[Vision2020] Iraq's My Lai Massacre

[Tom Hansen]

dick stated:

"'Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat and former marine who has become
a fierce critic of the Iraq war, said he had no doubt marines killed
innocent civilians in Haditha and tried to cover up the deaths.'

I think it is disgusting for `people like Nick Gier to post this sort of
inflammable material to a public forum.  What are his motives?  Is he trying
to be a part of the solution to a problem or simply attempting to further
the rhetoric and anger?"

Copied and pasted below from today's (May 29, 2006) Early Bird edition of
the Army Times with special thanks to Robert Burns, Army Times reporter.

Does this article, posted publicly in the Army Times, suggest that the Army
Times maintains some sort of unethical ulterior motive, dick? 

Is the Army Times "trying to be a part of the solution to a problem or
simply attempting to further the rhetoric and anger?"

The Army Times also publishes a weekly list of the Human Toll in relation to
combat operations in Iraq; a list (name, home of record, unit of assignment,
place/date of death) that is publicly displayed within the Army Times.  One
can only imagine what horribly heinous motive you attribute to such
publication, dick.

Perhaps you would like to share these motives with us?

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Investigators believe Marines murdered civilians

By Robert Burns
Army Times reporter

Investigators believe that their criminal investigation into the deaths of
about two dozen Iraqi civilians points toward a conclusion that Marines
committed unprovoked murders, a senior defense official said Friday.

The Marine Corps initially reported 15 deaths and said they were caused by a
roadside bomb and an ensuing firefight with insurgents. A separate
investigation is seeking to determine if Marines lied to cover up the
killings.
 
The official, who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity because he
was not authorized to discuss the yet-to-be-completed investigation, said
the evidence developed by investigators strongly indicates the killings last
November in the insurgent-plagued city of Haditha in the western province of
Anbar were unjustified.

The official did not disclose specific evidence. The incident, if confirmed,
could be the most serious case of criminal misconduct by U.S. troops during
three years of combat in Iraq.

In an indication of how seriously the Marines consider it, their top
officer, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, flew to Iraq on Thursday to reinforce the
need to adhere to Marine values and standards of behavior and to avoid the
use of excess force.

A spokesman at Marine Corps headquarters in the Pentagon, Lt. Col. Scott
Fazekas, declined to comment on the status of the investigation. He said no
information would be provided until the probe was completed.

According to a congressional aide, lawmakers were told in a briefing
Thursday that it appears as many as two dozen civilians were killed in the
episode at Haditha. And they were told that the investigation will find that
"it will be clear that this was not the result of an accident or a normal
combat situation."

Another congressional official said lawmakers were told it would be about 30
days before a report would be issued by the investigating agency, the Naval
Criminal Investigative Service.

Both the House and Senate armed services committees plan to hold hearings on
the matter.

Hagee met with top lawmakers from those panels this week to bring them up to
date on the investigation.

"I can say that there are established facts that incidents of a very serious
nature did take place," Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Senate panel, said
Thursday. He would not provide details or confirm reports that about 24
civilians were killed. He told reporters he had "no basis to believe" the
military engaged in a cover-up.

In the Haditha case, videotape aired by an Arab television station showed
images purportedly taken in the aftermath of the encounter: a bloody bedroom
floor, bullet holes in walls and bodies of women and children. An Iraqi
human rights group called for an investigation of what it described as
another deadly mistake that had harmed civilians.

On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine, said Marine
Corps officials told him the toll in the Haditha attack was far worse than
originally reported and that U.S. troops killed innocent women and children
"in cold blood." He said that nearly twice as many people were killed than
first reported, maintaining that U.S. forces are "overstretched and
overstressed" by the war in Iraq.

Pentagon spokesman Eric Ruff said Friday he believes the investigation is
winding down, but he would not comment on what the evidence shows.

Ruff would not characterize the extent of Defense Secretary Donald H.
Rumsfeld's concern about the matter, but said he is being kept apprised of
the investigations.

Ruff said he did not expect any announcements in the next few days.

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Seeya rouind town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 

--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.