Haditha Whoring

Much is being said about the civilians killed in Haditha, apparently by Marines.

As Cox & Forkum illustrate, some are salivating at the opportunity presented.

Initially I thought I would link to some of it. I've decided not to.

Instead, I'm linking to HarryTick, who writes with wisdom born of experience:

Much more stuff about the Marines and the incident in Haditha in the news this week. You can condemn them, that’s not a problem for me, but, please, don’t suggest that you would NEVER do such a thing. If you have never been in combat, you couldn’t possibly know a thing about what you will and won’t do in response to a situation. Kind of like the Quantum physics thing about not knowing both the speed and location of a particle, you couldn’t possibly know your reaction in a combat environment. You can presume, surmise, theorize, postulate the probabilities, but you are simply left with probabilities based on what you believe about yourself in this environment. Combat strips you naked of all pretense. There is nothing left but a raw, oozing sore that exposes what is on the inside of the facades we present to the world. Sometimes, what is exposed is something that we had hoped to keep hidden.

That on top of Harry's words posted a few days ago:

For any who may be of an anti-war bent, don’t confuse any of your beliefs on the wrongness of the war with the American Soldier’s conduct of the war. Abu Ghraib was an aberration, an exception to the rule. Discipline, integrity, and the personal courage to do the right thing are ingrained in your soldiers and I witnessed them execute their missions while displaying those values.

These are your sons and daughters and if we can’t believe that the major majority of them would not see the humanity in the situation, then perhaps we need to be a little more introspective about what our opinion of our fellow Americans really is. If they, the nameless and faceless insurgent masses (not the Iraqi people), who kill their own people as well as ours for the sake of power and agenda, are the good guys, then that can only mean that you have cast us, your American sons and daughters who serve in the Armed Forces, as the bad guys. Methinks that many have superimposed their image of the President or the Secretary of Defense over the whole Armed Forces.

I spent 11-1/2 months in that country and not once did I witness a display or use of deadly force that was not warranted to protect American or Iraqi lives. I have covered both our conventional and our special forces, and you should be proud of both for the professionalism they have displayed and the restraint that they have shown.

I understand that there is an investigation being conducted on a unit of Marines. I cannot say anything for or against my Marine brothers or that situation. I can only tell you what I have SEEN and WITNESSED. Believe MY testimony. Check MY uniform. Check MY record with the Army.

If you don’t believe me, send me back because I’d rather be shot at.

For those interested, this might help you know a little more about Harry.  Frequent visits to his place would be wise.

Comments

[Patrick Mead]

So very true. My son signs his papers with the Marines in two weeks. These fighting men and women are our best people dropped into -- sometimes -- the worst situations. Rarely, they do something wrong. But, unlike every other country in the world, we always bring to account those who do wrong.