Thanks for the post and ping, Smooth.
To be added to the Murtha Watch ping list please notify myself or RedRover.
Posted on 11/23/2007 10:27:30 AM PST by smoothsailing
Murtha's Mistake
Slandering the Marine Corps.
by Christian Lowe
11/23/2007
ON MAY 17, 2006, outspoken Bush critic and erstwhile Iraq war opponent John Murtha (D-Pa.) shocked the world with a dramatic revelation.
At a news conference he'd convened to talk about "the situation in Iraq," the formerly pro-military lawmaker dropped a bomb on the Marine Corps when he revealed in his 24 minute presser that troops with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment had mowed down innocent civilians in a previously unknown town in north western Iraq called Haditha.
In stark language he accused the Corps of a massive cover-up and made the case that the Marines ran amok in a war with no direction. More shockingly, and without any corroborating evidence, he called the Marines involved in the bloody ambush and ensuing firefight cold-blooded killers.
"We had an incident in Haditha where a Marine was killed by an IED. Time magazine reported it and it's kind of a puzzling report because they're investigating it right now. But let me tell you what the consequences of this have been. It's much worse than has been reported in Time magazine," Murtha said at the press conference. "There was no firefight. There was no IED that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."
Murtha was one of a reported handful of lawmakers briefed in confidence on the incident by then Marine Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee earlier that month.
"That's what the report is going to tell," Murtha added. "Now you can imagine the impact this is going to have on those troops for the rest of their lives and on the United States in our war, in our effort, trying to win the hearts and minds."
Not to mention the impact of Murtha's disclosure on the lives of those Marines and on U.S. foreign policy before any official findings or formal charges had been brought in the incident.
The accusation led to a firestorm of recriminations, prompting high-level investigations in Iraq, a Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe, and a trip to Capitol Hill by Hagee to brief more curious lawmakers caught off guard by the scandalous charge.
Rather than take Murtha's bait and reflexively admit guilt in the scandal, the Corps opted for a more deliberate approach by methodically investigating the incident, compiling both sides of the story--Iraqi and American--and finally arriving at criminal charges against eight key players in the incident.
For those of you who might need a refresher, here's the basic outline:
During a late night patrol in Haditha in November of 2005, a squad of Marines was ambushed by a roadside bomb that killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas. The Marines claimed they were then engaged by insurgents hiding in some houses adjacent to the bomb, so they stormed the buildings to clear them of enemy gunmen. When the dust settled, 24 Iraqis lay dead, including several women and children. An Iraq civil rights group, working with Time magazine, claimed the Marines overreacted and wantonly slaughtered the civilians.
From the outside, things didn't look good for the Corps.
But the subsequent investigation found the Marines acted within the rules of engagement--clearing the rooms "by fire" instead of waiting to be shot at when they entered. This is a controversial practice for sure--throwing a grenade in the room before you know who's in there can have tragic results, as this incident did. But it's important to recognize that Haditha was a perilous place in those days, and Marines had already learned the hard way in Fallujah that opening a door in a house from which you've received fire could mean an up close and personal encounter with the barrel of an AK-47. This time, they weren't taking any chances.
That's why over the last several months, a military court in California has dismissed charges against four of the seven Marines and one Navy corpsman charged in the incident. One officer, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani who commanded 3/1, was ordered to trial for dereliction of duty for not reporting the incident and violation of a lawful order. Another officer, a 1st lieutenant who commanded the intelligence cell that responded to the scene after the shootout, has just begun his Article 32 hearing--the military equivalent of a grand jury investigation.
Two other officers have had their charges thrown out.
So far, one enlisted Marine and the corpsman involved in the incident have had their charges erased, and a third, squad leader Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, is still awaiting a decision on whether his case merits a trial--though an officer involved in the Article 32 hearings has suggested he face seven charges of negligent manslaughter, rather than 17 murder charges.
One enlisted man has been ordered to trial on two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
So has John Murtha, a decorated former Marine himself, apologized for a very public display of contempt for the then uncharged Marines? When confronted with the current state of affairs and asked at a Nov. 20 press conference whether he stood by his May 2006 claim that these Marines were cold-blooded killers, he refused to comment, first hiding behind the excuse that the case was still in the courts. When pressed that four of the accused had been exonerated already, he continued his silence.
Of course, that didn't stop him back in May 2006, just months before the congressional elections that flipped the House and Senate on an anti-war platform, from making accusations that proved untrue.
One has to wonder whether the Vietnam veteran will be held to account for his earlier rhetoric. Certainly, at the very least, he owes the innocent Marines he accused of cold-blooded murder an apology.
Christian Lowe is managing editor of Military.com and is a contributing writer to THE DAILY STANDARD.
© Copyright 2007, News Corporation, Weekly Standard, All Rights Reserved.
“There was a time that traitors were hanged”
There was a time whereby conservatives were not called racists sexists and homophobes too . That was shortly after I was born in 1954.
Nah, not a bit : )
I despise that wretch!!
That statement is a pretty good clue that everything that follows is B.S.
Murtha was one of a reported handful of lawmakers briefed in confidence on the incident by then Marine Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee earlier that month.
For those who think Murtha is just a old fool and a tool of the left, he’s not.
He had been briefed in confidence by Gen. Hagee, I’m sure the General was forthright as possible and asked congressional leaders to wait and see where this all leads.
Murtha purposely broke confidence to make political points in total disregard to the safety and well being of our troops over there.
At minimum he should resign and beg apologies
He’s a pos
He is a slanderous traitorous SOB... and should appologize to all involved on the record.
When is he going to call that Press Conference.... and while their at it Harry Reid owes the Military and apology too.
What we need is a ground swell of activism to force this SOB to resign ...
I saw smoothsailing’s correction of the chronology, but why would you think Hagee would have put a bug in Murtha’s ear? Murtha is perfectly capable of distorting facts all by himself. The man’s remaining brain cells are addled. His newly acquired viciousness seems to stem from a need for attention (which the press is lavishing upon him) and also his need to please his friends Nancy and The Left.
Thanks for the post and ping, Smooth.
To be added to the Murtha Watch ping list please notify myself or RedRover.
First of all, I was asking a question. Second, the question was based on a lack of trust I've developed over the past year or so closely following this story. It's tough to know who to trust anymore, especially those people up the food chain, from the disconnected Commander-in-Chief and his incompetent Secretary of the Navy right on down through the perfumed princes of the Pentagon. The very fact that this sick attempt to throw some fine Marines under the bus for political expediency plods on attests to the cowardice of a whole lot of "higher ups".
FRegards,
LH
Murtha’s no fool and no tool. He got on the anti-war bandwagon in October of 2005. He deliberately set out to make himself an anti-war darling to immunize himself from investigation over his decades worth of now well-known defence misappropriations.
He had to live the quiet life as a back-bencher for 25 years after barely escaping with his hide after ABSCAM. Ever since then and especially since the dem takeover in ‘06 he’s been letting rip with his long-suppressed ambitions. He did recently contest with Pelosi for the speakership.
That could be, Lancey. Another possibility is the publication he works for, Military.com has been very careful in what it has said about murtha. I'm not sure why that is, although some have commented to me that Military.com tends to lean to the left at the ownership level. I've never researched the history of the publication who who's behind it.
Since Gen Hagee IS in the direct chain of command of these soldiers, then his failure to entrust this information with reliable people, and the subsequent damage this has caused to their right to a fair trial, means that unlawful command influence has tainted this trial.
Unlawful Command influence INCLUDES the perception that the accused cannot receive a fair trial.
I will never believe that any of these soldiers, from Col Chessani on down, has done a single thing wrong. If convicted of any of these politically motivated charges, then it is at this point MORE RATIONAL to conclude that they are political victims than that they have actually committed any crimes.
mark
Not to mention the impact of Murtha's disclosure on the lives of those Marines and on U.S. foreign policy before any official findings or formal charges had been brought in the incident.
I still say he should be made to foot the bill. Out of his own dang pocket.
So has John Murtha, a decorated former Marine himself, apologized for a very public display of contempt for the then uncharged Marines? When confronted with the current state of affairs and asked at a Nov. 20 press conference whether he stood by his May 2006 claim that these Marines were cold-blooded killers, he refused to comment, first hiding behind the excuse that the case was still in the courts. When pressed that four of the accused had been exonerated already, he continued his silence.Of course, that didn't stop him back in May 2006, just months before the congressional elections that flipped the House and Senate on an anti-war platform, from making accusations that proved untrue.
One has to wonder whether the Vietnam veteran will be held to account for his earlier rhetoric. Certainly, at the very least, he owes the innocent Marines he accused of cold-blooded murder an apology.
Darn tootin'! But a traitor will go to the gallows claiming to be innocent so I'm not holding my breath. He isn't fit to lick the boots of the Marines whose lives he has so affected with his poisonous idiocy.
It's in pdf format. Take some time reading pages 8 and 9. Also remember, murtha made his first public comment slandering the Marines on May 17, 2006. On May 19th he's claiming Time magazine as his source and saying military sources are irrelevent.
He needs to apologize for what he has done.
Cut’n Run Nifong Murtha. ex-Marine, couldn’t have Nifonged himself any better if he had the Nifong script from the beginning! Unfortunately, the jury is still out on whether his district in Pennsylvania is pro-Nifong, and/or pro-Cut’n Run. They had a great chance to clean up their act in November and blew it!
With the writers strike and all, perhaps Fonda/Murtha/Kerry should have a prime time special where they could begin to apologize to the 25 million veterans they’ve slandered over the years, and the country that rewarded them for their treason!...very high Nielsen rating guaranteed.
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