Don't Let Media Sensationalism Malign U.S. Marines Getting the Facts From Fallujah (Oliver North)

humaneventsonline.com ^ | Nov 19, 2004 | Oliver North

[crushelits]

By now, almost everyone in the world with a television has seen the videotape that appears to show a U.S. Marine shooting a wounded Iraqi terrorist inside a mosque in Fallujah. For the record, here are the facts--because facts--not rumors or emotions-- really are important. Here is what those who were there told me:

On Friday, November 12, U.S. Marines were fired upon by terrorists armed with AK-47s, RPD machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades from a mosque and an adjacent building. The Marines returned fire, first with M-16s and 240G machine guns, and then, as they continued to take fire, and casualties, they escalated to an MK-19, a 40mm grenade launcher and then an AT-4 missile.

When none of these weapons successfully eliminated enemy fire, the platoon commander called for and received permission to open fire with the main gun of an M-1 Abrams tank and then storm the buildings. In the ensuing assault, 10 terrorists were killed and five others were wounded as the Marines went room-to-room clearing the buildings.

Weapons Stockpile

Immediately afterward, two correspondents accompanying coalition forces were shown a large quantity of AK-47s, machine guns, mortar rounds, explosives, RPGs and hand grenades that had been stored in the mosque.

While the print and broadcast cameramen were photographing the evidence of a war crime--weapons being stored in a place of worship--the Marine unit received an order over the radio to advance and secure another building. As the bone-tired troops departed for their next objective, one of the correspondents asked what would become of the wounded terrorists. A Marine sergeant replied that another unit was to move up and evacuate the injured enemy to the rear for treatment and detention.

The following morning--Saturday--another platoon of Marines from a different company was attacked from the mosque. A second gunfight ensued and once again, a squad of Marines assaulted the structure. They were accompanied by NBC correspondent Kevin Sites and his cameraman, taping for the "pool"--meaning that whatever tape he filed would be available to all the networks accredited to cover Operation New Dawn.

According to the videotape and the report filed after the action, as the Marines burst into one of the rooms inside the mosque, they found four terrorists--one dead and three wounded. In the video that has now been seen around the world, one of the battle-weary Marines points his weapon at one of the enemy combatants lying against the wall and shouts, "He's [expletive] faking he's dead. He's faking he's [expletive] dead." An instant later, the Marine raises his rifle and fires into the insurgent's head. Immediately thereafter, another Marine can be heard saying, "Well, he's dead now."

For American broadcasts, the actual shot is "blacked out." But when the tape airs on Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, Lebanon TV and other Arab media outlets, nothing is left to the imagination. Unfortunately, neither version is accurate--though both are very troubling. Like so much of what's on television today, only the goriest, most sensational portion of the tape has aired. As a consequence, "the rest of the story"--as my friend Paul Harvey puts it--has been lost in the clamor created by 15 seconds of videotape.

Only a few have seen the footage shot the day before--providing irrefutable evidence that the mosque was a well-defended arms depot. And fewer still have viewed the very next sequence after "the shooting" which shows two Marines pointing their weapons at another combatant lying motionless. Suddenly, one of the Marines jumps back as the terrorist stretches out his hand, motioning that he is alive. Neither Marine opens fire.

According to the Marines, a Navy medical corpsman was then summoned to treat the two wounded prisoners. In his original written report, Sites, the correspondent who videotaped the shooting, doesn't mention the medical treatment provided to the injured enemy combatants, but he does note that four of the combatants were some of those who had been left behind from the firefight on Friday. If the NBC reporter knew that from being there the day before, why didn't he tell this new group of Marines before they rushed into the room?

None of that is included in the tape that is now being used to raise Islamic ire at the "American invader." Why? And why did it take more than a day to learn that the Marine seen shooting on the videotape had been wounded in the face the day before if the correspondent knew that when he filed the videotape? Why didn't the original story include the fact that a Marine in the same unit had been killed 24 hours earlier while searching the booby-trapped dead body of a terrorist?

Within hours of the videotaped incident in the mosque, another Marine was killed and five others wounded by a booby-trapped body they found in a house after a gunfight. Why was this not made part of the original story? Even Amnesty International, no friend to the American armed forces, has reported that the Iraqi terrorists have illegally used white flags to lure coalition forces into ambushes. Yet this too is absent in the original story.

Though the Arab media don't mention it, the incident is being fully investigated--even as combat operations continue. If a court martial is convened, the young Marine in the videotape will have a chance to defend his actions. Meanwhile, Arab broadcasts outside Iraq that won't even mention the murder of relief worker Margaret Hassan, will re-play the "shooting video" for weeks to come as an incitement to join the jihad.

In the rush to air sensational footage, the "pool" system failed us all. Worse yet, it failed the young soldiers and Marines and their brave Iraqi allies who are fighting to liberate Fallujah from the terrorists' bloody grip. Even though the "shooting video" lacked context and failed to tell the full story--it became the big story. If it becomes the story of Fallujah--that would be a crime.

Lt. Col. North (Ret.) is a nationally syndicated columnist and the author of the new FOX News/Regnery book, War Stories: Operation Iraqi Freedom.

[A.A. Cunningham]

War Crimes?

[robertpaulsen]

Did anyone else see the coverage that included the dialog right after the shooting? Someone says to the marine that the wounded were from the day before, and he replies something like, "I didn't know that. I swear I didn't know".

[crushelits]

<>

According to Forbes, General Electric ranks 2nd among the top 100 companies. General Electric in case you didn't know, owns NBC and MSNBC. NBC is part of the MSM network of who wants to unsit President George Bush. On General Electric's website the Chairman of The Board and Chief Executive officer has the following statement

The "Spirit & The Letter" is the GE integrity policy, and each  GE employee
signs a pledge to adhere to it when they join the company.

 

Jeffrey R. Immelt, 48, is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of GE. Mr. Immelt, the 9th Chairman in GE's 126-year history, was appointed to this post on September 7, 2001

Chairman & CEO Jeff Immelt's Message to Employees:

As GE learns and grows in the 21st century, three traditions of our company become more important. Along with commitment to performance and thirst for change, we must always display total, unyielding integrity.

This is a company of integrity. It's a company of standards. Our worldwide reputation for honest and reliable business conduct, built by so many people over so many years, is tested and proven in each business transaction we make.

Today's GE is far more dynamic, globally directed and customer-driven than ever before. We are playing offense - trying new things to build our business success - our quality products and services; our forthright relations with customers, suppliers and each other; and, ultimately, our winning competitive record. But the GE quest for competitive excellence begins and ends with our commitment to lawful and ethical conduct. As a global company, we must create and follow a set of global rules.

Each person in the GE community makes a personal commitment to follow our Code of Conduct. Guiding us in upholding our ethical commitment is a set of GE policies on key integrity issues. All GE employees must comply not only with the letter of these policies but also their spirit.

I, and all GE leaders, have the additional responsibility of nurturing a culture in which compliance with GE policy and applicable law is at the very core of our business activities. It is, and must be, the way we work.

The stakes are high in today's business environment, and, especially while skepticism of corporate activities persists, we must meet and surpass requirements and expectations.

We must preserve and strengthen for those who will follow us what has been the GE foundation for success for more than 100 years - the GE commitment to integrity.

Cordially,

Jeffrey R. Immelt
CEO and Chairman of the Board

PLEASE WRITE GE AND AND WRITE TO EACH OF THE NAMES BELOW AND LET THEM KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT NBC.

Gary Sheffer Executive Director, Communications and Public Affairs (203) 373-3476 gary.sheffer@ge.com	David Frail Financial Communications (203) 373-3387 david.frail@ge.com
GE.com Nate Kirtman GE.com, Inside GE (Intranet) (203) 373-2574 nate.kirtman@ge.com	Jonathan Klein Corporate Communications (203) 373-2241 jonathan.klein@ge.com
Linda Boff Organizational Communications (203) 373-2989 linda.boff@ge.com	Government Gary Sheffer Executive Director, Communications and Public Affairs (203) 373-3476 gary.sheffer@ge.com

Please take action a let GE how we feel.

Thanks, crushelits.

[timtoews5292004]

who didn't know- the marine, or Sites? From all I've read from sites, he knows exactly what he's doing at all times.

[Jeeper]

"The following morning--Saturday--another platoon of Marines from a different company was attacked from the mosque."

I think this important point has been largely ignored by the MSM. The Marines were fired on by somebody from within that mosque just minutes before the Marine dispatched this animal to Allah. He had every reason to be cautious and use any force necessary to protect himself and his platoon members, not to mention the scum who was filming the incident. Since the Marines were in the front and back of the mosque, it is unlikely that any of the animals escaped after firing at the Marines. One of the 'apparently unarmed and wounded insurgents', as the MSM would say, was surely firing at the Marines. As far as I am concerned, the animal was sent to hell where he belongs.

[AMDG&BVMH]

Bump

best summary yet . . .

[Tannerone]

MSM has a bad habit of cutting their nose off to spite their face!!!

It would be nice if this Kevin Sites was led to downtown Fal. and abandoned. A bull's eye on his back would also help.

This Sites is one sorry "mother" in my opinion. Right up there with Dan Blather

[robertpaulsen]

The marine who shot the Iraqi said he didn't know the Iraqi was wounded the day before.

[onyx]

BTTT

[Gondring]

Thanks for the ping to this! best summary yet . . .

Awww...better than mine? ;-)

Seriously, it's very good... answering some of our earlier questions (why the captives hadn't been evac'd), but it also seems to leave off a few things...such as the Marines shooting the wounded prior to the one on the tape. Did Sites get that wrong? Did that not really happen? Further evidence of the confusion.

[Gritty]

The explanation for this is really quite simple.

"Abu Ghraib" was getting stale and it was time for the MSM (including Al Jazeera) to find another cause with which to beat the anti-American war drums and thrash America 24/7. This incident has not only great propaganda value on it's face by branding American troops as "murderers" - thereby equating a moral equivalence with appalling terrorist atrocities - but also it has managed to blank out our great successes in taking down that terrorist rat's nest, Fallujah.

It's a win/win for the MSM and their Islamic pals!

[AMDG&BVMH]

"Awww...better than mine? ;-)"

I meant best summary I have seen from a press report.

What needs to be done is to INTEGRATE his summary into the timeline of your tape transcript -- if anyone had the time . . . ;)

[Gondring]

So do you think it was Sites or NBC who created the incident? Did they use live actors or CGI?

[Gritty]

So do you think it was Sites or NBC who created the incident?

Neither "created" the incident. But, like Abu Gharaib, it is the media mavens who made the decision to make it a "big deal" by giving it full time exposure, commentary, editorials, talking head panels, civil rights lawyer interviews, headlines in the New York Times,... and blowing a crummy little nothing incident up into a full crisis.

They know how to build something into a full blown crisis, and they know how to bury a full blown crisis deep into the ground so it doesn't see the light of day. They have decades of practice, including 8 years of criminal Clinton cover-ups and destruction of his "enemies".

They're pros at this. They don't have to manufacture something up. There is always an incident they can spotlight and spin to forward their agenda. All they need to do is decide they are going to use it, and how.

[HighlyOpinionated]

ping for when I get my ISP back from Alltel-h*!!