas was killed, his fellow Marines raided two or three houses suspected of harboring insurgents. There was shooting, and people died.
Today, it seems most anyone on either side of the political fence—whether supportive of our efforts in Iraq or not—would agree that someone is probably going to be charged. Whether or not they will be convicted, and of what, is another matter entirely.
Now, I’m not excusing what may—with “may” being the optimum word here—prove to be a shameful day in the history of our Marine Corps. But it benefits no one if we do not attempt to understand the men involved and the dynamics of the system, and how it all could have temporarily broken down, if it did. Nor is there any justifiable reason to publicly convict the Marines—as we have seen in the rhetoric of Congressman John Murtha (D., Penn)—before those Marines have had their day in court.
Murtha contends the Marines killed civilians in “cold blood.” But based on my understanding of killing in “cold blood”—which is “deliberate” and with “a complete lack of emotion”—that would have been impossible under the circumstances. And any former Marine like Murtha should know better.
Of course we will not know the specifics of what happened until all of the investigations and hearings have been completed. Even then, we may not know everything, much of it having been lost in the proverbial fog of war and the so-often under-appreciated reality of combat and combat stress.
Guilty or not, what these young riflemen go through day-in and day-out must be considered if we are to fully understand what went so terribly wrong at Haditha and why.
A Typical Attack
Let’s consider a frequent and typical attack on a Marine or Army patrol as an example: When a Humvee is hit by a mine or an IED, the result is nothing like what one might see in a movie. It’s not simply a blast and people are dead. No chest-clutching John Wayne departures with inspirational music. There is no glory. No adventure. It’s just the worst sort of human drama imaginable.
The vehicle, if close enough to the blast, flips into the air, snapping necks and spinal cords. Heads and limbs are torn from bodies. Gasoline ignites and ammunition cooks off, burning any survivors to a crisp.
Those soldiers and Marines (many of whom are still teenagers) who witness the action are instantly shocked, physically sickened, grief-stricken, and enraged over the horror of having watched buddies—who have become closer than any sibling might ever hope to be—torn to pieces. Badly wounded buddies are screaming in agony. Yet the ones uninjured or with minor injuries have to respond as trained. They are dismounting from vehicles, simultaneously removing safeties from weapons and racing for cover or assaulting in the direction of the ambush where seen or unseen forces are shooting at them. The counterattack often requires the instant establishment of a base of fire by one group while an enveloping force prepares to overwhelm the enemy. Blood-pressure is peaking. Adrenaline is pumping.
Surviving officers and NCOs (most of whom are in their twenties) are even busier. They are reporting their position, calling for supporting fires (if needed) and medical assistance. They also are shouting commands, directing troops, and generally trying to maintain order in the midst of chaos, and attempting to simplify what has in an instant become extraordinarily complex.
Making matters worse, the closer the action becomes, the greater the chances that something dark might take place. In his book, On Killing, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (a military-science professor and foremost authority on ground combat) writes, “In order to fight at close range one must deny the humanity of one’s enemy.”
Yet, the killing must be controlled, and that’s almost impossible without superb leadership. Fortunately for American infantry forces, the leaders are so well-trained and the men so well-versed in instant obedience to orders that battlefield atrocities are indeed a rarity. Still there is the human factor and the extreme stress for young infantrymen, who the previous year might have only been concerned with grades, girlfriends, and football tryouts.
The Unpredictable Effects of Stress
Retired Marine Col. Wayne V. Morris, who 30-plus-years-ago commanded Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines (the same company that is today under investigation for the Haditha killings), tells NRO there is more to the story than the public knows. “Since I am a former company commander for 3 / 1, I am on the inside of this issue,” he says. “There is much more to come out on this that the media is not reporting,” and that includes “issues that will play to the amount of stress the folks were under.”
According to Morris, the issue of combat stress “is huge, and the confounding aspect to it is that it affects different people in different ways.”
All combatants manage or mismanage it differently, he says. The manifestations of combat stress are not always immediate nor are they obvious, and anyone who served in combat will tell you they have been permanently changed by the experience.
“We all suffer some sort of post-traumatic stress syndrome,” says Morris. “And given a certain stressor, we all could fall prey to some sort of unexplained reaction that would not be normally associated with our demeanor.”
Morris, who also served as a young lieutenant in a Marine Force Recon unit (deep reconnaissance and special operations), adds, “It’s difficult to determine who will perform best under fire. I've seen what many would consider a ‘Marvin Milquetoast’ turn into a tiger, and watched what some would consider the epitome of a Marine come apart: both individuals during the same combat action. I’ve also seen a person seemingly weather a very severe action at one given time, and then come-apart during a subsequent and sometimes not nearly as severe action.”
Retired Marine Major Frank C. Stolz Jr. agrees. “Some who are heroic one day can become incapable of performing their duties the next and vice versa,” says Stolz who, like Morris, commanded a Marine rifle company in Vietnam. “Whenever a member of one's unit is harmed by the enemy in whatever fashion, there is an immediate desire for revenge, as well as one of fear and sometimes of incomprehension. I have more than a few times had to re-instruct my own men that they cannot take out their desire for vengeance on the very innocents that we came to protect.”
Retired Marine Lt. Col. Alex Lee, who commanded “special operations elements” in Vietnam, tells NRO that though the stress of combat will always affect the performance of combatants, it does not result in prisoners or civilians being “routinely” killed.
“It does however mean that fear levels are raised to nearly unbearable intensities, and unless the junior leaders live by their training and the core values of Marines, incidents could occur,” he says, adding, “Rage at the loss of comrades causes many to seek some way to exact revenge. I have seen this on many occasions, and when you combine confusion with rage it takes hard-nosed leaders to keep emotions in check, otherwise villages get burned and the inhabitants will be killed.”
Complicity, Confusion, and Disgust
John Temple Ligon, a former Army Ranger officer and artillery forward observer in Vietnam, says that, while he does not condone the killing of 24 civilians, he cannot condemn the Marines, either. “Chances are, whenever a roadside bomb kills a Marine or a soldier, there are nearby civilians who saw the installation of the bomb and the concealment of the bomb, and the civilians operated at a safe distance when the Marines rolled by,” Ligon tells NRO. “In South Vietnam, I saw soldiers lose their feet, legs, and lives as they walked over land mines hidden in the rice paddy berms. The civilians were planting rice at the time nearby, but never near the mines when the soldiers walked by. They, too, knew exactly where the mines lay.”
So, as Ligon explains, just as there are no hard-and-fast frontlines in the war on terror, there also is no absolute determinant as to who is and is not the enemy. That’s tough for a 19-year-old to process when somebody is trying to kill him every time he shoulders his weapon and walks down the street.
Additionally, some troops on the ground say they are increasingly coming under fire by armed children: a sign of desperation and recruiting woes for the terrorists, but an additional challenge for infantry and special operations units who must confront them.
“This is not new, in war or the Middle East, but seems to be a new trend in Iraq,” says former Marine infantryman Robert L. Rohrer, who claims to have seen “several statements” indicating there is much more to the Haditha story than has been released.
Much more indeed, and we will learn a great deal more about it in the coming weeks, which is why the investigations continue.
Are Marine infantrymen, by virtue of the nature of their work, “cold-blooded” killers?
On the contrary: It is because of the nature of their work—usually performed under extreme stress and fatigue—that Marines truly have to be some of the most moral men on the planet if they are going to be effective warriors. That doesn’t mean they are flawless.
“[A Marine] lives on the razor’s edge of fury and retribution, along with disgust for what he sees, i.e., how the enemy treats their own people,” Col. Ripley says. “He is gripped with emotion when he sees children, many the same ages as his own brothers and sisters, and especially when he sees the mothers trying to protect them from the line of fire. He will put himself in great danger, exposing himself to that same fire just in an attempt to remove non-combatants from this danger.”
He adds, “a Marine is disgusted when he sees how the enemy treat their own people by putting them in situations where they will assuredly become casualties, for the obvious reason that they can blame it on the Americans.”
So it would be unfair and foolish to pass judgment on these Marines, without first finding what exactly happened at Haditha.
—A former U.S. Marine infantry leader, W. Thomas Smith Jr. writes about military issues and has covered conflicts in the Balkans and on the West Bank. He is the author of five books, and his articles appear in a variety of publications.
Comment by — 2006/06/04 @ 02:37 AM — (Reply)
The above article was posted by me. I forgot to sign in.
Comment by Always On Watch— 2006/06/04 @ 02:38 AM — (Reply)
"there is this incontrovertible fact: There are countless numbers of anti-war zealots on the American Left rooting for failure."
..No doubt this will get them goin big time!..can hardly wait for michael moore an barbara streisand to chime in!!
Comment by Angel— 2006/06/04 @ 10:08 AM — (Reply)
Looks like one of Dr. Pino's students has been visiting your blog, EB.
Comment by — 2006/06/05 @ 11:05 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/05 @ 12:30 PM — (Reply)
Comment by A Conservative Realist— 2006/06/05 @ 12:26 PM — (Reply)
p.s Watch LOOSE CHANGE!
Comment by Dugg— 2006/06/09 @ 05:07 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/09 @ 05:08 AM — (Reply)
Sorry, Elmer - I'm not in the minority anymore in thinking Bush sucks. Soon you and Barry may be the only ones left who support him. But I have faith you'll come around.
Comment by Dugg— 2006/06/09 @ 05:14 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/09 @ 05:56 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Dugg— 2006/06/09 @ 12:37 PM — (Reply)
Dugg, America did not arm and train Osama Bin Laden to fight the Russians.
Osama Bin Laden established an organization named Maktab al-Khadamat (MAK, Office of Order in English), which funneled money, arms and Muslim fighters from around the world into the Afghan war. More religiously motivated, he wanted nothing to do with assistance from "infidels" and ran his Afghan Arabs seperately (and independently) of American aid and training.
Comment by history buff— 2006/06/17 @ 06:47 PM — (Reply)
Comment by A Conservative Realist— 2006/06/05 @ 12:46 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/05 @ 12:52 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Susan— 2006/06/08 @ 06:02 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/08 @ 06:06 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/09 @ 12:42 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/09 @ 12:43 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Dugg— 2006/06/09 @ 04:03 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/06/09 @ 04:08 PM — (Reply)