In Search Of Utopia: Massacre in Iraq

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May 17, 2006

Massacre in Iraq

If true, this incident is sure to inflame the the Muslim and Anti War world, yet again.

WASHINGTON - 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 said Wednesday.

From the beginning, Iraqis in the town of Haditha said U.S. Marines deliberately killed 15 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including seven women and three children.

One young Iraqi girl said the Marines killed six members of her family, including her parents. "The Americans came into the room where my father was praying," she said, "and shot him."

On Wednesday, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said the accounts are true.

Military officials told NBC News that the Marine Corps' own evidence appears to show Murtha is right.

A videotape taken by an Iraqi showed the aftermath of the alleged attack: a blood-smeared bedroom floor and bits of what appear to be human flesh and bullet holes on the walls.

The video, obtained by Time magazine, was broadcast a day after town residents told The Associated Press that American troops entered homes on Nov. 19 and shot dead 15 members of two families, including a 3-year-old girl, after a roadside bomb killed a U.S. Marine.

On Nov. 20, U.S. Marines spokesman Capt. Jeffrey Pool issued a statement saying that on the previous day a roadside bomb had killed 15 civilians and a Marine. In a later gunbattle, U.S. and Iraqi troops killed eight insurgents, he said.

U.S. military officials later confirmed that the version of events was wrong.

Murtha, a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, said at a news conference Wednesday that sources within the military have told him that an internal investigation will show that "there was no firefight, there was no IED (improvised explosive device) that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."

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.

One military official says it appears the civilians were deliberately killed by the Marines, who were outraged at the death of their fellow Marine.

"This one is ugly," one official told NBC News."

Of course Murtha is already being called a liar and traitor by Right Wingers, despite apparent confirmations of the story by Military sources. Oliver rightly, calls them on it.

The right is reacting as you would think they would - calling Murtha a traitor. American marines are under investigation for a possible murder and John Murtha is the target of ire? Come on, people. I know your whole movement is designed around defense of the indefensible, but this is is the time to at least pretend to be grown ups.

The United States of America does not willingly kill innocent people. That that even has to be stated shows how far down the rabbit hole we've gone.

But does it matter.... In the scope of things, and with the political climate we currently live it. The fact that 15 people, including women and children MAY have been murdered, will just be another political football to be tossed around by those wishing to defend, and those wishing to blame. I will do neither at the moment. I am going to PRAY that this did not happen that way, because if it did... then the worst has happened. Far worse than the prisoner mistreatment... We have become that which we hate, the murderers of innocents, and the final shreds of hope I had for my America, are rapidly diminishing...

Posted by David A at May 17, 2006 11:31 PM
Filed Under | 656 Words

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Comments

I'll tell you why I think it's disgusting. It's just like the Karl Rove indictment story -- what the fuck happened until "innocent until proven guilty?" What the fuck happened to letting the justice system at least TRY to work before going public and condemning the accused before they have their day in court?

There are a lot of folks I despise as much as you and a lot of your associates loathe Karl Rove, but I don't go around announcing their imminent arrest, my excitement at the thought they'll go to jail before they're even indicted, my calling them felons and murderers before they're convicted.

It's that level of venom that puts the D in Bush Derangement Syndrome.

Posted by: Jay Tea at May 18, 2006 02:59 AM

You won't be surprised to learn that I agree with Jay, David. Why is Murtha speaking out about this now? Does it benefit the marines? Or the Marines?

Or does it only benefit Murtha and his fellow travelers to pass judgment on this before anyone is even investigated, much convicted?

I don't want to pass any more ad hominem around the 'Net, so let's just say that Rep Murtha is not on my list of "good people."

Posted by: Boyd at May 18, 2006 08:35 AM

Ahem. Editing's a bitch. Corrected sentence:

"Or does it only benefit Murtha and his fellow travelers to pass judgment on this before anyone is even investigated, much less

Posted by: Boyd at May 18, 2006 08:38 AM

Well, I am having a hard time getting my head around the whole concept of our soldiers deliberately executing innocents, especially killing women and children... I am going to wait for a final judgement on this.

Posted by: David Scott Anderson at May 18, 2006 01:39 PM

I'm old enough to have been around during the Vietnam war, when the reports of the My Lai massacre first came out. Lots of voices were shouting "innocent until proven guilty," all the way through the trial, where the full extent of the horror was proven.
The horror, yes, ok. But how about the guilt? Whatever happened to Lt. Rusty Calley, the man in direct charge of that slaughter? A premeditated mass murderer or civilians would surely still be in prison, right?
But where is he now?
Surprisingly, Calley works at a jewelry store in Atlanta. He was given a pardon, and is free as a bird.
How about the higher-ups that knew about and covered up the massacre? What higher-ups? It was just Calley and his men gone berzerk. Same as those few bad apples at Abu Ghraib. Put a few enlisted men in prison for a year or two, and people will forget.
Maybe in the US they will forget. But my guess is that in the arab world this will not make people love us.
seo

Posted by: seo at May 22, 2006 06:52 AM