[Fishtalk]

I'm going to make an allegation of my own...that those slain Iraqis must have known about the explosives planted near their homes, and w/their silence and failure to warn the Liberators of their country, they were guilty of setting up our victim Marines.

Oh I am absolutely sure your above scenario is the case, CM.

Haditha residents had been warned for several months to vacate the city. A few did not. And those few seemed to be involved in that whole IED and subsequent gunfire on our Marines.

Now here's the question. Does it matter? Assuming I am correct and I think I am (as are you and many of us who have learned there is always the OTHER side of the story), does it matter?

The Marines have a Rules of Engagement policy and here is where I get fuzzy. Do those ROE allow for shooting of children and women in the event they are caught redhanded with their fingers on the IED?

Whatever the case with the ROE, it STILL does not matter. Show a dead baby in the arms of its dead mother, even though the baby and mother were but props in the terrorists' plan, the world will still see a dead baby and what caused their death is not important.

The MSM is playing to the world stage and America-haters. Even IF the ROE apply to Haditha, there will still be an uproar for the cruel treatment of terrorists in the military ROE.

If Haditha blows up like My Lai (and frankly, by me, it looks increasingly like it WON'T thanks to that Canadian bust, the London Times lying picture featured on Malkin's site, and the clearing of the MArines in another incident)-it will be time for the President to come out and do some drop-dead serious talking to the American public.

[freema]

Face the Nation just glorified the prospective Iraqi journalism student who 'broke' the Haditha massacre story.

According to them, he would never have been able to pursue his journalism dreams in the old Iraq.

This goes in the believe it or not file.

[samantha]

#288, another great post, you guys are unbelievably good today. Keep it up. Are you lurking and taking lots of notes Conservative Talkers? Bennett,Hannity,Rush,Schnitz,Humphries,Beck,anybody?

[MNJohnnie]

The President is President of ALL the people, not just the "Conservatives" he does NOT have the freedom to go out and act like your favorite Talk Radio host. People need to wake up to the fact that this is NOT sports. The President has to work with these people day in and day out. He does NOT get to act like Mike Savage. Savage and his ilk can scream bile at everyone. It doesn't matter if he totally alienates a large segment of the political class. A President does NOT have that luxury. I know this is going to surprise a LOT of people but a President cannot just issue orders to Congress. The ONLY tool he has is persuasion. He has to talk people into following his lead. Given the grotesque oversizes egos Congressional service seems to breed, he doesn't have the luxury of chewing out the opposition no matter how much he would like to.