The Disgrace of Haditha

I don't think there's any question about it. The reporting of the alleged massacre at Haditha was an absolute disgrace, the hyping of the incident unconscionable.

Much to the dismay of the anti-Bush, anti-Iraq war, and in some cases, anti-American crowd, it seems that Haditha hasn't turned out to be My Lai after all.

God knows the Left wanted it to be.

The Leftists, elected Democrats and their mouthpieces in the liberal agenda-driven media, were so eager to believe that U.S. Marines murdered Iraqi civilians in cold blood that they didn't bother to wait for an investigation into the allegations.

They scooped up all the leaks about the incident and splashed them without hesitation.

There were emphatic declarations of the Marines' guilt, with remarks from John Murtha being some of the most disgusting.

Will TIME run a cover story to complement "The Ghosts of Haditha" issue?

I think something like "The Left's Besmirching of U.S. Marines" would be in order. It would be appropriate to counter "The Shame of Kilo Company" with "The Shame of the Foaming at the Mouth Liberal Media."

Michael Duffy wrote:

[O]ne morning last November, some members of Kilo Company apparently didn't attempt to distinguish between enemies and innocents. Instead, they seem to have gone on the worst rampage by U.S. service members in the Iraq war, killing as many as 24 civilians in cold blood. The details of what happened in Haditha were first disclosed in March by TIME's Tim McGirk and Aparisim Ghosh, and their reporting prompted the military to launch an inquiry into the civilian deaths. The darkest suspicions about the killings were confirmed last week, when members of Congress who were briefed on the two ongoing military investigations disclosed that at least some members of a Marine unit may soon be charged in connection with the deaths of the Iraqis--and that the charges may include murder, which carries the death penalty. "This was a small number of Marines who fired directly on civilians and killed them," said Representative John Kline, a Minnesota Republican and former Marine who was briefed two weeks ago by Marine Corps officials. "This is going to be an ugly story."

It did get very ugly.

Murtha repeatedly asserted that the Marines slaughtered civilians in cold blood.

An example:

"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.

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.

Another example:

Murtha said he understands the stress being put on Marines fighting in western Iraq's turbulent Anbar province: "The pressure builds every time they go out," with roadside bombs exploding "every day they go out."

But, he said, "I will not excuse murder, and this is what has happened," adding that there is "no question in my mind about it." He reiterated a previous statement that shootings of women and children occurred "in cold blood" and that there was no firefight in which civilians were killed in a crossfire, as some Marines asserted after the event.

"This is worse than Abu Ghraib," he said, referring to the abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. soldiers at a prison west of Baghdad that, when revealed in spring 2004, became a major setback for the U.S. effort in Iraq.

The lib media loved giving Murtha a forum.

They relished the story.

They couldn't get enough of Murtha blathering about Marines murdering women and children "in cold blood."

Now, it's over.

The certainty with which they relayed the alleged actions of the murderous U.S. Marines at Haditha has evaporated.

From The Washington Post:

An investigating officer in the case against a U.S. Marine accused of murdering civilians in Haditha, Iraq, has recommended that charges against him be dropped, concluding that the government's allegations that the Marine executed a group of men are "unsupported and incredible."

The findings by Marine Lt. Col. Paul Ware could exonerate Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, who formed part of a convoy that was struck by a roadside bomb in Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005. Members of his unit -- Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment -- allegedly killed a group of young men who were ordered out of a nearby car. The Marines then went house to house, allegedly killing as many as two dozen people, including women and children.

Ware's 18-page report, released by Sharratt's attorneys, was submitted Friday to Lt. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Mattis could disregard the recommendation and order an administrative punishment or a court-martial, but it would be unusual for a commanding officer to go against such a strongly worded conclusion, legal experts said.

...Sharratt, 22, of Canonsburg, Pa., did not take part in the first shootings on Nov. 19, and he has acknowledged killing a group of men in a home later that day, when, he said, he believed they raised weapons at him. Sharratt told investigators that he used a 9mm pistol to shoot them as he and Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich searched the home.

"He responded instinctively, assaulting into the room and emptying his pistol," Ware wrote. "Whether this was a brave act of combat against the enemy or tragedy of misperception born out of conducting combat with an enemy that hides among innocents, LCpl Sharratt's actions were in accord with the rules of engagement."

The rules of engagement have become central in the Haditha cases, as defense attorneys have argued that the troops used aggressive but approved tactics to assault what they thought were enemy targets. The first shootings have garnered more investigative attention because they came immediately after a Marine was killed in an explosion and because unarmed people were killed.

Sharratt's incident in 2005 came hours later, after Marines swarmed the scene to secure the area. Sharratt and others noticed suspicious behavior in the home before entering and shooting, they said. Marines reported finding two AK-47 rifles in the house.

Ware's recommendations came after Sharratt's military Article 32 hearing, the equivalent of a civilian grand jury proceeding. Ware, a military judge, weighed evidence from prosecutors and defense attorneys, and read thousands of pages of documents. He also suggested that Sharratt be given immunity to testify in other Haditha-related cases.

"This is just a big relief for us," said Sharratt's mother, Theresa. "This is the declaration of Justin's innocence. I'm confident General Mattis will do what is right."

By clearing Sharratt in the shootings of Jasib Aiad Ahmed, Kahtan Aiad Ahmed and Jamal Aiad Ahmed, Ware also appeared to clear Wuterich in that attack, concluding that the Marines' account was more credible than the allegations of residents who said the deaths were executions. Ware found that physical evidence showed that the shots that killed the men were fired from a distance, "inconsistent with an execution."

Wuterich is also charged in other slayings that day. However, Ware did not examine the previous shootings, reporting that it is only a "compelling theory tying in the events and actions by other Marines as a prelude for the actions" Sharratt took later that day.

Civilians interviewed by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service said that the Marines came to the final house and separated women and children before leading the men back inside to kill them. Ware found their accounts questionable and inconsistent.

"To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary and sets a dangerous precedent that . . . may encourage others to bear false witness against Marines as a tactic to erode public support of the Marine Corps and mission in Iraq," Ware wrote.

Gary Myers and James Culp, civilian attorneys for Sharratt, said in a joint statement that they are pleased with the report and that earlier "prejudgment within some elements of the media and by certain members of Congress was particularly offensive to us," a thinly veiled reference to comments by Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) last year that the shootings were cold-blooded murders.

What else can be said about Haditha?

What can you say about the Left's creation of the myth of the massacre?

What can you say about the Leftists that used Haditha to advance their anti-Iraq agenda?

What can you say about Murtha and his insistence that Marines murdered innocents "in cold blood"?

What can you say about the media that rushed to judgment and embraced the allegations as fact?

I don't think it's fair to say that they supported these troops of Kilo Company. To the contrary, they shamelessly exploited the Marines and depicted them as murderers.

The shame of Kilo Company? No.

The shame of the despicable John Murtha and the American Left? Yes.