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 ...
"[Kimber is] not under investigation for anything related to what has played out in the press."
Murtha caught in another lie/exaggeration. Very nice.
That EX-Marine is scum.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060531/ts_nm/iraq_usa_haditha_dc
I do not trust Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. military officials say the killing of 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha in November appears to have been an unprovoked attack by U.S. Marines, after an investigation found the victims died of gunshot wounds, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The findings of the investigation contradicted Marines' claims that the civilians were victims of a roadside bomb, the newspaper said
Wrong answer Tony. This portrays President Bush as out of the loop.
This war will never be won, if soldiers are relieved of duty for such things. For swearing????? Dear God.
Let me see if I get this..A Marine officer was relieved of his command, his career ruined, because of comments his men made to an imbedded reporter..?
I'm still unclear about what Tony Snow meant- if the president was completely uninformed about this incident.
Regardless of what did or did not happen at Haditha- the president should have been informed that civilians died- and an investigation was underway.
It's unthinkable that he knew NOTHING about this til Time Magazine called the White House for reaction...isn't it?
The truth is the wrong answer? Nonsense. Combat-related news like this would not reach the President until such time as an accusation of atrocity and cover-up had been made. He was briefed at the appropriate time.
Well said Coop. BUMP
Apparently...
Then he'd be briefed daily about civilians deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. I find Mr. Snow's comments believable and reasonable.
But...if it's true the investigation has been ongoing for awhile now...wouldn't they have informed him sooner? Obviously- the president can't get bogged down in details (unless he's Jimmuh Cahta) but since this incident did involve civilian deaths- wouldn't it be worth a heads- up sooner?
Not unless it were portrayed in this gruesome manner from the very beginning. If this story has been exaggerated by Time and others (yes, Jack Murtha, I mean you!), or if there were a successful cover-up, why would DoD/Rummy brief the President? It's an operational SecDef problem, IMHO. Once the public accusations start, it becomes a political problem and the POTUS should be notified.
As bad as being "relieved of Command" might sound in the press all Marine officers are relieved of command prior to taking on a new command.
In fact The Marines often have elaborate ceremonies known as "Change of Commands" during which the former Commander is relieved by the person taking his place.
Let me repeat this slowly for those of you that have been taught to believe everything the media tells you....
ALL MARINE OFFICERS ARE RELIEVED OF COMMAND PRIOR TO TAKING OVER A NEW COMMAND.
The Question you should be asking yourself is where were these Marine Commanders assigned afterwards; are they counting silverware at some forgotten mess hall in Alaska, have they been confined to quarters, or have they been given the next level of command as due their ranks and ability?
Something the media isn't telling you is where they were assigned afterwards, I wonder why?
The other thing that this POS may not realize, is that these kids are finished regardless of guilt or innocence. Their careers are over, and they will be branded as war criminals for the rest of their lives.
I thought we treated our own better then that.
Semper Fi
-NYLeatherneck
reading it carefully, I think the writer took careful aim to make Tonys answer on tuesday appear to mean that Bush just learned of it on tuesday, WHICH CAN'T POSSIBLY BE TRUE UNLESS BUSH DOESN'T WATCH TEEVEE.
And these people says they Support the Troops. Support the Troops my @ss!
They rush out to be the first to say is "It's worse the Abu Grab" or "It's another My Lai" without knowing all the facts.
He very well might not. I sure don't watch much.
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