I haven’t written on the Haditha story yet for a multitude of reasons. Michael Yon explains it better than anybody else has cared to even try:
In the absence of clear facts, most people know that a rush to judgment serves no one. What word, then, properly characterizes the recent media coverage of Haditha, when analysis stretches beyond shotgun conclusions to actually attributing motive and assigning blame? No rational process supports a statement like: “We don’t know what happened, but we know why it happened and whose fault it is.”
I don’t know what happened at Haditha. And thus — unlike the media, the entirety of the Liberal Left, and a few pathetic senators — I’m not ready to judge and convict the Marines involved (much less the entire Marine Corps, which many on the Left have already done gleefully).
What I do know is that none of us were there in their boots; none of us can ever know what they were thinking or feeling. Bad things happen in war, and they usually happen very quickly and unexpectedly. Good soldiers can do bad things; bad soldiers can perform the heroic. I don’t know if those Marines involved were afraid for their lives and reacted on that.
I do know that the Islamist terrorists that we are fighting in Iraq use children and women in their attacks on our military. I know that we are fighting a war where our enemy doesn’t wear a uniform to set himself apart from the local citizenry. I do know that the young Marines and Soldier on the ground are in a much better position to know who is and who isn’t a threat against them than I do. Or better than a columnist at the Washington Post. Or a worthless Congressman from Pennsylvania.
Until the Marine Corps completes their investigation and announces their findings, I’ll not jump on and condemn these still-in-my-mind heroic and brave Marines. At this very moment, I’d still be more honored to sit down and share a beer with any one of those Marines than I would with senator Murtha.
Anyone who has the gall to condemn or criticize these Marines now — you are the worst that *America has to offer, and it clearly shows your anti-Military bias and hatred.
*If you’re not an American, I really don’t give two shits what you think about our Military.
I remember my husband telling me how the Viet Cong also used women and children in their attacks, citing one instance where they caught a kid of about 12 pacing out one of the camps he was in. It’s part of warfare. I can also understand a soldier going a bit crazy after watching one of his buddies torn in two, but of course, slaughter of innocent people is horrific. This is a sad story.
I agree, Dianne. The slaughter of innocent people is horrific.
Unfortunately, in a battle zone such as Haditha (and the rest of Iraq), it’s nearly impossible to tell the “innocent” from the enemy. Since the “enemy” is always Muslim, never in uniform, and often comprised of men, women, youths, and children — you have to assume that anybody (in other words everybody) is the enemy.
That is a good post by Michael Yon.