Marine Under Investigation in Shooting of Iraqi Soldier

Fort Worth(less) Startlegram ^ | 4/27/03 | AP Story

[68skylark]

I agree with all of you that this needs to to be investigated.

The facts in the story could be wrong or incomplete (how often has THAT every happened in a newspaper article?).

But the facts as they are given seem to say that this Marine shot an enemy soldier who had surrendered.

Despite some (understandable) very high emotions in this situation, a U. S. fighting person is supposed to have more discipline than to execute an enemy POW. It's not easy to hold fire in a case like this -- no one said serving in the U. S. military was easy. We follow these rules for a reason.

[68skylark]

I agree with you.

[Central_Floridian]

Does someone need to have personal experience of something to have an intelligent opinion about it? By that logic you can never criticize the President unless you have been a President (or Supreme Court Justice or Attorney General or BATF agent or...).

[OldFriend]

Your opinion is NOT logical or practical. In war, the enemy does all in his power to kill you.

[SBprone]

It's dangerous to fire RPGs at Marines.

We shouldn't do anything that would make it less dangerous!

[OldFriend]

Have you forgotten the brutal treatment of Jessica Lynch? Have you forgotten that some members of the maintenance company were murdered and their bodies displayed on Al Jazeera TV?

It's not a game, it's WAR........kill the enemy before he kills you.

[LibKill]

I'd have done the same thing. He did good.

[xm177e2]

The second man, who was trying to escape, was probably a good kill.

If I surrenderred, and then saw another POW get shot in the head (twice!) I would get up and run, too.

[xm177e2]

How east to surrender after you've tried to kill American soldiers. What did he say......oops, sorry?

Sorta like the Apache pilots who were taken POW? "Oops, sorry we got shot down"

[Kevin Curry]

Assuming this is a true account of the incident, he talked himself into a trial.

Did they find the bodies? Any corroborating evidence? Unless authorities can find corroborating evidence, a bare admission or confession to the killings will not sustain a conviction.

[river rat]

This Marine appears to have killed an enemy that had achieved the status of "prisoner under control"...and compounded the violation, by telling about it...

Not good....

I always stressed disinterest in prisoners.

Semper Fi

[F.J. Mitchell]

Problem is, that we are the only ones on planet earth who are honoring the rules of engagement. THat makes our troops sitting ducks for those who hide behind women and children or train their children to kill on command.

THis Marine had just recieved a concussion in an attack that injured his brothers in arms, and at the time he killed these two enemies, he probably didn't know if his friends were dead or alive.

I second the post that said: Give him a medal.

[Polybius]

Kill and maim an American, say oops sorry I surrender and that's okay with you during combat.....OldFriend

Just curious. Do you apply this same criteria to Americans attempting to surrender after losing a firefight?.....Restorer

The Germans at Malmédy did.

If that Marine did execute an Iraqi soldier he had just captured, his best defense now is to shut up about the incident, claim that he never said anything to the reporter and stick to his story.

If he admits in a U.S. court-martial what the reporter claims he admited, he will be found guilty of a war crime. During Gulf War II, the U.S. repeatedly stressed that any Iraqis found guilty of ordering the execution of American POW's would be treated as war crimminals. The U.S. Armed Forces is not going to tolerate a U.S. soldier, airman or Marine going about bragging that he executed an enemy POW and got away with it.

[Central_Floridian]

Do you think shooting Saddam Hussein in the back as he fled is the same as shooting an Iraqi PFC (or whatever they call them in the Iraqi army) if he had surrendered and was cooperating? I certainly don't.

[rightofrush]

Amen to that amen.

[Central_Floridian]

Amen to that! No matter how guilty of any crime, I think Americans should be tried by Americans, not by a the ICC or anything like them.

[Central_Floridian]

So is it okay to kill or maim them AFTER they have surrendered?

[Central_Floridian]

That is a good example of why I believe what I do concerning this situation. If we kill or otherwise harm compliant POWs then we cannot justly complain when our enemies do the same thing.

[1rudeboy]

Small point, but this hardly seems to be a case of "political correctness" in the commonly understood sense of the term. Furthermore, if the facts of this case are as presented here, then calling a court-martial is both legally and politically correct.

[kellynla]

After you join the Marines and put in some combat then we will care what you think? In the mean time stick to playing with your computer in central florida.