Posted on 08/16/2006 4:32:54 AM PDT by IrishMike
Congressman John Kline, a Republican from Minnesota, was in the forefront of legislators this spring who expressed outrage at the incident in Haditha, Iraq, where 24 civilians were allegedly killed by U.S. Marines in November 2005. "This was a small number of Marines who fired directly on civilians and killed them," said Kline, after being briefed by Marine Corps officials. "This going to be an ugly story."
But this week Kline backed off considerably from his earlier comments. Prompted by the threat of a civil lawsuit against him by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the Marine who is a focus of the investigation, he said in a written statement: "I want to express my sincere apology to the Marines of the 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and especially SSgt Frank D. Wuterich. On November 19, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq, they were involved in an incident that resulted in the deaths of Iraqi civilians. Some news outlets have promoted incomplete statements attributed to me that gave the false impression that I have concluded those involved committed unlawful acts.
"I have the utmost faith that the Defense Department is fully investigating the matter and the appropriate decisions will be reached," Kline continued. "Should charges be brought against these Marines, and I do not know if they will be, the involved Marines deserve to be considered absolutely innocent until proven guilty. "
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Good for Congressman John Kline. More congresscritters need to follow his example.
This isn't an apology, it's a 'CYA' statement. Nothing like a good lawsuit to get a man to start 'crawfishing' (a Louisiana term for 'backpedaling').
Glad that Kline came to his senses (even if he had a gun to his head). Will Murtha follow suit with an apology? It'll be very interesting to see what Diana Irey makes of this. At the very least, it puts Murtha's slander back in the news.
This increases my suspicion that both Kline's and Murtha's comments constitute command influence on the case. This retraction makes that even more likely.
Kline serves on the Pentagon-affecting "Armed Services" Committee, as does Murtha.
In short, both these congressmen received a briefing from unnamed Pentagon sources that caused them to come out with claims of Haditha Marine's guilt. Both are Marine colonels.
It appears that someone in the Pentagon had an interest in making these Marines appear guilty. They got their message very effectively to all potential court martial members. Two congressmen, one from each party who sit on Armed Forces and have the financial future of the Marines in their hands, have decreed that these Marines are guilty.
That is "Command Influence" of the worst sort.
"The Marine Corps still has not officially acknowledged what all sides now accept as accurate: that the Iraqis that day were not killed by an IED."
All sides? The enemy and Time Magazine say it happened, the Marine Corps says "not so fast, lets check it out."
Who would you want to believe?
(Sorry for saying, 'The enemy AND Time Magazine' I understand they are one in the same.)
Right on.
A) Kline only apologized because of the threat of the lawsuit. He's just sorry he got caught.
B) Kline's own words in his "apology": "Some news outlets have promoted incomplete statements attributed to me that gave the false impression that I have concluded those involved committed unlawful acts."
So he's blaming someone else, trying to throw responsibility off himself. Typical phony apology tactics. Just like Durbin's.
C) The praise should go to the members of Congress who DIDN'T jump on the blame-the-Marines bandwagon.
D) Like the Muslim rapists who tried to offer a phony apology to the girl they raped because they got caught, this "apology" reeks of insincerity and is too little, too late in any case. Kline's still as bad as Murtha.
john kline should take Murtha out back.
There is no doubt in my mind that there are people in the military who hate Rumsfeld with so much passion that they will do anything to undermine him.
They hate Rumsfeld's reformation at the Pentagon.
That someone who got the ear of two elected nits, should be revealed and removed. Murtha is toast.........
Good for Sgt. Wuterich.
That is "Command Influence" of the worst sort.
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I'd call it treason.
(Sorry for saying, 'The enemy AND Time Magazine' I understand they are one in the same.)
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The truth NEVER requires an apology.
Wouldn't it be nice to hear one of these folks say, "You know, I shot my mouth off before having all the facts. I apologize for that and will keep an open mind in further proceedings." What are they afraid of?
I'm sure the congressman would expect such consideration if he were brought up on any charges. Yet, he publically impugned these Marines at an early stage in the investigation.
Beyond forgiveness, IMO. I draw no distinction between him and pig-Murtha. Klein needs to be ousted.
I agree.
However, if convicted, I will NEVER be able to believe that these Haditha marines got a fair trial. The deck was stacked against them from the beginning from the very Pentagon itself with Congress as an accomplice.
The Marines say they were following accepted practice in clearing a building after an IED attack. The incident was simply reported by them as an IED attack. That was what it was.
I think that their statements aided and abetted our enemies in their propaganda campaign. I've no doubt about it.
This Congressman from the Arab state of Detroit does not speak for me.
Remember that always following such "apologies" comes a flood of lawsuits seeking damages from the U. S. taxpayer.
Atrocities happen in wartime. Deal with it.
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