Posted on 06/14/2006 12:37:37 PM PDT by Parmy
Edited on 06/14/2006 12:47:35 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
It is a sad day when Generals retire and take cheap shots at their bosses. If they felt that strongly they should have made it known while on active duty and resigned in protest. They have no honor.
The term 'root causes of Haditha', presumes that there was a crime committed. If there wasn't, then the root cause of this incident in Haditha is no different than the root cause for any action in the theater of war.
There cannot be a direct link between two things when one never happened.
There cannot be a root cause of something that isn't.
Liberals love this line. I've never seen so many libs concerned about high government spending.
Nor have we for one minute in this WOT/Iraq tried to accomplish anything via the above manner -
Maj. Gen. (Ret. -thankfully!) John Batiste has had his poor little (clearly) fragile ego hurt and has completely dishonored himself over the past year or so -
The reality is in any conflict it is easy to second guess decisions that have been made - Even in the best of victories there are likely a number of things one would do different if given the chance (espeically knowing everything they know after the fact).
But the true reality remains SecDef Rumsfeld as led in taking the fight to our enemies. He has supported our fighting men and women 100% and that he has ruffled a few feathers (mainly in the old Big Green) so be it!
Gen. Batiste is completely off base and we are better off with him being (Ret) without question! (and sadly and apparently angrily Gen Batiste knows this as well).
One imagines that if the Marines are cleared over Haditha, Batiste will write an article stating Rumsfeld is NOT responsible.
How can you reveal the root cause of something you haven't even established as fact?
The guys a puke... I'd like to know what he's getting out of this.
Someone frag this F%^&*er.
How does what Donald Rumsfeld says and acts upon in the Pentagon translate into what is portrayed as a massacre far away in Iraq? So nearly as can be determined, Secretary Rumsfeld greatly deplores this manner of carrying out missions in the field.
And are the facts of what happened in Haditha even now known, or is this mere speculation and wishful thinking on the part of media whores with overactive imaginations?
So far as may be discerned from what has been made available so far, there may be multiple interpretations of the course of events. One entirely plausible explanation may be that the Marines involved were returning fire at snipers, when a number of innocent Iraqi women and children were thrust forward as human shields, and the snipers ducked away. Sure it doesn't look good, but in that case, the civilian casualties are collateral damage, and not victims of some zombie squad gone mad in the fog of war.
This is NOT My Lai.
Sorry!!!!! Mea Culpa!
This has never been a valid criticism. This "force structure" happens to be the same one that Saddam used to annihilate Shiite and Kurdish resistance at the end of the first Gulf war. Why would retaining the un-retainable be a good idea? Better reconstruct a loyal Iraqi military than simply start paying the tools of genocide with American dollars, I say. Too often, criticisms of Rumsfeld are of events or situations either no one could foresee or control, regardless of their hindsight. This view is reinforced by the lack of criticism now of current policies, that are working by the way, and the fact that NONE of the dissident generals ever suggested the mix of stratagems and tactics that is now proving to work. No one is clairvoyant here, least of all these retired, tired generals.
Here is their attempt to keep the non-atrocity at Haditha in the news and to continue the drumbeat for Rummy's head. They really have no shame and there are no limits to what they will do.
How stupid and idiotic are these people? It is exasperating!
Me, too. Although blacklisting Klein Steel Services also helps.
So, General, why didn't you do anything to stop the Albanian terrorists?
My Hero...
--- Maj. Gen. John Batiste
The author levels charges of war atrocities against the Marines, a very serious charge. Since it is such a serious charge, wouldnt it be prudent and indeed the just thing to do to wait until we have all the facts about what happened before making such damning assumptions? What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Shouldnt we wait until a full investigation (which is underway) is completed before making such charges? And yet, the author assumes the guilt of the Marines in question and uses that assumption to condemn the Secretary of Defense and the war in general. He proceeds to parrot the Lefts self-serving accusations of incompetence, bad planning and lies; all based on the assumption of guilt of the Haditha Marines.
But then, this really isnt about war atrocities, is it? No, this is about scoring political points. If there are political points to be scored against the real enemy (President Bush), what do the lives and reputations of a few Marines matter, right? The important thing is: getting Democrats elected. The Left can claim all they want that they support the troops but, when the Left is so eager to jump on allegations of wrong doing without knowing what really happened, their claims ring very hollow.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.