Washington Post Presents Marine’s Side Of Story

Sweetness and Light ^ | 11 June 2006

[Lando Lincoln]

This explanation makes more sense than any I have heard so far.

Amazingly, it’s appears in the DNC’s house organ, the Washington Post:

US Marines raid a house during a night raid in the Iraqi town of Haditha, west of Baghdad, in 2005.

Marine Says Rules Were Followed

Sergeant Describes Hunt for Insurgents in Haditha, Denies Coverup

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 11, 2006

[atomicpossum]

SO WHY DOES THE MSM KEEP PUSHING IT SO HARD AS FACT?

As Rush always points out, they believe it initially because it fits their template. Then, once they've run with the story, they continue because a)it still fits their template, and b)they've stuck their necks out and they have to protect their assertion. They'll deperately try to prove the original case, and, by extension, save their 'journalistsic integrity,' even when it's obvious there's nothing there to save.

See Dan Rather and the TANG memos, etc., etc., etc.

[magslinger]

When this is all over, and these young men have been cleared, I hope the Marines put them on a detail to the US Congress to remove any Marine paraphernalia from the office of John Murtha.

I hope they enter his office by the book.

Extract of Infantry Battle Drill #6, Field Manual 7-8, Infantry Rifle Platton and Squad:

8. Allowing cook-off time (two seconds maximum), and shouting FRAG OUT, the lead soldier of the assaulting fire team prepares and throws a grenade into the building.

9. After the explosion, the next soldier enters the building and positions himself to the right (left) of the entrance, up against the wall, engages all identified or likely enemy positions with rapid, short bursts of automatic fire, and scans the room. The rest of the team provides immediate security outside the building.

[SE Mom]

;)

[Jeeper]

Unfortunately, I believe he is in a nice safe seat and the people who vote for him like the lies he tells. They like the lie of Marines killing innocents, it matches their beliefs about our military. Murtha knows this so he spoon-feeds it to them. I think he will win re-election with even a greater percentage of the vote than the last time he was elected in his district. Deliberately ignorant people are easily fooled.

[MizSterious]

Well, I hope he's defeated, but remember who voted for him in the first place--they might not be swayed by mere truth, when it's so much more fun to bash the troops, the war, and the President.

[MizSterious]

"At what point does a woman supporting her jihadist husband become innocent."

Exactly. That goes for other family members, including "wedding party" attendees (even though no evidence of weddings can be found in every case so far). The terrorists use their families as human shields--if they lose their families in the process, they have no right to complain.

[Beckwith]

Just two weeks later a training instructor, not mine, was killed when a 'student' Marine dropped a live grenade.

Same thing happened when I was in Basic. I suspect a lot of drill instructors are killed in this fashion.

[MizSterious]

"WTF kind of hazards do you have in your job, aside from menacing paper cuts?"

LOL! Well, you forgot "wounded sense of self-esteem" and occasional "exposure to Christian values."

[MizSterious]

Yes. Think back to the movies that came out about the Vietnam war, and how the military was almost always portrayed (with a few exceptions). Heck, for that matter, consider how the average Vietnam vet was portrayed in news stories, books, and movies--almost always as a stone-crazy, drug-abusing time bomb waiting to go off and mass murder anyone in his path. The media had such a good time with all of that, they just can't wait to do the same kind of damage with this war.

[Talking_Mouse]

SO WHY DOES THE MSM KEEP PUSHING IT SO HARD AS FACT?

As Rush always points out, they believe it initially because it fits their template. Then, once they've run with the story, they continue because a)it still fits their template, and b)they've stuck their necks out and they have to protect their assertion. They'll deperately try to prove the original case, and, by extension, save their 'journalistsic integrity,' even when it's obvious there's nothing there to save.

See Dan Rather and the TANG memos, etc., etc., etc.

Another reason is that many of the senior DBM can't get it through their heads that they no longer have a monopoly on the way news get to the American people. For so long the Big Three TV and the newspapers were the ONLY way the average citizen got the news.

Since, as Rush pointed out, this fits their template, and the senior editors in their heart of hearts still believe that most people believe them, it becomes a feedback loop to them.

[norwaypinesavage]

I wouldn't give the WaPo too much credit. The truth will come out. The WaPo simply wants to be among the first to report it. Occasionally, the truth gets in the way of a "good" report, even in the WaPo.

[freema]

Good catch!

[ishabibble]

My son just got back from Iraq in March. He is USMC and this was his second tour. One thing that he has told me is that the women are complicit so many times in the trouble areas because they cannot be stopped or searched by American forces. While the husband is stopped and searched, the woman in the burqqa breezes right by with the contraband or whatever hidden under the cloth.
The troops get so much of that sensitivity training and it is paramount to their mission that they respect the local customs and culture. He has also told me that the children are always a good indicator of the safety in a situation. The Iraqi children love our soldiers and Marines, and the parents will let their kids come around if it is safe. He called me right after he heard the good news re Zarkman, and he was jubilant.

[rbg81]

If a tactic keeps a Marine alive, but slightly increases the chance of collateral damage, the Left will cry "War Crime!".

If Marines try to play nice and end up in bod bags, the Left will cry "Quagmire!".

If the Military takes out a terrorist with an airstrike, the Left will cry "Deprivation of Due Process!"

If the Intelligence community foils a plot, the Left will cry "We're Losing Our Civil Liberties!"

The only exception to this is if the action is being taken in support of a Socialist or Muslim regime (like in Bosnia). Then the MSM will call it justified.

Any way you cut it, the Left wins.

[BluH2o]

Any way you cut it, the Left wins.

Not really ... granted the liberal leftist media dominates the megaphone in the public forum. However, with the alternate media available practically to everyone today the driveby liberal MSM types can't get traction on their lies and spin. Thank the good Lord for the internet.

[combat_boots]

Of course the rules of engagement were followed. I watched a story the other night that stated all this came from 1 reporter's words to the effect that something happened. Now, who was this reporter, and for whom did he work? Where is he from?

Is anyone asking these questions?

[Fruitbat]

"He’s really upset that people believe that he and his Marines are even capable of intentionally killing innocent civilians."

He has a right to be!

[ardara]

Great! I did the same thing.Contributing to Murtha's opponent,Diana Irey is the best thing we can do at this time.Semper Fi

[The Great RJ]

These guys are battle hardened Marines and are not going to go "nuts" and massacre civilians. The Marine's account is far more plausible than the massacre scenario being hyped by the MSM.

If you are in combat and are taking fire from a house, you certainly don't politely knock on the door and inquire if there are any civilians present. You respond as you are trained to take out the bad guys. Unfortunately the militants in Iraq, like their Islamic terrorist brothers, do not hesitate to use innocent women and children as shields.

I'm sure many WW-II veterans had similar experiences with civilian casualties when Nazi or Japanese forces were occupying homes or apartments.