'Frontline' looks at the Haditha incident [PBS, tonight, 9 ET]

Los Angeles Times ^ | February 19, 2008 | Tony Perry

[RedRover]

When the long history of what military leaders are beginning to call the Long War in Iraq is written, the events in a dusty, tumbledown city hard upon the Euphrates River called Haditha will probably serve as a Rorschach test.

- snip -

...Haditha, where 24 civilians were killed by Marines as they "cleared" the street and houses near where a roadside bomb had just killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, is open to myriad interpretations. Into this maelstrom comes a "Frontline" documentary, "Rules of Engagement," that tries to get to the truth about that chaotic morning two years ago.

Pick your viewpoint about the war, about the U.S. military, about the media, and there is something in Haditha, the media coverage, the military investigations and the trials to back it up.

- snip -

Tonight's "Frontline" is a yeoman effort, balanced and thoughtful, and with sympathy for the relatives of the Iraqi dead and for young Marines, past and present, who must make life-and-death decisions in the blink of an eye.

- snip -

Haditha was a story propelled by politics. Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) immediately linked the events to his opposition to the war. As "Frontline" points out gently, much of Murtha's over-the-top rhetoric does not appear to be supportable by the facts.

The Haditha story is really two stories: Did the enlisted have the "positive identification" needed to storm three houses and begin firing? Did the officers shirk their duties by being too quick to assume the deaths, while tragic, were the byproduct of "troops in contact" with the enemy?

[RedRover]

A good piece by Tony Perry, worth a read in its entirety.

We'll post a live thread for the broadcast tonight. Hope you can join us.

[smoothsailing]

A very good article. The underlying message as I took it is one of "reasonable doubt". That's a far cry from the way the old media portrayed Haditha for much of the past two years.

[DogBarkTree]

Frontline usually does a pretty good job. This should be interesting.

[ANGGAPO]

It still sounds like scapegoating to me. In wars when you get shot at you shoot back. In this case when you get blown up you clean house. The residents had to know the IED was in place and did nothing.

[RedRover]

[RedRover]

One of the two child witnesses admitted precisely that: she knew an IED was set to explode.

[Lancey Howard]

Thanks for the reminder.
BUMP

[jazusamo]

A good piece by Tony Perry, I believe his best one regarding Haditha. Looking forward to seeing the Frontline piece.

[Lancey Howard]

In this case when you get blown up you clean house. The residents had to know the IED was in place and did nothing.

That would be correct.

There were no "innocent" civilians in those houses at Haditha. The occupants were either insurgents or collaborators. They were either "with us or against us". Clearly, they were against us:

A 12-year old survivor of the alleged massacre of innocent civilians by U.S. Marines patrolling Haditha has admitted she had prior knowledge of the plot to detonate an IED as their convoy was passing by her house on the morning of Nov. 19, 2005.

In a CNN interview broadcast Wednesday, Safa Younis - who says eight members of her family were killed by U.S. troops - recalled that she was getting ready for school as the Marine Humvee approached.

"I was planning to go to school. I was about to go out of bed. I knew the bomb would explode so I covered my ears," the youngster said, according to a CNN translator. "The bomb [then] exploded," she explained. "The bomb struck an armored vehicle. I don't know if it was a Humvee or an armored vehicle. When the bomb exploded, they came straight to my house."

[lilycicero]

The child witness post ALWAYS gets to me.

[Marine_Uncle]

Wonder how many people will watch the show tonight.

[The South Texan]

If we only had term limits, slugs like Murtha would not be allowed to become what they are.

[RDTF]

thanks for the heads up!

[DoughtyOne]

I’m so sock and tired of the left misleading folks, I don’t even bother to watch this stuff any longer.

I’ll be content to hear what you folks have to say about it.

[Girlene]

I agree this IS a good article by Tony Perry. Frontline's title, Rules of Engagement, is a more accurate description of what the Haditha incident was all about. The headlines that screamed Haditha Massacre weren't even close. Unfortunately, the Marines that ended up with charges have paid a very high price for folks to come to this realization. With a better understanding of what happened, maybe it's time for the prosecutors and our government to back off. For SSGT Frank Wuterich to face over 109 years for the actions that day is beyond reasonable. Looking forward to tonight's documentary.

This piece of Tony Perry's article gives me "hope" that the truth is bubbling to the top.

...."The killings at Haditha were the result of untested, immature leadership that gave tragically imprecise orders to young troops? Check.

The killings at Haditha were the result of a morally brutalizing war in which decent young men from the U.S. are pitted against an enemy that hides behind women and children and hopes to make propaganda out of civilian casualties? Definitely check.

The media, starting with Time magazine, did its job by digging out an awful truth despite misleading statements from officialdom? That's one interpretation. Here's another: The media, starting with Time magazine, relied on information from questionable sources and then rushed to judgment.

And what about the investigations that led to charges against four enlisted Marines who did the shootings and four officers who allegedly did not investigate with much vigor?

Were they a sign that the Marine Corps was determined to investigate its own -- to prove to the public that the Marines mean that stuff about keeping their honor clean? Or were they botched by Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents who displayed an appalling predisposition to levy criminal charges regardless of the truth?".....

[bigheadfred]

I hear Gary Meyers will be on the show tonight.

[Shelayne]

Thanks for the heads-up! I don’t know if I will be able to watch tonight, but I will certainly look for everyone’s comments on the LIVE thread.

[4woodenboats]

All of the below.

[RJL]

One of the two child witnesses admitted precisely that: she knew an IED was set to explode.

They all knew.

It's much like a couple years ago there was a water pipe leaking under the street by my house, everyone in the neighborhood knew they were out there digging up the street.

It was the same in Haditha, every kid and every adult in the area knew the IED was there.

[farmer18th]

Western warriors wring their hands and worry about human life; Muslims just kill anyone in their way. Until we remember that Islam and civilization don’t mix, we won’t make any progress.