[atomicpossum]

During city council meetings and talks with local leaders in the following weeks, Kimber heard nothing about a civilian massacre.

Hmm.

[in hoc signo vinces]

This is appearing more and more like a media fabricated farce...

[ladtx]

...he heard that a Time Magazine reporter had visited the western Iraqi city and was asking questions about civilian deaths.

Don't suppose the reporter was asking leading questions,- - naw they wouldn't do that.

[GSlob]

"The reason Kimber was given was that his subordinates had used profanity..."
How come there's anybody left in the armed forces, then? Since time immemorial it has been known that blasphemy and profanity are indispensable in military life, and mighty helpful in civilian one.

[robowombat]

"Two months later, Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, Pendleton's commanding officer, summoned Kimber to his office and relieved him of command. The reason Kimber was given was that his subordinates had used profanity and criticized the Iraqi security forces they were training during interviews with Britain's Sky News TV. The troops also violated Marine policy by appearing on screen without their protective eyewear."

This reads like a Monty Python parody. Also, if true, it sounds very much like the USMC copy catting some of the worst examples of bureaucratic stupidity and deliciousness from the Army. The conflation of pomposity and silliness in the supposed reasons for relieving an officer (and destroying his career) are just ludicrous and belie some sort of shifty hidden agenda. If this is an accurate rendition of what happened my guess would be the division CG and his staff were panicked that 'revelations' about Haditha were going to hit and to try and appease the gods of higher headquarters some heads were immediately needing to role. The Captain happened to be in the next town over from Haditha so his head was added to the sacrifice count just for good measure and to make the numbers look more impressive. In this fashion the division commander could be seen to be 'taking decisive action' and not tolerating any 'abusive or disrespectful conduct towards the Iraqi people'.

[vpintheak]

Leave it to the politicians to turn our Marines into a bunch of pussies.

[Taxman]

Captain Kimber needs a junkyard-dog-mean lawyer, ASAP!

[geezerwheezer]

Looks to me as though Major General Natonski should have his butt handed to him for not supporting his troops in their time of need at all. Some fine General officer this pantywaist is, relieving a Captain because his men cussed and didn't wear proper eye wear while criticizing Iraqi security forces? What in hell is wrong with this idiot general, and whose butt is he trying to cover-other than his own sorry a$$? Where's a real general in the Corps when we need one? Natonski sounds like a Clinton general, not a real general. I say fire his a$$ now before he destroys anybody else's career. Seems as though his hero is Cong. Murtha, not his troops.

[GOP_1900AD]

What no one in the MSM seems to want to discuss is the possibility that the "innocents" shot by the Marines were also insurgents. Insurgents need not be men. They might also be women and children. When you are first to break the traditions of war you may also find ugly things happening to you.

[sgtbono2002]

Several Journalists have been killed in Iraq. I havent shed a tear for one of them. Their stories suck, they dont portray this war as it is. They politicise every story.

[kayak]

FYI

[armydawg1]

This is unbelievable, stinking more and more every day. And not one officer, not one politician is standing up for these Marines. Everyone in the media, in Washington and in the Marine Corps has already tried and convicted them. Even that crap for brains President we have.

This makes me sick at my stomach.

[Coop]

During city council meetings and talks with local leaders in the following weeks, Kimber heard nothing about a civilian massacre.

"It would have been huge, there would have been no question it would have filtered down to us," he said. "We reported no significant atmospheric change as a result of that day."

He said he first learned in February about the shootings in Haditha when he heard that a Time Magazine reporter had visited the western Iraqi city and was asking questions about civilian deaths.

The darnedest things happen to cut and dry "cold-blooded murder" cases when the other folks get to tell their side of the story...

[tobyhill]

"I was in a different city"

Mmmmmm, MSM wrong again?

[Steel Wolf]

"It makes my blood boil to see my name lumped in with this massacre, when I was in a different city not playing any role in this incident," Capt. James Kimber told The Associated Press.

I'm hoping he meant to slide the word 'alleged' between the words 'this' and 'massacre'.

[El Gato]

During city council meetings and talks with local leaders in the following weeks, Kimber heard nothing about a civilian massacre. "It would have been huge, there would have been no question it would have filtered down to us," he said. "We reported no significant atmospheric change as a result of that day."

Best evidence yet that the "massacre" never happened. Or if it did, it wasn't US Marines doing the massacring.

The dog that didn't bark. (And those particular dogs love to bark)

[JOE43270]

These same Marines fought in Fallujah I believe. I'm standing with them and I called my senators today and told them if they want a Court Martial, then I want them to put my U. S. Air Force Blues back on me and court martial me with them. The fact that I could even call my senators is because of them and I will stand with the even if they violated the UCMJ.

[PISANO]

Impossible Standards!=MARINES!!

The pentagon whimps and their "ETHICAL" training classes can go to hell.

SEMPER FI MARINES, GOD BLESS YOU ALL and "THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR defending this nation's sorry pathetic leftist assho.es!!"

[Alberta's Child]

I hate to feel vindicated on this one, but one of the reasons I adamantly opposed this war in Iraq from the beginning was that I was certain it would eventually end up with this kind of silly, PC, nation-building sh!t.

[Verginius Rufus]

Sean Hannity said something about Capt. Kimber at the beginning of "Hannity & Colmes" tonight, but I didn't watch the program. I don't know if they had Kimber on or just talked about his statement.