Posted on 11/22/2004 7:16:39 AM PST by .cnI redruM
As soon as I saw the tape of a U.S. Marine shooting a wounded insurgent in Fallujah, I knew there'd be trouble. The Iraqi had violated the rules of war by fighting from a mosque and was left for dead in combat. But he wasn't dead. So when a squad of Marines entered the mosque in a mop-up operation and the prone insurgent moved, a young Marine shot him dead. But the tape of the incident actually helps the Marine, because you can clearly hear him yell to his squad: "He's [blanking] faking he's dead!" Then the soldier shoots. On the tape, you can see the insurgent move before the Marine pulls the trigger.
One day earlier, another Marine in the same unit was killed by a booby trap that was strapped to a dead insurgent. The enemy in Iraq rejects all rules of warfare, and American troops know it. Insurgents and foreign terrorists routinely dress in civilian clothes, hide behind civilians, mount operations from inside mosques, wear the uniforms of pro-American Iraqi police and National Guardsmen, attack civilians and on and on and on.
Having survived a combat situation in Argentina during the Falklands War, I know that life-and-death decisions are made in a flash. If that wounded insurgent had a grenade or other explosive device, the entire Marine squad and the photographer could be dead right now. In a killing zone, one cannot afford the luxury of knowing what is certain.
If that young Marine had homicide on his mind, he would have entered the mosque firing. But he did not. The Marine reacted to perceived danger. Another wounded Iraqi in the same room identified himself and was taken prisoner. This was not some My Lai action.
But the so-called human rights groups are calling it a "possible war crime." What a bunch of bull! The Marine made a decision that was reasonable.
Most of the American press has been cautious in covering the Marine controversy, although The Los Angeles Times ran this subhead: "Marine May Be Charged in the Fallujah Killing of an Unarmed Fighter. The Footage Airs on Arab TV, Further Tarnishing America's Image."
Now, there's nothing factually wrong with that headline. But is it designed to put the Marine and the U.S. in a dubious light? You make the call.
The Pentagon is not releasing the name of the Marine and is investigating. Both of those things are fair. But this case is not complicated, and anyone condemning that soldier should himself be condemned.
The war in Iraq as well as the war on terror is as ugly as it gets. Mistakes will be made. But this action is not one of them.
BOR does have two brain cells.
Col. North wrote a good article on this also. NBC made sure that all the Arab networks got a copy of this shooting also.
I agree wholeheartedly with him on the article but I've never heard this story about O'Reilly being in the Falklands War. What's that all about?
Can you point me to that srticle, please?
TERRORIST.
There's an online petition in support of the Marine :
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?as123
It's almost up to 150 000 signatures !
That's the obvious truth of the matter.
Thanks I signed it.
It was posted on townhall.com and dated November 19.
Do you have the link to the North piece.
If you would ping me, I would appreciate it.
Thank you.
Semper Fi,
Kelly
Thanks. Just signed it.
They need to be cut lots and lots of slack.
Pray for them.
Sorry, I don't. I am sure that North has it on his web site if you would use a search engine.
What can we do to punish NBC for anti-American activities, consorting with the enemy and conduct unbecoming a news outlet? These decontextualized tapes were obviously intended to provoke international outrage. We need to do something to punish NBC.
Here is the Col. North article.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/ollienorth/on20041119.shtml
I found this on his bio in FNC home page
After receiving his Master's degree, O'Reilly began his television news career in Scranton, Pennsylvania, followed by stops in Dallas, Denver, Portland, Oregon, Hartford, and Boston. He received an Emmy Award for his report on sky-jacking at KMGH-TV in Denver. In 1980, he anchored his own program on WCBS-TV in New York and received an Emmy Award during his tenure there. Later he became a CBS News correspondent covering the wars in El Salvador and the Falkland Islands, among other assignments.
His decision might have been reasonable, understandable, safe, well advised, based on experience, good for the mission and good for the survival of his team. The problem is that it also may be illegal under the rules of engagement. It's a PR issue to us, but this Marine's neck is shortly going to be up on the chopping block because of our Marquis de Queensbury combat etiquette.
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