Political Casualties

INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A Marine captain who was relieved of command after members of his battalion were accused of killing civilians in Haditha, Iraq, denied any role in the slayings and complained that he had become a "political casualty."

"It makes my blood boil to see my name lumped in with this massacre, when I was in a different city not playing any role in this incident," Capt. James Kimber told The Associated Press.

Kimber, 33, of Fountain Hills, Ariz., was one of three officers reassigned to new duties last month for what the Marines said was "a lack of confidence in their leadership abilities." None of the three officers has been charged with wrongdoing.

It's time for political opportunists to shut up.

Those responsible for any wrongdoing at Haditha should be tried and appropriately punished.

Until it's determined exactly what happened there and exactly who was involved, it's so wrong to be disparaging them.

...Kimber said he first learned about the shootings in February when he heard that a Time magazine reporter was asking questions about civilian deaths.

Kimber said he heard nothing about a civilian massacre during city council meetings and talks with local leaders.

"It would have been huge, there would have been no question it would have filtered down to us," he said. "We reported no significant atmospheric change as a result of that day."

See. Via selective leaks, we have heard one side of this story.

Kimber said he was removed because senior commanders at California's Camp Pendleton were scrambling to defuse an explosive situation.

"I believe I was a political casualty as a result of the Haditha incident," Kimber said in a telephone interview.

...Kimber, a Marine officer for 10 years, completed two combat tours in Iraq. He won a Navy-Marine Corps Commendation medal for valor in the battle of Fallujah during his first tour in 2004.

He said his troops had performed exceptionally in Iraq. On street patrols in Haditha and Haqlaniyah, he said, India Company discovered more than 350 weapons caches, located 40 roadside bombs and saw a sharp drop in roadside bomb attacks, something Kimber attributed in part to good relations with local citizens.

Kimber has been reassigned to a desk job at Pendleton. He said his military career is all but over and he hopes that before he leaves the Marines, he can stop his name from being associated with Haditha.

Obviously, Kimber has been slimed more directly for what happened at Haditha than some other Marines. His superiors reassigned him, leaving the impression that he was somehow involved in the alleged wrongdoing.

He should speak out to clear his name. After serving honorably, Kimber deserves better than to be dragged through the mud. He deserves the gratitude of Americans, not the scorn of the Bush-hating crowd.

A problem that I have had with this story from the beginning is the wholesale bashing of the Marines.

It's disgraceful that they are being made into political casualties of war.

Even the Marines that were there that day and allegedly acted inappropriately in Haditha deserve due process.

Enough with John Murtha and TIME and the others spouting off about the incident without being fully informed.

LET THE INVESTIGATION PROCEED.

METE OUT APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENT IF NECESSARY.

It is unconscionable for John Murtha and those of his depraved ilk, as well as the foaming at the mouth lib media, to continue to smear heroes like Kimber and the Marines.

Enough.