Posted on 11/16/2004 7:01:14 AM PST by areafiftyone
FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. Marines rallied round a comrade under investigation for killing a wounded Iraqi during the offensive in Falluja, saying he was probably under combat stress in unpredictable, hair-trigger circumstances.
Marines interviewed on Tuesday said they didn't see the shooting as a scandal, rather the act of a comrade who faced intense pressure during the effort to quell the insurgency in the city.
"I can see why he would do it. He was probably running around being shot at for days on end in Falluja. There should be an investigation but they should look into the circumstances," said Lance Corporal Christopher Hanson.
"I would have shot the insurgent too. Two shots to the head," said Sergeant Nicholas Graham, 24, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "You can't trust these people. He should not be investigated. He did nothing wrong."
The military command launched an investigation after video footage showed a U.S. Marine shooting a wounded and unarmed man in a mosque in the city on Saturday. The man was one of five wounded and left in the mosque after Marines fought their way through the area.
A pool report by NBC correspondent Kevin Sites said the mosque had been used by insurgents to attack U.S. forces, who stormed it, killing 10 militants and wounding the five. Sites said the wounded had been left for others to pick up.
A second group of Marines entered the mosque on Saturday after reports it had been reoccupied. Footage from the embedded television crew showed the five still in the mosque, although several appeared to be close to death, Sites said.
He said a Marine noticed one prisoner was still breathing.
A Marine can be heard saying on the pool footage provided to Reuters Television: "He's fucking faking he's dead."
"The Marine then raises his rifle and fires into the man's head," Sites said.
NBC said the Marine, who had reportedly been shot in the face himself the previous day, said immediately after the shooting: "Well, he's dead now."
THOROUGH PROBE PROMISED
The Marine commander in Falluja, Lieutenant General John Sattler, said his men followed the law of conflict and held themselves to a high standard of accountability.
"The facts of this case will be thoroughly pursued to make an informed decision and to protect the rights of all persons involved," he said.
Marines have repeatedly described the rebels they fought against in Falluja as ruthless fighters who didn't play by the rules. They say the investigation is politically motivated.
"It's all political. This Marine has been under attack for days. It has nothing to do with what he did," said Corporal Keith Hoy, 23.
Rights group Amnesty International said on Monday both sides in the Falluja fighting had broken the rules of war governing the protection of civilians and wounded combatants.
Gunnery Sergeant Christopher Garza, 30, favored an investigation but like other Marines said the Pentagon should weigh its decision carefully.
"He should have captured him. Maybe the insurgent had some valuable information. There may have been mitigating circumstances. Maybe his two buddies died in Falluja," he said.
Sites said: "I have witnessed the Marines behaving as a disciplined and professional force throughout this offensive. In this particular case, it certainly was a confusing situation to say the least."
The U.S. military has been embarrassed by scandals in Iraq, most prominently the Abu Ghraib affair in which at least eight U.S. soldiers have been tried or face courts-martial over the abuse of prisoners at the jail outside Baghdad.
There have also been several cases in which soldiers have been charged with wrongfully killing Iraqis during operations.
They're trying to outdo each other insulting him, saying he should be shot by firing squad, imprisoned for life, DUers wishing they could personally kill and then pi** on this Marine.
A DUer from another country started a thread about it saying "F*** your country and f*** all you Americans", and the DUers are APOLOGIZING to him, we're so sorry, our troops are retarded murderers, he acted on direct orders from Bush, etc etc.
There really are sick and evil people living in this country right now.
It must be nice to label people stupid without actually knowing them. Let's see, who else has done that recently?
Though I will grant, with the leftist media, the headline would be "Marine guilty in Court Martial of murdering unarmed wounded insurgent prisoner - sentenced to Brig".
Yeah - you're right. Skip the brig.
Do not give the left one inch ... not one lousy inch.
Got to thank Glen Beck for playing more of the recording this morning. Why was there a recording, and why is that reporter bucking for the Pulitzer when he should be fired? War isn't suitable for reality TV and it isn't a morality play. The clip being heard a thousand times an hour on the news shows is a deliberate edit to make it sound like something else.
Where is the evidence of this?
Heh... DU'ers are good for only one thing... and that is amusement.
You can't let such irrelvant venting have sway over you.
I don't think I would like to be a pool reporter about now.
amazing how you two are from the same state ... I went back and read the previous posts ... my original post stands. The only thing that gives me pause are the references to Ronald Reagan on the profile.
That's the impression I get from his blog. Not necessarily anti-military, but that he feels bad for the terrorists (or as he calls them, insurgants).
Even Amnesty International says the bad guys aren't playing by the Geneva Convention. If those anti-U.S. scum say it, then they must be playing very very dirty! Free our marine, give him back his s.a.w. & lets git 'er done!
This is WAR, not a courtroom in an American city.
A terrorist insurgent enemy in the heat of battle
is NOT innocent until proven guilty.
---That's about as "pithy" as i can make it.
We have the same last name also. If you looked back on our posts, you could have figured that out.
That's a matter of opinion. As a vet I'm not one bit embarassed to call these kids my own.
Embarassed is a feeling you have to express, it cannot be projected from outside. Otherwise Madonna would have been embarassed long long ago.
So a stupid troll? I just want to get that straight.
Probably have the same I too ...
Have you seen the video? My opinion is the Marine did nothing wrong. Unless Sites is personally pursuing this, in some way promoting this as a murder, I don't see what he's done wrong. If he's selling the video as a scandal or claiming something happened that didn't or something that shouldn't have, then OK, I understand the anger directed at him. But I've not read anything that makes me believe he's done that. If you have some evidence I'd appreciate a link. I've looked at his blog and he's very sympathetic to the Marines (although I question if his phrases are not a little sympathetic to the terrorists, too). He's got great pictures on his blog - the "what's in your green book" series is fantastic. If he's done something to deserve the severe beating or killing people are calling for I'd like to know what it was. Maybe that makes me stupid or a DU troll, but I don't think so.
??
Probably have the same IP too ... and a "duel personality"
This mother-f***ing media is trying to have its next Abu Ghraib scandal. Mark my words, they'll talk about this "scandal" non-stop for the next month.
You can't have it both ways. You can't talk about how heroic our military is, and then go out of your way to have some military "scandal."
What do you think Iwo Jima was like?
Or maybe not. But now you're getting bizarre, lol.
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