Marine Charged With 13 Civilian Murder Counts (Haditha)

MSNBC ^ | 12/21/06

[tioga]

OH, bull. The liberals want the terrorists to have more rights than our soldiers in court. Think about that.

[jazusamo]

BUMP!

[Eagles6]

"None of the bodies was exhumed and collecting forensic evidence in a war zone is hard.

How can they defend against this? Could be good for them or bad. What killed the people, 7.62 x 39 or 5.56? Were the hands of dead tested for gunpowder residue to see if they were shooting at the Marines? All we hear is civilians. The terrorists don't wear uniforms and are reported as being innocent civilians by the msm. We are to take the word of "civilians" i.e. terrorist sympathizers in Haditha, the hotbed of sunni terrorism?

[freema]

Darryl Sharratt reads a U. S. Marine Corp press release that details the murder charge against his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, prior to a briefing at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Thursday Dec. 21, 2006. Lance Cpl. Sharratt is charged with murder in the death of Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha in 2005. Sharratt's mother, Theresa, and sister, Jaclyn, look on as Sharratt's father reads the charges that evolve eight Marines in all. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi). This reminds me of the Obstetrical Office who gave a newly bereaved mother the autopsy report of her dead infant and politely pointed her to a seat in the waiting room to read it.

[Red_Devil 232]

Yes, I am afraid it will come down that way. The Marines are guility because we are trained as warriors. We were trained ... trained to kill the enemy. Our training ... the training that sets us apart from any other ... is that ... the Marine next to us is the most important person, to both of us, in surviving a firefight or battle. When one of ours is killed in a firefight (as happened in this case) we react ... we kill the enemy. We try our best to destroy the enemy before they can kill another of our Brothers.

Shoot (or blow up) my Brother next to me, I am coming after you ... I am shooting and trying to KILL you ... I may die doing it but my objective is to kill you! Keep you from killing another Marine. What you don't understand is that every Marine that is with me has the same objective ... we are going to kill you!

When you are shooting at me from behind a wall or from inside a house ... I and my brothers are going to come and get you and kill you.

I guess if we had the time and the asset was flying above us with a smart bomb we could have called in an air strike. Would the pilot of that aircraft be facing these charges of civilians were killed?

[freema]

Someone is expecting us to swallow.

[Gator113]

Ditto to all that you said.

[Sir_Ed]

"Shoot first and ask questions later."

Sounds like the cops who killed that old woman and the student who stole a video game.

They, of course, weren't punished.

Ed

[Marine_Uncle]

Sadly, your observation is quite realistic.

[Marine_Uncle]

Precisely so. I am thinking this whole thing might just be a staged act, to make it appear we are taking the Iraqi goons seriously, knowing the prosecution will not win a single case, should the alleged charges stick and require court martials.

[BigTom85]

This is a PC war. Our troops balls have been cut off because our gov't has turned PC. Brings back memories when Kerry said in his Campaign, 'a more sensitive war on terror'.

[Gator113]

Exactly!

[Eagles6]

I hope.

[Non-Sequitur]

since you're simply relentless

I spent most of my adult life as a commissioned officer on active duty and reserves, so yeah, I am relentless. I took pride in serving my country, I am very proud to be associated with the honorable men and women serving in Iraq and who wear the same uniform I did. I don't know anyone - sailor, soldier or marine - who condones murder. If these men did what they are charged with doing then they have spit in the face of all the brave men and women who managed to perform their tour or tours without murdering anyone. And if the did if fact shoot unarmed men, women, and children then they deserve to spend the rest of their life in prison.

[Dick Vomer]

you got that right... nobody knows what its like to see your buddy blown up or killed....look around and see people that knew you were going into an ambush....or saw the ied place....or sheltered those that did....

whose to say that the jihadist didn't kill some civilians and frame the Marines... a nice video set u with the help of the Times or MSM.

frag out the reporters.......all of them...

The libs want us to lose in order to "get" at Bush.

I'm sick of this "non War" War.... we are either at war or not.

the pukes have cut our men loose. a guerilla war is tough. We got Marines fighting and dying with one hand tied behind their back.

I'd be in prison if I were deployed. Could you imagine the Marines that would be in prison after Iwo or Tarawa...

No Quarter given....hardly any prisoners... with wounded japs burned or shot on site.... all of them.

if the media was inclined to punish the troops then and our civilian chicken-sh#t critics...several hundred Marines might still be in Leavenworth from those two island campaigns.

Some of the stuff that happened in Central and South America would probably put folks I've known in prison.. maybe even me.......or so I've heard..

[ErnBatavia]

And so it begins...

Yes indeed - the "spitting on the troops" machinery is almost in place now; we've been seeing the signs for several months now.

[antiunion person]

They'll get their day in court, and if they're innocent then they'll go free. If they're guilty then it'll be life at Leavenworth.

And yet another great quote from a moron.

NS, have you ever heard of evidence being stacked against you, intentionally?? Probably not. You have probably watched too Perry Mason programs, when the guilty cry out in the courtroom, IT WAS ME, I KILLED HIM!!!!!

When a soldier goes to war and fights an enemy who dresses exactly like the innocent civilians around him, hides caches of armament in hospitals, basements of homes, and inside schools, it is virtually impossible to tell who the enemy really is. OH yeah, when the civilians carry RPGs and AK-47s, it's also a little difficult to tell who is who.

When these guys got fired at, lost one of their own and tried to protect themselves by returning fire, all of a sudden they are criminals. When the liberals and the MSM blame them for doing their job correctly, someone in the administration (clintoon holdover in the state department) gives the enemy (libs and MSM) a bunch of warriors to sacrifice to the wolves.

Now if you still think justice will prevail, no matter what, I was right, you are a MORON. If this posts even puts a glimmer of doubt in my brain about this crappy situation facing these troops, maybe you're not such a moron. AP

[RedRover]

I know the feeling, pink! It's good to be part of a team.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Oh, gosh. This is terrible, and it seems so unfair.

[xzins]

I'm sorry, but the ROEs wouldn't use the words "shoot first and ask questions later."

But that is ALWAYS understood. One protects oneself first and if there is any fear at all, then one fires. The ROEs MUST have had a line about self-protection.

Beyond that, the ROEs at that time also permitted firing through walls and grenades in rooms.

Now, although the above is true, that is not my issue.

My issue is that these Marines cannot receive a fair trial in this Marine Corps with Murtha's comments public record.

Their entire trial should be taken out of the hands of any active duty military.