Posted on 05/31/2006 6:20:21 AM PDT by Coop
... Snow said that he has been assured by the Pentagon that "all the details" will be made available...
Rep. John Murtha... has said Marines shot and killed unarmed civilians in a taxi at the scene and went into two homes and shot others.
On Tuesday, [Snow] said President Bush learned of the killings only after a reporter from Time magazine asked questions...
Asked when Bush was first briefed about the events in Haditha, an insurgent stronghold in western Iraq, Snow replied Tuesday: "When a Time reporter first made the call."
According to the attorney for one of three Marine Corps officers relieved of command from a Marine battalion are not targets of investigations into whether their troops killed the civilians or tried to cover it up.
Meanwhile, Lance Cpl. James Crossan of North Bend, Wash., who was injured in the roadside bomb attack in Haditha, told a Seattle television station that some of the Marines might have snapped after seeing one of their own killed in action.
"So, I think they were just blinded by hate ... and they just lost control," Crossan told KING-TV, which aired the interview Tuesday.
The targets... are about a dozen enlisted Marines, according to Hackett, a Marine reservist and Iraqi war veteran who represents Kimber... [Hackett] said the highest ranking among those under investigation is a staff sergeant who led the four-vehicle convoy that was hit by the bomb.
Kimber... was relieved of command last month because his subordinates... used profanity and criticized the performance of Iraqi security services during an interview with Britain's Sky News TV...
...Hackett told The Associated Press by telephone. "He's not under investigation for anything related to what has played out in the press." [snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I see a lot of problems with your lack of research, Counselor. I can understand why you're still bitter after being whacked on the other thread. Unfortunately, you're apparently not bright enough to learn from past mistakes. Tsk tsk.
All the more impressive
There is too much smoke here for there not to be a fire. If you took your head out of the sand (I'm trying to be polite, here), you'd see that.
:-D
Moreover, you cannot extrapolate the Bush/Kerry vote to saying that District 12 is "turning republican". Look at the other votes for that District....
Or, you can just keep pretending that you have all the answers.
BTW, still waiting for the news releases I asked for...oh, wait, there aren't any....
LOL THAT is the funniest statement of the day. You would of had to been in the Marine Corps or other branch to understand my post. LOL
Bitter, petty and woefully uninformed is no way to go through life, son.
The CNN reporter Ryan Chilcolte, kind of sniffs around that idea, by observing she needed no leading questions to prompt her detailed re-telling of the events.
But then he also observes that on the "Third" telling, she introduced an "Intriguing variation"...and mentions the facts about her knowing of the bomb, its placement, and its imminency of detonation. She knew what, where and when. She mentions that "we" didn't go to school because of the bomb, and she "put her hands over her ears" prior to detonoation.
Premonition, or knowledge is the reporter's open speculation
Like what? And I'd appreciate it if you reply in the correct thread.
Please don't run away, Coop.
Why, I believe it was the very same thread you embarassed yourself on, Counselor.
Please don't run away, Coop.
Gee, you're right. I'm so shy and difficult to track down around here. I'll try to work on that, 'kay Pookie?
The interesting variation is that they have her saying she was still in her nightclothes when the troops came in, that her parents made her wait and not go to school because of the bomb going off earlier, and they feared the troops reaction.
We see from the "third telling" with Wallid that in fact she was not going in to school...(which perhaps better explain why she never got out of her nightclothes...she had no plans to go) in anticipation of the bomb going off. Not that it had already gone off.
A clear contradiction. She was likely giving the real, uncoached version.
Another thing: Her third telling timeline makes a clear statement that it was pretty swift and immediate reaction by the troops...and they were at the houses investigating. This was not a second convoy, as intimated by the Brit reporter. This sounds like the same unit which was attacked. I don't know if we can credence this inference, or if it may make a difference, but we need to keep track of every discrepancy at this point.
Is the video still available, appears it is not...
Here's another copy of it...CNN Ryan Chilcote Report: "Haditha Uncovered"
Last week I posted to you most of the text of a note I sent (from Michigan) with a check to (Diana) Irey for Congress, Murtha's challenger. I received routine thank you note within a few days, and today Diana herself called, and spent 10 minutes chit-chatting with me. IMO, a more gracious, decent, and intelligent American Lady with similar concerns and hopes for our country would be difficult to find. She didn't sound very much like a politician at all, to me. Too bad I can't actually vote for her :(
She seems nicely surprised to be receiving national support for her campaign (donors from 46 states so far), and the incredible number of hits on her campaign website......soooo many that if each hit so far sent just a dollar, the entire campaign would be financed as of today! Her campaign speech being posted now will probably increase her bandwidth requirements, LOL.
The only thing is, I can't decide which to send Murtha....a bottle of Aricept or Kaopectate :)
Thanks, Paul.
I've been trying to find information on the schools in Haditha.
Do the children go to school on Saturdays???
Or was the "script-writer" mistaken?
Thanks...not a problem now...
Great post. I'll apologize now for stealing it to move to the Irey announcement thread. :-) Thank you.
I wouldn't know...but some of these guys would know..Email Sgt. Seigle at: seiglemf@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil.
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![]() HADITHA, Iraq(May 14, 2006) -- Maj. Chris K. Mace loves to hand out cash. The 38-year-old leads a handful of Marines who spend their days rebuilding schools, hospitals and giving monetary reimbursement to Iraqis whose property has been damaged during three years worth of combat operations. “We have made a lot of progress, but there is still a lot more to be made,” said Mace, a Pottstown, Pa., native who leads one of 17 civil affairs teams operating throughout Al Anbar province. “We are going to make as big an impact on the community as we can.” So far, the U.S. has spent more than $230,000 in renovations and quality of life improvement projects, such as repairing schools and water pipes in the Haditha Triad area – a Euphrates River Valley-city with about 75,000 people, which is still considered by some as a hotbed of insurgent activity. Detachment One of the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 3rd Civil Affairs Group, which is comprised of more than 30 Marines, works throughout Al Anbar Province with local government officials, sheikhs, mayors and other key leaders to identify and jumpstart various reconstruction and quality of life projects designed to rebuild damaged infrastructure in the region. Notable progress in the region’s stability has made such civil affairs projects within the region possible, said Mace. “As security and stability in the (area) increase, the willingness of the local populace to cooperate with us will as well,” said Mace. The Iraqi Army and the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment – the U.S. military unit assigned to this area of Iraq – have captured more than 30 insurgents and shut down three insurgent cells in the Triad area in the past two months, according to Marine leaders here. Six months ago, insurgents would have intimidated and threatened any potential local contractors with death or kidnapping for cooperating with coalition forces, said Mace. “Contractors especially are often afraid to work on projects we ask them to undertake,” said Mace. But as security in the region continues to improve, so does the potential for progress for the Marines to freely work with local engineers and contractors to complete reconstruction and infrastructure projects, which also help fuel the local economy by providing jobs to local workers. That, in turn, helps “honest and hardworking men” support their families, said Mace. “It is going to take a long time and a lot of work to rebuild the Al Anbar province,” said Mace. “Until then, the Marines will continue to plan future projects and make as much of a positive impact as they can until they rotate back to the States.” Most recently, Mace and his Marines went to several schools in the region and repaired doors and windows which were damaged by insurgents, said Mace. A principal at one of the local elementary schools said the students were in dire need of basic school supplies such as paper, markers and pencils. The Marines delivered with hundreds of pencils, markers, backpacks embroidered with cartoon characters, erasers and paper notebooks. Staff Sgt. Omar Palaciosreal, a 32-year-old from San Bernardino, Calif., and a civil affairs team chief, says small projects such as delivering school and medical supplies can have just as much of an impact on local infrastructure as larger reconstruction projects. “That school had nothing but a chalkboard in it and the teachers had to give lessons with only that commodity,” said Palaciosreal. “It was a sad sight and I believe we made it better.” Before they arrived in Iraq more than six weeks ago, Mace and his Marines underwent extensive training on Arabic culture, language, religion and history – training which comes in handy when the Marines meet with Iraqi leadership to plan future projects, said Mace. “Many of the local people are starting to realize the Marines are good people and are concerned with their wellbeing,” said an Iraqi interpreter assigned to work with Mace and his team of Marines. “The Marines have begun to build good rapport with the residents and this opens the door for us to communicate with them.” Though coalition forces make every effort to minimize collateral damage in local towns and villages during military operations, some damage can occur, such as broken doors and damaged vehicles, said Sgt. Paul Flores, a 24-year-old from Los Angeles. The money used to reimburse locals for such damages are more than just reparation payments, said Flores. When the civil affairs team visits locals to pay them, they can explain that the damages were not caused intentionally or maliciously – which often times means just as much as monetary reimbursement to locals, he said. “Sometimes the fact we go to the individual and apologize to them for the damages means more to them than the money does,” said Flores. With six months left before they rotate out of Iraq, Mace’s team of Marines will continue to work with local Iraqi leaders to improve quality of life and infrastructure within the Triad – which incorporates the cities of Haditha, Haqliniyah and Barwanah along the Euphrates River. Future projects include repair of a local hospital, the restoration of the local phone system, a “trash for cash” type program, which encourages locals to clean-up their neighborhoods for money, and improvements to local drainage systems. The Marines are also working to improve local communications by repairing the local telephone system, which was destroyed by insurgents so residents can not pass information about insurgent activity to coalition forces, said Mace. According to Mace, these cleanups not only provide paying jobs to locals, but also prevent health risks that stem from bacteria generated from excessive garbage and stagnant water, which children are exposed to when they play in neighborhoods with such conditions. “You earn a lot of credibility when you show residents you care about their well-being and their children,” said Palaciosreal. Email Sgt. Seigle at: seiglemf@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil. -30- |
Sorry if you already did say that. It just felt to me, sitting here in average citizen-land that the MSM got about three days out of this story before anyone official told them to shut up and wait for the facts. Maybe I'm wrong, but it just seems that way here.
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