I have always found it infuriating that young soldiers in life and death situations have to tolerate being second guessed by academics and media people who are in no danger themselves and generally have an anti-war agenda besides.
The case is definitely crumbling. Not only that, there’s big trouble heading John Murtha’s direction. Follow this link to check out my post on the specifics on the trouble heading Murtha’s way.
This is HUGE. If evidence can vindicate and exonerate these young American patriots, what a huge hole will be blown in the Liberal myth of the “terrorist” American soldier. And a heavy-duty takedown of Jack Murtha would be a sweet by-product.
These fine military men deserve better than to be maligned by the likes of Jack Murtha. What a fat fool.
My next door neighbor, a retired Marine officer, is involved with the proceedings and had left for Pendleton last week. He spoke to me briefly about some of the evidence he’d been asked to review prior to the hearings and he was well unimpressed with what he saw from the prosecution. If it’s as bad as he was describing, I think these Marines will be fine once the whole story comes out. Many apologies will be in order if that happens but of course, they’ll never be offered.
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, told reporters Wednesday that he got his information from U.S. commanders, who said the investigation will show that the Marines deliberately killed the civilians.
The U.S. Marine Corps has declined to comment on the report, which initially stated that 15 were killed.
“There was no firefight. There was no IED that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood,” Murtha said. (Watch Murtha level accusations against the Marines—1:58)
Murtha, who was decorated for his service in Vietnam, said the death toll may be more than twice as high as originally reported.
“They actually went into the houses and killed women and children,” the congressman said.
Citing an ongoing investigation, the Marine Corps said, “Any comment at this time would be inappropriate and could undermine the investigatory and possible legal process.”
Thank the Thomas More Law Center for the work they are doing representing these marines. If it were not for there outstanding work the liberals in JAG would have these good marines swinging by the end of a rope. While there, donate some money.
http://www.thomasmore.org/news.html?NewsID=615
ANN ARBOR, MI Perhaps the most dramatic point in the Article 32 Hearing of Lieutenant Colonel Chessani overlooked by the media was the testimony of LtCol David Furness who declared that if the Marine Corps is going to second-guess its combat leaders by sending them to criminal trials, then this is not an organization he wants to be a part of.
Furness, who had four combat tours in Iraq, two as a battalion commander and two as a senior staff officer, testified that under the circumstances as they existed in Iraq in 2005, the decisions that LtCol Chessani made were appropriate. LtCol Furness provided a refreshing dose of reality to the proceedings, putting LtCol Chessani’s actions and decisions in the appropriate context of combat. He warned the Investigating Officer that this case could have a long-lasting detrimental effect on future battalion commanders.
In addition to LtCol Furness, LtCol Jeff Kenney, one of the most respected combat veterans in the Marine Corps gave powerful testimony in favor of Chessani as did Major General Johnson in command of the Multi-National Forces West.
Kenney, a combat veteran with 32 years of service in the Marine Corps¡ªtwelve as an enlisted Marine and twenty as an officer¡ªtestified about his experience in Iraq. In 2005-2006, he was assigned as an advisor to the Iraqi forces that were supporting U.S. troops in the region, including those that supported LtCol Chessani¡’s battalion. As part of his duties, LtCol Kenney often toured Haditha, providing him an opportunity to observe LtCol Chessani first hand.
The whole prosecution has disturbed and concerned me. It might be possible that they murder civilians, but it is much more likely that this is just collateral damage in war. It happens. People nowadays expect war to be this clean, surgical, nice affair. It’s not. You kill people, break their things, and collateral damage is inevitable no matter how hard you try to contain it. We don’t need to be second guessing our soldiers who are risking their life in a dangerous war unless their is overwhelming evidence that the killings were premeditated, cold-blooded, executions.
On a side note, Republicans need to make an effort to censure Murtha if these Marines are exonerated. They won’t succed, but it is the right thing to do.
When these guys walk, they need to go find Mc Girk, that ass of a Time reporter that created this whole mess. The press has ruined its relationship with the military. First that smarmy son of a bitch Kevin Sites, then Mc Girk. Let’s flush these guys like the Koran they lied about
The links above from Jim Hoft and Gary Gross are must reading.
The news reports alone probably would have sparked an investigation - which, in a calm and impartial finding of facts, would have exonerated the Marines without excessive publicity. It was Murtha’s big mouth declaring their guilt before any investigation had begun which poisoned the well for these men.
My first wife was from Johnstown, the center of Murtha’s district. Her people were good, hard-working, patriotic, good Catholics of Czech and Polish descent. In the times I spent in the area, the people all impressed me similarly. One Thanksgiving there brought me to tears, as the news that some cousins no one here had ever met had managed to escape Czechoslovakia to Hungary through the dense forests along the border. They wandered for three weeks, running out of food after three days and relying upon collected rainwater for water most of the time. The joy of their escape was infectious.
It’s hard for me to imagine such folks as I knew in Johnstown electing a traitorous crook like Murtha over and over again. I’ll pray for them.
These marines are currently facing an Article 32 hearing, similar to a grand jury proceeding, to see if there is enough evidence to try them. General Mattis signed off on these hearings, so if there is blame to place it should be on him.
That being said, the young Lance Corporal was quoted last week as saying something to the effect of “I did not murder anyone, I followed the ROEs and shot those 4 insurgents when they aimed their weapons at me”......he went on to say “I’d rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6”.......something my young marine has said many times.
I wonder how many folks know that this marine infantry company is the famous 3/1 Kilo company, who gained nearly mythical status in Fallujah in Nov. 04. These are the marines Sgt. Mjr. Kasal was with when he was injured in Fallujah. These are the young marines who decided in Nov. 04 that if they had to enter a house with insurgents inside they were going to “first throw in something that explodes”.
The senior marine in these hearings is Ssgt Wuterich, who was injured in Fallujah in 04.
These marines have also performed hundreds of assisting Iraqi civilians, both in Fallujah and Haditha. These marines are combat tested and true, they know how to kill insurgents and how to help civilians, and they know how to enter a house when being fired on from that house.
It is hard to imagine the pinch Mattis finds himself in with this. I firmly believe that this is yet another faux scandal whipped up by a dangerously unaccountable press. That’s why I think Mc Girk should go into hiding. This is his doing. He made this what it is and these guys walk he must atone for his wrongs.
