The Fog of War Crimes
In These Times - Chicago,IL,USA
20, 2005, a Marine spokesman reported: “A US Marine and 15 civilians
were killed yesterday from the blast of a roadside bomb in Haditha.
...
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'Massacre?' -- 'What Massacre?' -- Haditha
Dozens of Iraqi civilians were slain in their homes, under their beds,
while holding their babies, unarmed, and the US Imperial Government
issues its final ruling. 'No harm, no foul.'
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Contact us The men “were shot by Wuterich as they
stood, unarmed, next to the vehicle approximately 10 feet in front of
him,” the report said, according to a person who has read it. Sergeant
Dela Cruz said that as he approached the taxi, he saw some men standing
near it with their hands in the air, officials said. After Sergeant
Wuterich shot them, he continued shooting as they lay on the ground, and
later urinated on one of them, an official said.
Dec. 21, 2006: The Marines file charges of
unpremeditated murder against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, Sgt. Sanick
Dela Cruz, Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt and Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum.
Charges of dereliction of duty charges for failing to investigate are
filed against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, Capt. Lucas McConnell, Capt.
Randy Stone and 1st Lt. Andrew A Grayson. Grayson also faces charges of
making a false official statement and of obstruction of justice.
I wonder when the right wing slime machine will
apologize to
Murtha... it turns out that
Murtha was right. Again! Briefings by the Pentagon over the last several
days with politicians in Congress
have confirmed that the assertions Murtha has been making over the
past several weeks are entirely correct. The questions now are that once
the official results of the investigation are finally disclosed will
Murtha’s detractors contritely admit that their boneheaded indignation
and slanderous accusations were tragically wrong, and will they condemn
this cold-blooded atrocity with the same vehemence as they mustered to
attack someone who dared to speak truth to power?
http://redtory.blogspot.com/2006/05/murtha-was-right-again.html
Taking Haditha Seriously
TPMCafe - New York,NY,USA Probably the most important lesson
from the deaths in Haditha does not come from the narrative,
which suggests, in my reading, ...
Christian Science Monitor - Boston,MA,USA Haditha
stories on this topic
IRAQI HORRORS GET WORSE AND WORSE
News Network - Pompano
Beach,FL,USA ... allegations of atrocities: incidents like Abu Ghraib and
alleged Haditha massacre. ...
Here are some facts about the
larger atrocity which occurred at
Falluhah
US investigations into Iraqi deaths
BBC News - UK
There are two investigations into the events that took place in
the town of Haditha one into the events themselves ...
If murder is essential
to the US campaign in Iraq, it's time to leave
The reported atrocities by American soldiers are not isolated incidents
but the inevitable offshoots of occupation Gary Younge
Monday June 26, 2006
The Guardian
Aaron Sussmanhttp://www.acrowdedfire.com/
"In
support of our troops at Haditha" Online
Journal Contributing Writer
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_907.shtml
"Calm down. Take a moment and think. Now, I’m the first one to
say that murder is wrong. But this incident in Haditha is a little more
complicated than that and everyone needs to just relax a little and
think things over. Make no mistake: if we condemn these men, we’ll be on
a slippery slope so severe that it will make the legalization of gay
marriage look almost harmless."
Featured in The Wordsmith Collection
Details from briefings to members of Congress, have
indicated at least some of the 24 deaths were the result of
deliberate gunfire by a small group of Marines seeking revenge for the
bombing, and that their actions were covered up by other Marines in the
area who knew or suspected what had occurred.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/07/iraq/main1691936_page2.shtml
Ali and his wife Khamisa Toamah Ali were killed along with three of
their sons, a daughter-in-law and a grandson, according to witnesses,
hospital officials and human rights workers.
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The Marines stopped next at the home of
45-year-old customs official Younis Salim Nusaif and his wife,
Aida Yassin. The mother of six children, 42-year-old Yassin was
lying in bed that morning, recovering from a recent operation.
While she recuperated, her sister had come to stay with the
family and help with the housework. Everybody was at home when
the gunmen arrived. And except for one 12-year-old daughter, the
entire family was wiped out. Four girls and one boy, their ages
ranging from 4 to 15, were shot dead by the Marines, neighbors
and the surviving child said.
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Moral breakdown caused
Haditha
Jun. 14, 2006 12:00 AM
Many reputable journalists have looked into the insanity
that struck the Iraq town of Haditha.
They struggled, with tact and insight, at the difficult
task of making sense of the reasons why this apparent
cruelty took possession of the Third Battalion, First
Marine Regiment.
Yet no one has gone so far as New York Times
columnist David Brooks to imply that in order to defeat
a volatile enemy, American troops should set aside 200
years of ideals and descend to the tactics of the
lawless savage.
We, as an integral part of "decent" societies, have
greater difficulty fighting guerilla wars not because of
our grand moral standing, but because the insurgency has
nothing to lose and willfully uses all means to rid
their land of the American presence.
With its accumulation of bad decisions, cover-ups and
mendacity, the Bush administration has set the tone that
led to Haditha. Moral breakdown is the result of a bad
war that started on false premises. If you sacrifice
your principles, you have already lost the battle for
democracy.
Success will not come from the demise of some over-hyped
terrorist, but from the respect and value we bring to
the Iraqi people. - Colette Jenkins, Scottsdale
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Video of massacre and survivors below:
The director of Haditha General Hospital told
AP Television News the 24 victims in that city included eight women and
five children. Walid Abdul-Khaleq al-Obeidi said the victims mostly had
chest and head wounds and were delivered to the hospital by Marines
about 14 hours after witnesses said the last gunshot was heard at the
death scene.
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There
was a small item on page ten of today's (Saturday, May
27) Oregonian. (I guess they did not think it was important...) Not on
the evening news, not page one. Since when are mass murder and
massacres back-facing page ten material? This should stifle the loose
talk about "left-leaning" media. Page ten indeed. For shame...
And this crime should not be pinned on the principals alone. Our troops
have been used as enforcement arms for corporate ambition. This must
not be allowed to stand. This is not a partisan issue. It is a
question of values. It is a matter of honor. We know where the buck
stops. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their ilk have shamed America. If
Rumsfeld had been fired for incompetence and moral turpitude three years
ago, these innocents may not have died.
Hammurabi Human Rights Group, via Associated
Press
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American military investigators have concluded that United States
Marines killed up to 24 unarmed civilians. These were innocent Iraqis,
including seven women and between six and eleven children. The youngest
child, six months old, was shot through the head after Marines killed
the mother trying to shield her three children. Some of the corpses were
burned.
Slain Iraqis were unarmed: By Tony Perry
and Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times | May 28,
2006 The pictures reportedly show wounds to the upper bodies of
the victims, who included several women and six children. Some were shot
in the head, and some in the back, according to congressional and
defense officials.
Pictures contradict Marine accountBoston Globe
SAN DIEGO --
Marines from Camp Pendleton wantonly killed unarmed Iraqi civilians,
including women and children, and then tried to cover up the slayings in
Haditha, military investigations have found. 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.” The Marines involved in the massacre originally
tried to cover it up.
Relatives say troops went on the rampage Haditha civilians were
murdered A military investigation has reportedly
concluded that US Marines embarked on the "methodical" killing of two
dozen Iraqi civilians - including women and children - in what may be
the worst incident of its kind since the 2003 invasion.
Iraqis
numb to killings probe that shocks US
Reuters AlertNet, UK - 2 hours ago
BAGHDAD,
May 28 (Reuters) - Word that U.S. Marines may have killed two dozen
Iraqi civilians in "cold-blooded" revenge after an insurgent attack has
shocked Americans but many Iraqis shrug it off as an every day fact of
life under occupation. Despite U.S. military denials, many Iraqis
believe killing of men, women and children at the hands of careless or
angry American soldiers is common
Marines accused of cover-up after Haditha
killings
The 24 Iraqi civilians slain on Nov. 19 included
children and the women who were trying to shield them, witnesses told a Washington Post special correspondent in Haditha this week
and US investigators said in Washington. The girls killed inside
Khafif's house alone were aged 14, 10, 5, 3, and 1, according to death
certificates.
Witnesses describe Haditha slayings of
Iraqis
"Apparently, John Murtha was not a "traitor",
but simply privy to the outcome of the investigation before the Marine
Corps released it to the press. I'd suggest that he's owed an apology if
I thought it would do any good."
This is another sad day for America. This
corporate occupation of Iraq is sick. We should not be enforcing no-bid
contracts by murdering children.
"According to the Times, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen.
Michael Hagee, flew to Iraq to lecture the troops on adhering to the
Geneva Conventions and rules of engagement. "
"But why would the troops respect the rules of engagement when the
President, Vice President, and Secretary of Defense are hell-bent on
reserving the right to torture?
When the Attorney General refers to the Geneva Conventions as "quaint"?
When the Administration recklessly asserts that it can do whatever it
wants to do so long as--in its opinion--it is acting to protect the
American people?"
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?bid=15
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..
"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.
A new report from Afghanistan's Independent Human
Rights Commission says that a U.S. Marine unit used
excessive force when escaping a suicide attempt last
month. Twelve Afghani civilians were killed and 35
were injured by the Marines, who apparently did not
distinguish between civilians and insurgents when
responding to an attempt on their own lives. From
the
Times:
Following the March 4 attack in Nangahar
province, when an explosives-rigged minivan
crashed into a convoy of Marines, the unit shot
at vehicles and pedestrians in six different
locations while driving along a 10-mile stretch
of road, according to a report by Afghanistan's
Independent Human Rights Commission.
And this isn't a toothless non-prof spouting off,
either. This could result in actual prosecution.
A U.S. military commander also determined that
Marines used excessive force, and he referred
the case for possible criminal inquiry.
As if the United States need any more bad press
in the Arab world...
John Murtha appeared on "