According to eyewitnesses and local officials interviewed over the past 10 weeks, the civilians who died in Haditha on Nov. 19 were killed not by a roadside bomb but by the Marines themselves, who went on a rampage in the village after the attack, killing 15 unarmed Iraqis in their homes, including seven women and three children.
Now I grant you, they COULD be telling the truth, even if the versions change from time to time.
But if these Marines claim differently, to whom will you afford the benefit of the doubt?
Out of the mouths of babes: "Eman (the now 10 year old girl) says she "heard a lot of shooting, so none of us went outside."
The shooting was going on OUTSIDE, prior to the raid on little Eman's home. Eman's home was where the Marines went first.
http://www.time.com/time/world/printout/0,8816,1174649,00.html
Take that, Murtha.
didn't I tell you before I ignore what the Iraqis claimed? What part of anything I posted gives you the impression that I believe the qualifier "rampage"?
"I must have missed that link where the Marines said they killed the women and children and the old man in the wheelchair. "
Yes, it sure looks like you did. The Marines admitted it and paid money for the wrongful deaths and injuries. Do you think the journalists made this up?
"He's your typical, ignorant, liberal fool, masquarading as a journalist."
What I can get from those stories is things like, Rumsfeld is the Defense Secretary, Bush is the President, we are at war, we have troops in Iraq, J. Edwards is a clymer, someone had dinner, ect.
"if these Marines claim differently, to whom will you afford the benefit of the doubt?"
The results of the investigation will provide me with more to think about. When that happens I'll have something to say about it. I remember the Pantano case. Lt Pantano caught 2 terrorists at a house containing terrorist devices. He shot them when he thought they posed a threat. The charges were brought by a Sgt. Daniel Coburn. Sgt. Coburn claimed that Lt. Pantano shot them in the back for no reason. The whole case rested on Coburn's accusation. Otherwise I saw no problem with the shooting. Since I could't interview the 2, I could not make a decision on who was telling the truth.
The investigators dug up the grave and autopsied the body. They found that Pantano was telling the truth. Coburn retracted on the stand.
I believe the investigators and the other officers involved will do there best in the interest of justice, as they did in the Pantano case.