Pace: Ongoing Probes Will Yield Facts About Haditha Incident

President Bush does NOT control the rules under which the military operates on the field of battle. There are military codes and military lawyers and the like...you must know that.

The decision WAS made at the highest level, no doubt, to work with the Iraqis that we could work with, as soon as we could do so. It was their country, not ours. We ousted Saddam and killed his sons. Yes, a lot of troubling stuff has happened and will. Like the Ayatollah Sistani for instance, Mr. Big of the Shias, does not want us to Kill Sadr. He believes it would go much worse for us to make him a martyr. So we have listened to his advice, as he has actually done MUCH to help us otherwise.

I am one who agrees with the judgement of the President that we should not have tried to lock down that country under the hammerlock of American force and power. Many people disagree with me and blame the President because we did not go in there and virtually destroy the place and what was left run it like a dictatorship. Fine. Disagree.

But Coop is right. The President has ten times the guts he even needs. You are drawing an unsupported conclusion that his judgement and decisions were due to lack of guts. Really, you just disagree with them.

Nobody is gutless in this little dustup here. But it's too easy to say so from your typewriter on the internet, even when so much about this man absolutely proves otherwise.

Unfortunately, if they are found innocent the real outrage and cries of massive cover-up will start, louder than ever.

That is the wrongness of the media trying what they wish to in the public eye as they are doing.

They have condemned the Marines before anyone actually knows for sure what happened.

I had a good friend seriously wounded and was refused permission to return fire.

You leave out many details. Our troops are allowed to defend themselves, especially when fired upon. Your blanket implication is pretty lame.

I'm sorry you feel betrayed from Vietnam, but I thank you for your service.

If areas of Iraq were declared a free fire zone or if air-strikes were the response to assaults on our troops we wouldn't have ground pounders being prosicuted for not being JAGs.

I think there is a degree of gutlessness in blaming the Military leadership for insufficient troop levels. When asked about this the president always dumps it off on the generals saying they have all of the troops they have asked for. If the generals asked for double the troop strength what would the response be? Nada, the reserves and National Guard are already stretched to the breaking point and our leadership doesn't have the guts to transfer our troops out of Japan, Germany, Korea, the Balkans, etc.

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