Posted on 11/16/2004 6:51:30 AM PST by InvisibleChurch
Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004 9:19 a.m. EST Fallujah Marine in Trouble for Pulling a Kerry
The television press was awash Monday night with video of a U.S. Marine entering a Fallujah terrorist nest filled with dead snipers, who moments earlier were shooting at his unit.
Upon discovering that one of the snipers is still breathing, the Marine shouts a warning to his buddies, the screen goes dark and a gunshot his heard - suggesting the Marine finished off the wounded terrorist.
Iraq war critics are already salivating at the prospects of another Abu Ghraib-like military fiasco. Not so fast, say the folks at FreeRepublic.com, who point out that John Kerry got a Silver Star with Combat V [for valor] for committing the same sort of "atrocity."
In fact, the Feb. 1969 incident was considered by Kerry supporters to be his finest hour.
Patrolling the Bay Hap River, Kerry and his crew discovered they were about to be ambushed by a Vietcong soldier who had just popped up at the shoreline with a loaded rocket launcher in his hands. With the VC about to fire, Kerry crewmate Thomas Bellodeau shot and wounded the attacker, saving the entire boat.
Only then did Kerry leap to the shore to chase the wounded enemy down - finishing him off behind a hootch.
When critics suggested that Kerry actions that day were something less than heroic, they were hooted down by the press.
Certainly the as yet unnamed Marine in Fallujah deserves, if not the Silver Star, the same slack the press cut Kerry.
Update on what is being said on Cable news
During Imus, Sites was on MSNBC and was backing off big time.
He read a prepared statement saying, "troops have been professional," "the situation was very confusing" and "only the soldier knows if he felt threatened."
Sites looked very nervous...
Then at around 9:15 MSNBC just showed a more prepared report from Sites. In this report, he says few of the things he said in the earlier report during Imus. It is unclear which report is newer.
I wonder if MSNBC is suppressing what Sites said during Imus? The Imus report was much more emphatic...
Greg Palcott (sp) of Fox now weighed in around 9:00 AM:
Paraphrasing:
"I have seen our troops operating under the most difficult conditions imaginable. The life and death of war. I have seen our soldiers treat civilians and detainees with care. I have seen the treat the places of worship with as much care as possible.
My opinion, and it is an informed opinion, is that this was an isolated incident"
I see that a few of us remembered that Kerry did something similar to this in Vietnam.
Well, NewsMax should get it's story straight. the Marine entered the building unaware of the fact that there are wounded "prisoners" in there. He saw some dead bodies, one of them moved and he thought it was a trap ("he's faking death"). He did what any sane person would have done, and now he is being crucified for it. It's a bloody outrage.
I didnt know that Kerry was in Vietnam
He can run for president. I would vote for the kid.
But I'm a bit upset that he didnt shoot the reporter.
War is Hell. Get over it and move on.
"Hey newsman. If I see you on that hill taking
pictures of my dead, I am going to lay you out
right beside them. Do you understand me?!"
MV
My dad said this is ludicrous. In Korea they took no prisoners, or very few.
Kerry is everywhere and all things to all people. One could call him omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.
Amen to this. Those troopers had been in a days long fight for their lives. Why wouldn't he shoot first then ask questions? The bad guys are blowing up our guys by putting explosives in dead bodies. I'd have done the same thing!
Omnivorous?
For which side?
Just heard on Fox that the Marine was wounded the day before...
Maybe Kerry should run for President of Vietnam
definitely closer to their ideology
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