Posted on 05/29/2006 6:12:03 PM PDT by Marli
Only hours after Iraqi civilians were killed, a second team of Marines was sent in to take the victims' bodies to a local morgue.
Lance Corp. Ryan Briones was among the Marines sent in to recover the bodies, and he told the Los Angeles Times he is still haunted by what he saw, including a young girl who was shot in the head.
"[The victims] ranged from little babies to adult males and females," Briones told the newspaper. "I can still smell the blood."
Briones says he and another Marine were told to photograph the bodies. Military officials say those photos — which they say show people shot at close range in the head and chest — clearly contradict initial reports that the civilians were killed by a roadside bomb.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
|
The brain was thinking "90 degrees off course" but then my brain must have short circuited, and caused me to type "out of phase." Sorry.
You've been privvy to the investigation, then, eh?
Obviously, the insurgent terrorists emplaced a roadside IED and then shot and killed the nearby villagers so they couldn't tip off any approaching convoy or military vehicle.
OR.... the nearby villagers watched the convoy approach the IED and never bothered to give warning, choosing instead to just watch the carnage. Maybe they even waved as the Marines passed by. In which case, the dazed and shell-shocked Marines who survived the explosion would be correct to figure that those nearby villagers were complicent in the attack. Especially since IED attacks are often coordinated with a small arms ambush.
I guess we shall eventually see what is what. I sure hope these Marines have really, really good defense lawyers, because I think they are being set up as sacrificial lambs.
The initial after action report from the marines was that five men running from a cab were shot and killed (no mention of any weapons) and the rest of the Iraqis were killed by the IED blast. Among the dead was a 70 year old diabetic amputee in a wheel chair and most of the others were women and children. Possible terrorist? Well possible. Likely? Questionnable.
The marines did not report having any fire fight other than the two or three seconds it took to cut down the fleeing cab riders. If the civilians have bullet wounds to the head and chest and were not killed by the bomb blast, why did the marines report that? Dont you think a combat marine can distinquish between a bullet wound and blast injury?
Please point out where I've been ecstatic that this happened. And, let's have a specific quote, if you please.
i'll wait and see.
I guarantee you, the media reports I have read about this incident - have described some of these victims as "kneeling, as if in paryer". the articles are on FR, I don't have time to find them right now.
as far as the guys in the taxi go - tough sh*t. if an IED or a car bomb goes off in the area, and you approach in another car and take even the slightest action that might be deemed aggressive - I'd blow that car to hell too before losing my legs or my life.
;-)
Don't you wish people would just wait for the investigation to be completed before they follow Jack Murtha around on their knees screaming, "They're guilty! Sting 'em up!" I'm shocked at how many people on this board have said, "That's it. They're guilty. Murtha and the MSM said so. It must be true." I've seen these railroad jobs before. They are all too common. What bothers me is that when you are accused in the military, people scatter like jack rabbits. I don't care what Murtha and his "media" comrades say. I'm sticking by these Marines until it is determined what actually happened. I'll tell you right now, what we are getting from Murtha and the "media" is no where near the truth.
Could be an important witness since the after action report said that the Iraqis other than those shot running from a cab died of an IED exploson. If the people in the homes that he bagged up had been shot at close range and had not been a victim of the IED, then the marine writing the after action report has some explaining to do.
"IF the insurgents did this to make it look like the Marines had done it, why did the marines say the villagers died of a bomb blast? Are you saying that combat marines cant distinquish injuries from a bullet vs. a blast?"
Gee, Dave, if the terrorists have done this, because, let's just say for the sake of argument that these folks tipped our troops to who laid the IED-
do you really think it helps the folks that actually DO cooperate with our troops to know they're in such danger?
How do you know someone lost control? Sounds like you have already convicted the Marines.
Perhaps they did the deed, but Muslims are masters at staging "massacres". So let's wait until the investigation is done!
Mass killing in war is the fact. That is what war consists of when it is performed on a military level. Killing.
We fully engaged in this war the instant the first plane hit the first building, it just took some to come that reality. Some still have not come to that reality.
SIr, this war was thrust upon us in our own homeland committed against our civilians as there designated target.
Where I come from, they way I have been taught, when a person or entitry tries to kill you it is prudent to avoid ther attacks and try to kill them back. What is a person to do? Just sit and wait until they fly more planes into buildings? Is that it? Wat is an optional response to their attack upon us if not to fight back?
That being understood, the need to fight back, we have war. This nation spent the 90's trying to avoid war. War came to us. Those that brought that war to my homeland have not stood down since their attack began. We remain at war. Killing happens in war. Isn't that the case that needs to be made to the religious oppressors to make them stand down? After all they are the enemy that brings this war to us.
If you hold that we must be held to a higher standard then you admit freel that you do not belive in the idea of Equality. Every one should be held to the highest standards. That is equality under just law. Are you really aiming to hold that line?
"as far as the guys in the taxi go - tough sh*t. if an IED or a car bomb goes off in the area, and you approach in another car and take even the slightest action that might be deemed aggressive"
They immediately fled. They presented no danger. I don't know if they're allowed to fire on vehicles fleeing in a situation like this.
AMEN!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1640418/posts
"One photograph shows an Iraqi mother and young child, kneeling on the floor as if in prayer."
this is the way the media is spinning it over and over again. a body, on the floor after being shot at close range, is perfectly setup and photographed as "kneeling in prayer".
That's a reasonable assumption. But if they were taking fire from an apartmetn or house, they have every damn right to not only shoot first and ask later, but to level the damn house. The incident in Pakistan was a prime example. Yes, we killed "civilians" when we bombed out an Al Quaeda meeting. Too bad. Don't associate with terrorists if you want to stay alive.
These are US Marines, and I will afford them every benefit of the doubt until they are convicted. Hopefully, that will not happen.
You have it right!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.