Posted on 05/25/2007 7:50:25 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
In response to the news blurb about the Marine who put two rounds ("double tap") in a wounded insurgent's head in Fallujah, here's a response from a Marine:
"It's a safety issue, pure and simple. After assaulting through a target, we put a security round in everybody's head. Sorry al- Reuters, there's no paddy wagon rolling around Fallujah picking up "prisoners" and offering them a hot cup a Joe, falafel, and a blanket. There's no time to dick around on the target. You clear the space, dump the chumps, and move on.
Are Corpsman expected to treat wounded terrorists? Negative. Hey libs, worried about the defense budget? Well, it would be a waste, fraud, and abuse for a Corpsman to expend one man-minute or a battle dressing on a terrorist. Its much cheaper to just spend the $.02 on a 5.56mm FMJ.
By the way, in our view, terrorists who chop off civilian's heads are not prisoners they are carcasses. Chopping off a civilian's head is another reason why these idiots are known as "unlawful combatants." It seems that most of the world's journalists have forgotten that fact.
Let me be very clear about this issue. I have looked around the web, and many people get this concept, but there are some stragglers.
Here is your typical Marine sitrep (situation report): You just took fire from unlawful combatants (no uniform - breaking every Geneva Convention rule there is) shooting from a religious building attempting to use the sanctuary status of their position as protection. But you're in Fallujah now, and the Marine Corps has decided that they're not playing that game this time. That was Najaf. So you set the mosque on fire and you hose down the terrorists with small arms, launch some AT-4s (Rockets), some 40MM grenades into the building and things quiet down.
So you run over there, and find some tangos (bad guys) wounded and pretending to be dead. You are aware that suicide martyrdom is like really popular with these idiots, and they think taking some Marines with them would be really cool. So you can either risk your life and your fire team's lives by having them cover you while you bend down and search a guy that you think is pretending to be dead for some reason. Most of the time these are the guys with the grenade or vest made of explosives. Also, you don't know who or what is in the next room.
You're already speaking English to the rest of your fire team or squad which lets the terrorist know you are there and you are his enemy. You are speaking loud because your hearing is poor from shooting people for several days. So you know that there are many other rooms to enter, and that if anyone is still alive in those rooms, they know that Americans are in the mosque. Meanwhile (3 seconds later), you still have this terrorist (that was just shooting at you from a mosque) playing possum. What do you do? You double tap his head, and you go to the next room, that's what!
What about the Geneva Convention and all that Law of Land Warfare stuff? What about it? Without even addressing the issues at hand, your first thought should be, "I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6."
Bear in mind that this tactic of double tapping a fallen terrorist is a perpetual mindset that is reinforced by experience on a minute-by-minute basis. Secondly, you are fighting an unlawful combatant in a Sanctuary, which is a double No-No on his part. Third, tactically you are in no position to "take prisoners" because there are more rooms to search and clear, and the behavior of said terrorist indicates that he is up to no good. No good in Fallujah is a very large place and the low end of no good and the high end of no good are fundamentally the same. Marines end up getting hurt or die. So there is no compelling reason for you to do anything but double tap this idiot and get on with the mission.
If you are a veteran, then everything I have just written is self-evident. If you are not a veteran, then at least try to put yourself in the situation. Remember, in Fallujah there is no yesterday, there is no tomorrow, there is only now. Right NOW. Have you ever lived in the NOW for a week? It is really, really not easy. If you have never lived in NOW for longer than it takes to finish the big roller coaster at Six Flags, then shut your hole about putting Marines in jail for "War Crimes"."
Froggy OUT
Those who live by the sword are shot by those who don't.
I googled "Double Tap" but could find no matches.
Is your brother now a conservative???
Nope. A true dumocrat. Says he supports the troops, but not their mission.
I received this email a month ago. In my time you did what you had to do, the gooks booby trapped the dead and wounded, it was a move you loose situation on many occasions.
Geee
‘thanks’ traitors in chief Billdo Dilldo and Jimmuh Peaunt Brainless Cartuh . . . . gloabalist stooges, etc.
ignorant arrogance gone to seed.
It sounds false to me, line troops are being told to finish off the wounded?
At one time I was in a unit that was advised to make sure that everyone was dead, but that was a small team that had no resources or connections to support.
Then he doesn’t support the troops.
Sounds good to this veteran...
I hope it’s true. It needs to be accurate, at least.
This was inevitable given the grief our military gets on Gitmo detention and on treatment of wounded. Kill ‘em and there is no story for the media to beat up the USA about.
http://froggyruminations.blogspot.com
That sounds like Froggy from Froggyruminations. Good source for the nuts and bolts of murdering the bad guys...after all thats what they want to die for Allah.
This veteran has no problem with it.
ahh...beat me to it :)
And most of the other Officers that I know of did to.
Of course now most of the things they taught us is considered Cruel and Unusual Punishment. :8^)
ED
p.s. and spellings errors are my own. it's been a long day.
This link shows this story is from January 05, 2007
http://riteon.typepad.com/riteon_blog/2007/01/from_a_marine_p.html
Thanks. I knew there would be sources.
I would love to see this get more exposure. Which would - I imagine - cause liberals to wet themselves in fits of apoplexy.
Ditto. About damn time and instruct tha Army to do likewise.
A guy I served with (John) in the Marine Corps Reserve had been in a combined action platoon (CAP) in Vietnam. This was a platoon of American Marines teamed up with South Vietnamese troops who went around building basketball courts, schools, playgrounds, etc., all of which never lasted very long once they left the area.
Anyway, one day this CAP was overrun by an NVA unit, and after a firefight the CAP survivors laid sprawled in the mud (mostly face down as far as they could get and still breathe) and pretended to be dead. An officer with the NVA unit then began to put bullets in their heads, one by one. His pistol was pointed at the head of the Marine laying next to John when the sound of American gunships (choppers) filled the air and the NVA soldiers instantly took off like scared mice.
Much later in Saigon, John met up with the Marine who was about to take a bullet (his name was “Ski”) and John said he barely recognized Ski because his hair was white as snow.
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