Posted on 01/02/2008 8:31:09 PM PST by smoothsailing
Do survivors of Haditha get apology?
The O-R has joined critics of Congressman Murtha in demanding that he apologize to ex-Marine Michael Sharrat for saying that Marines killed innocent civilians at Haditha, Iraq, though Murtha did not name Sharrat or anyone else. Fine. And who will apologize to the families, friends and neighbors of the 15 or more civilians, including women and children, who were killed there? Or is that a concern here?
Sharrat feels that his good name will remain in question, in spite of his commanding general's decision to drop the murder charges against him. Actually, he could request a courtmartial for precisely the purpose of definitively clearing his name. He "declined to discuss all aspects of the events of Nov. 19, 2005," meaning apparently most of the deaths, because of pending investigations of other Marines. Fair enough, though you dismiss with contempt Murtha's declining to discuss the case due to pending litigation; but a court-martial would force a full and fair review of all facts affecting Sharrat, and if his case is as strong as it appears to be from articles in the O-R, he should do so.
Of course, Murtha's attackers will howl with outrage at the suggestion, and accuse anyone making it of not supporting the troops, not withstanding that recent events have shown good relations with the communities in which they operate is the best protection our troops can have - and the hatred that an incident like Haditha can create can be, perhaps has been, deadly to them. But the strategy is to present Murtha's statement, not the dead women and children, as the problem. It seems to be working.
Murtha's anguished statement was provoked by the discovery that the initial report about what happened - that the civilians had been killed by a roadside bomb - was a lie (another fact that needs to be explained). His concern was with America's good name, and the Marine Corps'. These, as well as Sharrat's, can only be vindicated by full disclosure, and by dealing with all aspects of the tragic incident.
Joe Farrell
Cambridge, Ohio
Excellent, Smooth!!!
LOL!!
It’s fortunate for Joe Farrell that the good Lord looks after idiots, Joe is most ill informed.
LOL!!!
Great portrait!!!
Hey, I know Joe, he’s from right here in Cambridge. Good letter, Joe.
Why should they get an apology? Murtha proclaimed them guilty, and he’s not goign to let a little thing like evidence stand in the way of what he knows is right.
Around here Joe is a frequent letter-writer aka: "Joe the Jerk."
At least now I know where they come from...
CAMBRIDGE, OHIO! :-)
An apology from a corrupt, lying, worthless, pork barrel scrapper and generally feckless imbecile like Murtha, means nothing...
The simpleness statements from Murtha all sound like brain farts.
The appropriate act to address Murtha’s treacherous and treasonous behavior is a physical thrashing, accompanied by tar, feathers and a fast horse.
Hey, Joe, stop drinking the Kool-aid. Everybody knows that being a Democrat means never having to say you’re sorry.
LOL!! Perfect handle for him!
RR, you choose the horse.
Boy do I wish! I did a weekly column in the local newspaper which sometimes would attract letters to the ed. I could always count on Joe. Usually his remarks were pointless and they just pissed me off, but my editor loved them---said it was good for circulation.
Dear Idiot Joe. It has been explained. It was NOT said by any of the Marines involved in that battle in any of their reports that day.
Incidentally, with those houses declared hostile, they could have called in airstrikes on them. Instead, the house to house approach saved the lives of those in House #3.
The Watt Report demonstrates that the cause of the tragedy that day was insurgents shooting from behind civilians. The proof is that the civilians in House 3 were able to tell the Marines where the insurgents had run to.
“George Bush killed my sons and I demand an apology.”
signed
S. Hussein
Good grief!! I wonder if poor Joe’s fists hurt from all that typing! Too bad he hasn’t evolved enough to get those opposable thumbs — they’re all the rage!
Thanks for the ping. What an idiot. Maybe we should send Joe over to do our apologizing? Without a Marine escort, of course.
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