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
Amen, and Amen!
Murtha needs a dressing down -— PUBLICLY in front of his “peers” and then his EMPLOYERS.....
The SOB obviously violated his oath of office....
He has FAILED as a Congressman, a Marine and a Citizen....
I’ll bump that!
He's a liberal, so ipso facto, all of it.
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