Posted on 06/27/2007 1:50:35 PM PDT by RedRover
I know that a good number of people here on Free Republic support the Haditha Marines.
I would like to ask why.
My reason for asking is this. There is growing media interest in the support the Haditha Marines are receiving. Don Dinsmore (for one) has been sharing our threads with the press on his travels.
So, if you support the Haditha Marines, please take a moment and say why. And if you've donated some of your hard-earned cash to the defense funds, please say why you've gone that extra step to help see that justice is done.
Your pal,
RedRover
They represent a bias the Stone Age Press has had against the military since Nam. They wanted so bad to make this Me Lie II and it turns out they were the liars.
The Marines deserved to be considered innocent and never got that from either PravdABDNC or Turda. Turns out we were Right and they were Themselves.
Pray for W and Our Troops
I detest the way the media and Murtha have found these guys guilty before the trial ..they haven’t been given the benefit of the dought (like Dean gave Osama).
Most of the evidence that has been sited is from the enemy.
One of these young men could be my son. The forces of the left have tried to sacrifice these boys on the altar of political expediency. It stinks.
Many of my friends are serving or have served in the military from Army to Air Force, Navy and my oldest friend is a retired Marine pilot.
The armed forces face guns overseas and knives back home, they deserve the same "innocent until proven guilty" rights that we do at home and they deserve an extra nod given the circumstances they face.
Given those odds and circumstances, the Haditha charges are a sham and no soldier or marine should have to worry about doing their job.
I supported them first of all because I’m a soldier, and what happens on the battlefield is beyond the ken of normal men. That which is crazy is sane on the battlefield, and the guys on it AUTOMATICALLY deserve the benefit of the doubt.
I supported them because Murtha and the Media came out of the gate declaring them “cold-bloooded murderers” before the very first inquiry was held. Our Marines deserve better than that; at least a neutral “innocent until proven guilty.”
I spent a career praying for troops. I’ll not stop now.
I care because there is no credible evidence to support their guilt.
I care because there is credible evidence they are being used to support a political agenda.
I care because the left is trying to lose this war the way they lost the Viet Nam war.
I care because justice is an integral part of the American experiment.
I care because these men should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
I care because they have already been judged guilty by the mainstream media.
I care because an enemy of my enemy (John Murtha, John Kerry, Jane Fonda) is my friend.
I care because we owe the troops our support, and blind justice, like any other American.
They fight without regard to politics and should be tried for any crimes or violations without regard to politics.
My first knowledge of Haditha came from the Media’s report of Murtha’s denouncement. While he is a slime-bag politician, he was a Marine, and I accepted that this was possibly a Mi Lia situation. Bad things do happen in wars — all wars — but the military does its best to contain and prevent such occurances. After I ran into some of your early posts, I came to the realisation that this is a concocted story from our enemies, both foreign and domestic. Yes, Murtha IS an enemy, ex-marine or not.
The Criminal Justice System — both civilian and military, is loaded against the innocent. True — for the most part it works, unless politics is the driving force; see OJ; Duke Lacrosse; Haditha — all examples of political interference where only public outcry changed the politically-derived decision. Criminals may get justice, Victims rarely do.
I contributed a little because the Prosecutor has unlimited funds, people, and experts, to draw upon. Defendants are severely limited’ especially where the defense has to get the sitting judge to authorise such expenses.
I would also like to see all the Haditha Families sue Murtha, Tim McGirk, and Time Magazine for slander and libel once this is all done. I’ll add money to that pot too.
In the case of these Marines, the media who hate the war and this administration, would do anything to grasp an incident such as this to further their agenda of the backstabbing of both and they did.
Also, because a politician who should be in prison instead of the U.S. House of Representatives used this incident to further his own political ambitions by making absurd statements in denying them their presumption of innocence, a presumption they are risking their lives to protect while this coward of a Congressman tries to take that from them.
Lastly because of the investigation that was handled very poorly by some in the NCIS, not only in this case but others. These men deserve better than that by all.
I might add that I am very angered and disappointed in the way the Marine Corps has handled the Haditha Marines, and to a lesser degree, the Hamdania Marines.
My son is a Marine, and while I fully support his sacrifice, up to a willingness to give his life in service to our country, I have to second guess the wisdom of serving, voluntarily or otherwise, under the command of those who are not willing to give up their life and or career to protect and defend the honor/integrity/life of their troops, absent proven violations of orders and/or the UCMJ.
When I heard about this in the news with SSgt Wuterich, the first thing that I thought of is this guy is a Marine, somebody’s son (nice mom btw) and probably somebody’s husband. I don’t believe for one second that anybody with kids would want to be in the position that SSgt Wuterich was in that day. No doubt he did the right thing. As much as we banter back and forth on these threads, please realize I have the deepest sympathy for all of the families and total respect for what they stand for. I feel they are being punished for staying alive and coming home.
Making a donation to his defense fund is not a hard choice. How much is your freedom worth to you?
The reason I support these men is that they are in a frickin war. This is not a police activity. This is war. If mistakes were made in the heat of battle I do not care. They deserve medals, not sanction.
When I first read about the so-called Haditha Massacre, I honestly thought something didn’t sound right. Yes, the thought of one or two “rogue” Marines “going off” was a possibility, but the whole unit? My hinky meter lit up on that nugget, alone.
Shortly after McGirk’s story was published, it really started to stink. I could see that the Iraqis were being painted as innocent victims, even though we were already seeing many reports of insurgents using Iraqis as human shields and taking over their homes and towns and posing as regular townspeople. On top of that, it seemed that Mr. McGirk was actually taking the word of these Iraqis before even talking to any of the Marines. The press accounts were getting even more outrageous and the comparisons to Mi Lai were outrageous. Press reports said that there was a photo of an innocent Iraqi “kneeling, as if in prayer” before he was executed. Entire families were “huddled in prayer” before they were executed, but when pressed, had to retract because they hadn’t actually seen the pictures. Additionally, the story originated from a “budding journalism student” who just happened to possess a convenient crime scene video. Budding journalism student, puhlease.
I was disgusted.
By the time Murtha was frothing at any camera that our Marines were out murdering innocent civilians “in cold blood”, I was incensed. I started reading everything I could about the Haditha ambush that day and the atmosphere up to that time. Interesting tidbits were there for any journalist to find. I kept waiting for any of the major publications or MSM outlets to unearth the real story, but there seemed to be no interest in anything that pointed out the flaws in the template that war turns young men into bloodthirsty savages who commit war crimes routinely.
Having been a reader of Michael Yon’s incredible blog, I knew that just wasn’t true. I read extraordinary stories about our troops. The Haditha “Massacre” was so out of bounds, I just would not believe it. This was in no way a purposeful slaughter.
Really, why do I care so much? These men are HEROES! They are over there fighting, so we don’t have to fight the savages here. I truly believe that. We OWE them the presumption of innocence—at the very least. The people on Capitol Hill that voted to SEND THEM THERE owe them that much.
I thank God every day that we have such honorable, brave souls who sacrifice their very lives so that we can continue to live the very cushy lives we live. I am so humbled by their service. I pray that the light will shine on this case and the lies be exposed—and every rat that scurried away as the truth started to be revealed will be unveiled for the cowards and liars they are.
The same reason I supported the three young men falsely accused of Rape at Duke University.
Truth and Justice!
At the same time, the trial system had to follow its course to show that these allegations had no credibility. The military had to place them before an Art. 32 tribunal, because otherwise there would be howls of "coverup!"
I have supported the Haditha Marines because they were accused of war crimes in a war that I, as an American, asked them to fight. Their fight to prove their innocence has been an unfair, uphill struggle. As a responsible citizen, I must have their back, and presume their innocence.
From day one, it has not been a fair fight. Between the media, both foreign and American, the politicians, the Marine Corps, and even the CIC - nobody has forcefully and vigorously stood up for OUR Marine’s innocence. Each has added immeasurable PR dollars to the enemy’s agenda to convict these Marines and reduce the American will to wage and win this war.
At the same time the Marines and their families have been forced to mortgage their homes or raid 401K’s just to try to defend their actions in a battle. The only counteracting PR has been from bloggers and a few conservative media sources, and even those have dwindled as the process has drug on.
The impact of these cases on our Rules of Engagement, our will to continue the war, is already being felt. I daresay we could never have fought and persevered in WWII with the same PC mentality.
The war against radical Islamicism is a war worth fighting. They represented me in this war, I will stand up for them.
I support these Marines (and all of our military) because they volunteer to put their lives on the line to save ours. The media and the Left has gone over and above to portray them as the “bad guys” since the war started.
Murtha’s “cold blooded murder” comment hit a raw nerve with me and the inconsistencies just didn’t add up. The more I read and heard, the madder I got. The rush to judgment and the deliberate failure by many to look at the facts only encouraged me to keep digging. I knew in my heart that these Marines were innocent and vowed to keep fighting back by exposing the lies and the media bias.
Then I found Defend our Marines and the Haditha Ping List here. I contributed to the defense funds because these Marines could have been my son, my brother or my husband. I even bought a Haditha t-shirt and wore it every casual Friday at work. It was the very least I could do.
These Marines are heroes who were in the middle of a kill or be killed situation. They deserve so much more than the treatment they have received. At the very least they deserve an apology from those that rushed to judgment.
Thanks for starting this thread Red - you are the best!
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