Mr. Murtha's Rush to Judgment - Letter from a US Marine

[Hannibal]

A year ago I was charged with two counts of premeditated murder and with other war crimes related to my service in Iraq. My wife and mother sat in a Camp Lejeune courtroom for five days while prosecutors painted me as a monster; then autopsy evidence blew their case out of the water, and the Marine Corps dropped all charges against me ["Marine Officer Cleared in Killing of Two Iraqis," news story, May 27, 2005].

So I know something about rushing to judgment, which is why I am so disturbed by the remarks of Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) regarding the Haditha incident ["Death Toll Rises in Haditha Attack, GOP Leader Says," news story, May 20]. Mr. Murtha said, "Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."

In the United States, we have a civil and military court system that relies on an investigatory and judicial process to make determinations based on evidence. The system is not served by such grand pronouncements of horror and guilt without the accuser even having read the investigative report.

Mr. Murtha's position is particularly suspect when he is quoted by news services as saying that the strain of deployment "has caused them [the Marines] to crack in situations like this." Not only is he certain of the Marines' guilt but he claims to know the cause, which he conveniently attributes to a policy he opposes.

Members of the U.S. military serving in Iraq need more than Mr. Murtha's pseudo-sympathy. They need leaders to stand with them even in the hardest of times. Let the courts decide if these Marines are guilty. They haven't even been charged with a crime yet, so it is premature to presume their guilt -- unless that presumption is tied to a political motive.

ILARIO PANTANO

Jacksonville, N.C.

The writer served as a Marine enlisted man in the Persian Gulf War and most recently as a platoon commander in Iraq.

Source

[Woodmonkey]

Originally Posted by Hannibal

Mr. Murtha's position is particularly suspect when he is quoted by news services as saying that the strain of deployment "has caused them [the Marines] to crack in situations like this." Not only is he certain of the Marines' guilt but he claims to know the cause, which he conveniently attributes to a policy he opposes.

Excellent article and this leaped out at me. Very convenient for this politician.

[Bluehawk]

A whole lot of people are sniffing around in some skanky stinky places looking for another My Lai piece to plop in the puzzle of a war that has no similarity at all to the previous one...

So, maybe this slop will stick to the wall... maybe not.

[Snowden]

Too soon to judge alleged Iraq killings: US general
Mon May 29, 10:11 AM ET



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Charges will be brought against U.S. Marines if an investigation into the alleged killing of unarmed Iraqi civilians uncovers wrongdoing, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Monday.

Marine Gen. Peter Pace also told CNN that he still did not know why it had taken nearly three months for the Pentagon to find out about the November 19 incident in the Iraqi town of Haditha, in which up to 24 civilians were killed.
"If the allegations as they are being portrayed in the newspapers turn out to be valid, then of course there'll be charges," Pace, the highest ranking U.S. military officer and primary military advisor to the president and defense secretary, said.

Pace said the Pentagon had not found out about the incident until Feb 10.
"We do not know yet why we did not know," he said.

The U.S. military has said 15 civilians were killed in Haditha, about 140 miles northwest of Baghdad. Other accounts put the number at around 24.
A U.S. defense official said on Friday Marines could face criminal charges, possibly including murder, in what would be the worst case of abuse by American soldiers in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

"I don't suspect anything," Pace said. "I want to wait for the investigation. We will find out what happened and we will make it public, but to speculate right now wouldn't do anyone any good."

Pace, the first Marine to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said "99.9 percent" of US soldiers in Iraq were conducting themselves with honor and courage.


http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss...usa_marines_dc

[odannyboy]

Originally Posted by Bluehawk

A whole lot of people are sniffing around in some skanky stinky places looking for another My Lai piece to plop in the puzzle of a war that has no similarity at all to the previous one...

So, maybe this slop will stick to the wall... maybe not.

Charles Hanley sees it differently.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor..._shadows_lh1_1

[Snowden]

Originally Posted by odannyboy

Charles Hanley sees it differently.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor..._shadows_lh1_1

Dan, this only proves Bluehawk's point:

A whole lot of people are sniffing around in some skanky stinky places looking for another My Lai piece to plop in the puzzle of a war that has no similarity at all to the previous one...

So, maybe this slop will stick to the wall... maybe not.

This case hasn't been tried. Let's wait for the official judgment instead of that of a man who appears all too anxious to pre-judge them. This is a different time; these Marines know the story of Vietnam and may be far from having done anything like what your Mr. Hanley sees as what they did.

Let's stop jumping the gun.