Posted on 11/16/2004 11:31:37 PM PST by kattracks
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Marine being investigated for allegedly killing an unarmed, wounded Iraqi was acting under extreme combat stress, comrades said yesterday.It was also disclosed that the Marine had just returned to duty after being shot in the face the previous day.
[snip]
Marines interviewed yesterday said the shooting wasn't a scandal, but evidence of how soldiers react under extreme circumstances.
"I can see why he would do it," said Lance Cpl. Christopher Hanson. "He was probably running around being shot at for days on end in Fallujah. There should be an investigation, but they should look into the circumstances."
"I would have shot the insurgent, too. Two shots to the head," said Sgt. Nicholas Graham, 24, of Pittsburgh. "You can't trust these people. He should not be investigated. He did nothing wrong."
Military sources also noted that the bodies of rebels — and even a beheaded hostage in June — have been booby-trapped with explosives set to go off if touched by an soldier.
A Marine from the same unit as the one in question was reportedly killed the day before the shooting by a booby-trapped body — and the day of the shooting, another Marine was killed by a booby-trapped body.
[snip]
A Pentagon spokesperson said, "The forces we face are not following the standards rules of war. They are using mosques. They are using civilians as human shields and all sorts of other tactics."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Great quote.
Sounds like the media was aproblem even back then/
Becky
The fundamental moral principle is the right of self-defense. If there is reasonable cause to believe the 'victim' still posed a threat to one's life, then killing him in combat is justifiable.
Something needs to be done about NBC. It's bad enough that the idiot cameraman filmed this, but there was NO excuse for NBC to air it. That was a fatal judgement error on someone's part. That news division needs to be cleaned out and if GE won't do it, there must surely be a commission somewhere in congress that can pull their license.
Our military kills over 1,000 terrorists in a couple of days, and we're upset that our military killed 1 specific terrorist? They're doing what they should be doing....
MARGRET HASSANS
"EXECUTION"?????????
The titles decribing this action of war are not good!
"Circumstances in extenuation and mitigation: 832. ART. 32. INVESTIGATION ..." [snip]
In line with the above, I decided to post an email my brother sent me this morning regarding his own experience which involved those principles. He wrote {excerpted]:
"...THAT MARINE IN FALLUJAH MAY HAVE BEEN SUFFERING FROM "SHELL SHOCK" AFTER BEING WOUNDED THE DAY BEFORE.
LET ME EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED TO ME IN VIETNAM IN 1968.
AFTER SURVIVING A HORRIBLE AMBUSH ON HWY 4, ON 28 OCT. 68, EVERYONE ON MY ARMORED VEHICLE WAS KILLED EXCEPT ME AND MY DRIVER.
I WAS WOUNDED AND HAD TO LAY THERE IN THE KILL ZONE FOR OVER AN HOUR BEFORE I WAS RESCUED.
I RETURNED TO MY UNIT FROM THE HOSPITAL WITH A VERY BAD CASE OF BEING SHELL SHOCKED. I BASCALLY DISOBEYED MY DOCTORS DIRECTIVE BY RETURNING TO MY UNIT. (HE WANTED ME EVACUATED TO JAPAN)
I WAS A PLATOON SERGEANT IN AN INFANTRY COMPANY AND I WANTED TO BE WITH MY MEN. I WAS SO SHELL SHOCKED AND TRAUMATIZED FROM THE PREVIOUS AMBUSH, THAT I FOUND MYSELF IN AN EXTEMELY HYPER-VIGILANT STATE. I FOUND MYSELF UNABLE TO STOP FLINCHING AT EVERY UNEXPECTED NOISE. EVEN WHEN I KNEW IT WAS OUR OWN ARTILLERY FIRING, I WOULD FLINCH WITH EVERY ROUND FIRED. ( COMPLETELY INVOLUNTARY ).
I WAS ON SUCH A HAIR TRIGGER, THAT ON MY NEXT NIGHT PATROL, I FIRED A TWENTY ROUND MAGAZINE INTO A FLOCK OF DUCKS IN THE RICE PADDY TO MY LEFT WHEN I HEARD A SLIGHT NOISE THERE. ( SHOT WITHOUT EVEN THINKING FIRST ).IT TOOK A VERY LONG TIME FOR ME TO GET OVER THAT HYPER-VIGILANT STATE, AND I WANT TO POINT OUT AGAIN, IT WAS INVOLUNTARY.
THAT MARINE COULD HAVE BEEN IN SUCH A STATE, ESPECIALLY AFTER BEING SHOT IN THE FACE THE DAY BEFORE. IT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED!
I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE IN THE U.S. MILITARY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN LOOK AT WITH SO MUCH SCRUTINY BY THE WORLDS MEDIA. IT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL.
NO MILITARY IN THE WORLD FIGHTS WITH MORE RESTRICTIVE " RULES OF ENGAGEMENT " THAN WE DO. WE OFTEN DO IT AT THE PERIL OF OUR OWN SOLDIERS.
WHAT HAS IT GOTTEN US BUT SCORN. I HAVE COME TO BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD NOT HOLD OUR SOLDIERS TO THE STANDARDS IN THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS, WHEN OUR ENEMIES IGNORE IT. IT'S REALLY KINDA STUPID WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A FOOTBALL GAME WHERE THE RULES ONLY APPLIED TO YOUR TEAM? THATS WHATS GOING ON RIGHT NOW ! HOW ABSURD IS THAT?
IT ONLY MAKES SENSE WHEN YOUR FIGHTING A CIVILIZED AND DISCIPLINED ARMY THAT ALSO ADHERES TO THE RULES." ~ JIM
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1280569/posts?page=574#574"
shall be left the F alone so he can do his job
Do we even know who the woman was whose tortured dismembered body was just found last week? The one with long blond hair? The MSM just skipped that story.
THOR, which video did you see. In the one I watched a marine killed a terrorist that was an immediate threat to him and his companions. One of their number had been killed the day before by a booby trapped body.
If you saw the unedited video, the other terrorist responded with the universal sign of surrender - hands up, palms out - and was NOT shot
Did your video have sound? The one I saw had the constant hammering of gunfire in the background ... they were in an extremely hostile environment and still got it right with both terrorists they encountered
So, shut your whiney self the F up
How dare you call that young Marine a criminal. You had better have solid evidence to back up that claim, sir....and I don't mean the edited video that the MSM is allowing you to see.
There are some on this thread who would have been much happier if the video in question had shown the terrorist's booby-trapped body blowing up an American Marine.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
These combattants were not yet prisoners - no blindfold, no cuffs, and still in the immediate theatre of battle.
One of the problems the doctors had at the Da Nang hospital was with people returning to their units before released.
Several of us just walked out (still in hospital blues) and hitched rides back to our units. We thought that the crowded hospital could make better use of our beds – we still had both arms and legs – even if some of us (like me) had an arm in a sling.
Reporters seem really amazed at this very normal action.
I'm afraid so.
If this marine really killed this civilian without any millitary need, his is a criminal. Of course I can't say if the video was faked. This is something, a legal millitary court has to find out. They will find the right decision.
One thing is for sure: If a soldier of the United States is killing civilians just for fun, he is a traitor of the American values. Ugly scum. Nothing more. It doesn't matter if he is a member of the marines or any other part of the US-forces. There are good reasons that this kind of behavior is unlawful and thank god the US-millitary does not accept such people. This is why America is standing on the "good" side.
BTW - The conflict in Iraq can't be solved only with millitary means. It is nessecary that there will be a exchange of values and culture, if we want to lead this country into a better future. Of course there is no better way than the hard fight of the marines in Falludscha to get rid of Al-Zarqawi's terrorist scum in the moment. But we all hope that these things will change soon. Therefore the people of Iraq need the real impression of America - human, free and with respect against others. This is why I am afraid that this video could cause great damage. Now the young Iraqis will switch on Al Jazeera and are going to watch the horrible pictures of this guy and those of Abu Graib. This will spoil the relationship between us and them much more than Al-Zarqawi and his circus of idiots ever could.
http://news.google.com/news?q=Polish%20hostage%20&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&sa=N&tab=wn
She was a polish national........
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