Via MSNBC:
Lawmaker: Marines killed Iraqis ‘in cold blood’
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.
....
On Wednesday, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said the accounts are true.
....
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."
The blog Irish Pennants summed up the situation as we planned to:
There are two things to keep in mind.
First, if the charges are (mostly) true, this is appalling, and those responsible should be punished.
Second, if the charges are (mostly) true, the incident in Haditha has no bearing whatsoever on whether our military presence in Iraq is justified or not. There were many incidents of murder and rape of civilians by U.S. troops in the European theater in World War II. None of them individually, or all of them collectively, made the fight against the Nazis less necessary, or less noble.
Exactly right. If these charges are true, the actions of one unit on one mission do nothing to discredit the entire operation in Iraq. And if at the end of the investigation it turns out that some serious wrongdoing occurred in Haditha, that will not excuse Murtha's prejudging the investigation and using it to further his political agenda.
Go read some the top left-wing blogs today. Notice how quick they are to believe the very worst about our troops with a minimum of evidence. Notice how quick they are to tar the entire operation with the (alleged) actions of one single unit. (But they support the troops!)
However the investigation into this alleged incident comes out, it is despicable and dishonorable for Murtha to use the matter to score political points or try to advance his anti-war agenda.
Others:
Outside the Beltway
Michelle Malkin
Captain's Quarters
Hugh Hewitt
Memeorandum
John Murtha Is A Disgrace
I've been reading the blogging world's reaction to John Murtha accusation that the Marines killed innocent civilians in cold blood. I think his words are absolutely dispicable while this is still under investigation. If individuals are guilty of this...
Trackback by The Sandbox — May 18, 2006 @ 10:19 am May 18, 2006
Very poor portrayal of Murtha based on what I read above. I saw no prejudice in your quote of him.
Sincerely,
Retired Marine
Comment by Stephen T Mason — May 18, 2006 @ 9:37 pm May 18, 2006
[...] When Congressman Murtha first preemptively declared the Marines’ guilt last month, we said: …if at the end of the investigation it turns out that some serious wrongdoing occurred in Haditha, that will not excuse Murtha’s prejudging the investigation and using it to further his political agenda. [...]
Pingback by The Unalienable Right » Haditha: Marine Says Rules Were Followed — June 11, 2006 @ 9:50 am June 11, 2006