Posted on 05/30/2006 10:13:00 AM PDT by pissant
WASHINGTON - Military investigators piecing together what happened in the Iraqi town of Al-Hadithah on Nov. 19, 2005 -- when Marines allegedly killed two dozen civilians -- have access to video shot by a pilotless aircraft that was circling overhead for at least part of that day, military defense attorneys familiar with the case said in interviews.
It is unclear whether the video obtained from that day's flight captured the violence, said the attorneys, who have consulted with Marines who were there. One attorney said investigators have reviewed surveillance footage taken hours after the shootings, which showed the Marines returning to the town to remove the bodies of the Iraqis.
Monday, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said charges will be issued if the evidence merits it. For now, ``it would be premature for me to judge'' the outcome of the two U.S. military investigations, Pace said on CBS's ``The Early Show.''
(snip...Please Read Carefully below)
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Not if they were on a killing rampage. It's smelling like a load of crap.
No.
Do you think they lied about having been told the families were killed by a roadside bomb? Do you think Time had the house tuckpointed? I posted what's pretty damn hard to lie about. The Marines already did a probe and paid off for the families as collateral damage. Any particular problems with the items I posted?
Let's pray that the Military authorities in charge of the investigation are immune from the PC crap.
Their answers might be treasonous.
Not true.
Marine inspectors took pictures that same day.
Paid off the families as collateral damage is a far cry from admitting to atrocities, dontchya think?
Yes, I have a problem with what you've posted. First, Time and the MSM are going by alot of hearsay, mostly Iraqi hearsay, in a town that has been relatively hostile to our troops. I have never trusted Time, and am not about to start now. The NY Times paid an Iraqi reporter/historian to investigate for their bogus little article today. As far as I know, no one in the chain of command has admitted to Murtha's version of the events (Cold blooded murder of women and children). Look at some of the fantastical tales closely: Unarmed folks (women and children too) put into a room and two grenades tossed - that sound like the USMC? An old man in a wheel chair shot point blank in the chest -- sound like the USMC? A little girl who tells 3 different version of how she was spared death. Women kneeling in prayer being executed -- sound like the USMC?
We can all agree something bad happened. But if you put your money on the MSM's version of events before hearing ANY defense arguments, you are foolish.
Will the Times also be counducting the General Courts Martial? Surely, you would know.
ABC News has obtained an interview with the sole survivor, 12-year-old Safa Younis. The interview was done by a local Iraqi journalism student about one week after the killings on Nov. 19, 2005.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/IraqCoverage/story?id=2015052&page=1&WNT=true
January 2006 - Journalism student Taher Thabet, via an Iraqi human rights group, passes video of bodies and homes where they died to Time magazine.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEO037072.htm
The investigation is not complete yet. Should something arise out of that, the Marine Corps would conduct any Art. 32 hearing, or subsequent General Court Martial.
Those are unimpeachable sources, according to some. LOL
Uh, naval investigators did not begin a formal investigation until TIME broke the story.
If pictures were taken the same day, what happened to the investigation?
Even General Pace admitted that he and Marine command knew nothing until Feb. 19, when TIME broke the story.
Yes, that is why they have the best retention, methinks.
Without an active conscience, one with the ability to transcend the doings of our team, we descend into the pit, the pit where life is at once brutish and short, and without moral meaning, a life wasted. The sad thing is that whenever something like this happens, it dishonors all those in the military who are decent and honorable folks. That is the most disgusting aspect of it all. Throw the book at them, if the did it, and throw it hard, without hesitation, and for all those who covered it up, cashier them and put them before a courts martial too.
Eman Waleed (9 or 10 year old survivor) says:
"I couldn't see their faces very well - only their guns sticking into the doorway."
then she says:
"We were lying there, bleeding, and it hurt so much. Afterward, some Iraqi soldiers came. They carried us in their arms. I was crying, shouting, 'Why did you do this to our family?' And one Iraqi soldier tells me, 'We didn't do it. The Americans did.'"
http://www.pej.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=4772&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
I can't find comments on this incident from the Iraqi soldiers. Still looking.
Yep, still smells like the situation where they intentionally fueled the cartoon controversy.
Apparently, that is not quick enough for some folks. How about you, spunkets? Would you defend an accused by facts, in this matter, or prosecute by hearsay in the media?
Nov. 20 - Military says roadside bomb killed a marine and 15 civilians. Captain Jeffrey Pool says in statement: "Iraqi Army soldiers and Marines returned fire killing eight insurgents."
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEO037072.htm
Iraqi Army soldiers - Iraqi Army soldiers. Evidently the Iraqi Army soldiers were right there. Why can't I find what the Iraqi Army soldiers have to say about this?
They then switched the story to crossfire by insurgents.
Only, from one account, there are no bullet holes on the exteriors of the three houses.
The story has been changed a third time to "the insurgents went from house to house, killing the civilians."
Why three stories?
Well, don't forget the USMC knocked first. /sarc
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.