This whole thing started at the very highest level, including Rumsfeld, this generation’s McNamara.
You're damn right it did. While everyone was busy condemning the leftist pig Jack Murtha they were too busy to notice that the CiC never once uttered a word in defense of these troops, such as saying something like, "look Congressman Murtha, let's let the court martials determine guilt or innocence". He was culpably silent, and he was way too quick to have General Pace institute new PC training for the U.S. Marines, about one day after the Haditha allegations. This too indicated that Bush wanted folks to believe they were guilty before their trials began, or at least that he believed they were guilty.
I have said all along and I will say it again, the impossible political restrictions and rules of engagement that Bush placed on our military in Iraq could not help but lead to numerous Iraqi allegations of 'war crimes' by our troops. And the political correctness that permeates the Bush idiology was equally certain to see to it that courts martial of many good, brave, solid troops was inevitable from day one.