Haditha, Human Rights Watch and CNN
June 4th, 2006 by Patriot
Where to begin, where to begin…
You know, it doesn't matter where you turn these days, someone is trying to discredit the military. At every opportunity, they minimize our successes and magnify our failures. In all wars there are failures. Even back during the Civil War, the South may have done a little better had General Hill or one of Stonewall Jackson's staff not lost the battle plans of the Confederates. Thankfully, a Union private found them and they were able to keep them from crossing Antietam.
CJ mentioned James A. Funkhouser, the "U.S. soldier" who was killed with those well named "U.S. journalists". He mentioned that CNN was in the living room of the family while he was on the phone talking to Alex's father. CJ got a 7 minute conversation with the dad. CNN got a live, up front interview with Alex's wife. Today, CNN published a 400-word article about one of the journalists in which Alex was finally named. 32 words were devoted to Alex and they said nothing: "Capt. James A. Funkhouser, 35, from Katy, Texas, was identified as the soldier who was killed, according to Fort Hood in Texas. He had been in Iraq since December, the base said."
CBS has a great story out about Alex. I find it hard to not be cynical when it comes to these stories though. Even during their interview, it wasn't about Alex. "What were [Alex's] thoughts about shepherding guys like me around?", asked the journalist. How hard would it have been to talk about what his wife and kids have given up and given to us? Instead, a point is made about Alex being the 2461st casualty in the war in Iraq. Nothing about him as a father, barely a word about him as a son, and nothing about him as a husband. But CBS has crammed every inch of detail down our throats about those two journalists they lost. I'm as frustrated as CJ, so I'll move on.
My next gripe is this whole Haditha issue. Jeffrey Barnett has a great article at Michael Yon's site about something that, again, CJ touched on in the comments block of Cpl M's post on Murtha. I won't rehash the same arguments.
My frustration is the amount of political posturing going on to bury these marines before all the facts are out. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon because the people trying to fry the marines are releasing all this "evidence" that a crime took place. However, the Marines involved are still active duty. We don't have their side of the story yet. They are in Iraq and can't just run to the media in the middle of an OPEN investigation and give their side of the story. I don't know what happened there and all I can do is read or listen about it in the news and talk shows.
The bottom line is a lot of people are making a big case out of this to the point even the President is beginning to "vow to punish marines" for the crime. Listen to me please: NOT ONE MARINE HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH A CRIME YET!!! Why are we casting blame on them when they haven't been charged NOR given a trial yet?
And guess what? The terrorists are eating their hearts out!! I know what's going through their minds RIGHT NOW. I'm willing to bet my life, my reputation, and my job that the terrorists begin executing innocent Iraqis; women and children. When a convoy of soldiers drives by or leaves town, dead bodies with bullet holes in their heads are going to pop up in houses all over Iraq. Many of them will 5.56mm gunshot wounds, the same ammo we use in our standard M-16 to make it more realistic. They will take video of the families of these people crying and wailing over what the "U.S. soldiers" did to them. And we're playing right into their hands. Our media is fueling this hysteria and making yet another case out of nothing…so far. I wouldn't even doubt that the terrorists had something to do with the Haditha killings. I'm sorry, but while I can find it plausible that ONE Marine might go nuts and start shooting innocent women and children, I find it HIGHLY UNLIKELY that an entire platoon did.
Now, even Human Rights Watch, the leftist organization that lost its credibility long ago, has come out and called the incident outright murder. On Friday, a counterterror researcher with Human Rights Watch said his group's review of available information on the Haditha attack lead him to conclude there was no room for doubt that the Haditha deaths were a case of murder. "This was a massacre of civilians. The civilians of Haditha were unarmed and they were intentionally killed by the marines. The only question is who's responsible and who tried to stop it and who took part," John Sifton told AP Television News.
Here are more of John Sifton's remarks from different sources: "The platoon went crazy and the Marines tried to cover it up." "The massacre was not done during a fog of war scenario." "There is no excuse for a massacre and anyone concerned about America's image can only wish that those who are responsible will be severely prosecuted and those who tried to cover this up will be punished." A few years ago while I was doing some training for role-playing with Human Rights Watch, I was asked not to attend the meetings because I offended the HRW lawyer by calling them communists and Blame America First propogandists. I can't stand these people. It's blame first, then ignore evidence to the contrary.
We need to remember that we are a society based on the rule of law. The rule of law is that we are presumed INNOCENT until PROVEN GUILTY. We are not GUILTY until PROVEN INNOCENT. The media, our politicians, and so-called human rights organizations seem to ignore this fact. IF those soldiers are proven to have committed these acts unprovoked, then by gosh, let them be smeared in the media. But not until then. And IF they are proven to be innocent, there will cries of a cover-up because "there's no way the military could be innocent of war crimes." It's a lose-lose situation and we are the pawns in that battle.
Posted in Military Perspective
Patriot,
I so agree with on this. The media and other people shouldn't convict these Marines before they have their trial.
I'm like you, I think that the terrorists will do anything to discredit our soldiers in the eyes of Iraq and the world especially the Arab world. They are so desperate to get American troops out of Iraq that they will do or say anything to get the Arab people riled up against us!
I do hope that the truth will come out soon for the sake of these troops and our country. The Arab world hates us enough without vicious rumors circulating to make it worse.
I understand what you are saying…and far be it for me to sit here safe and sound passing judgement. I really don't think the people of the United States look at this situation in the light that the media and such puts out there. Look, we have much faith and pride in you, our armed forces. We understand there is enormous pressures and things happen in war. So whether this be proven true or false, I don't think that America will rise up like you think.
We hear of the murders and beheadings against Iraqi against Iraqi on a daily basis. We hear that they murder women and children and they are blowing up our troops…so to say we will rise up or are rising up against our troops is nonsense. Most people I know, if not all stand by our troops!
Now for the world stage, that's a different story. We went in there unilaterally and unprovoked (I.E. We were not attacked by Iraq), so they already see us as the "Big USA" throwing our weight around. So we look like we are hiding things when we aren't as transparent as possible.
I had already seen the pictures of Haditha on the net long before this came out. It was on a Iraqi's Blog. There was a link to it from someone elses blog. I was surprised a little because this person was supposedly a young Iraqi girl who once believed in the US but in her latter entries was very angry because of the Haditha incident. By that I mean she had good things to say about us before this…
So while we don't find these Marines guilty, there are many that have already found them guilty. It (the incident in question) does nothing but help cripple your efforts.
It is imperative to maintain a clear effort to present ourselves as different and above these incidents. Maintain Pride and Honor. Hold your head high and ignore the mudslinging! Make a clear effort to prove these incidents true or false so all the world can see we don't hide our mistakes but rather correct them. That if something wrong was done here, we will take care of it. They are always going to be people to put blame on the US but when they need help, who does the world turn to???
Also, we know what Alex and ALL the others have gven up for the sake of a democratic Iraq. We know…my daughter has a friend that was a senior when she was a freshman, he went to Iraq last year and he is still there…
WE KNOW what has been given up for this cause!
Are you okay?
Will you please watch this documentary made by an Iraqi woman? It is supported on google, I'm not a troll.
video.google....en%27s+Story
Discredit our soldiers you bet they will!
I'm with you Donna!
By the way nice name
I had a chance to catch up again who knows when I will be back but it is always nice to come here. Thank you!
Murtha being a former Marine Colonel knows full well that the Marine Corps can not comment on an ongoing investigation. His constant rants delivered through the media do more to undermine US efforts in Iraq than all the attrocities alleged or otherwise could ever do. Let the Military conduct the investigation, and prosecute those that must be held responsible . If after that has been done if Murtha doesn't feel that justice has been served then he should speak up. Doing so now, before the investigation is completed serves only one purpose, to undermine our mission in Iraq, and those troops deployed in the execution of that mission.
Malkin is trying to help a brit. newsrag correct a story with the wrong pictures associated with it.
This is just the start of the media war against the military. They have tasted blood and want to bring the military beast down.
Papa Ray
American, that video was created by the same women that Code Pink has been trouncing all around calling American Soldiers heartless killers. She has no credibility here. It's the same lady I took on when I was shouted down at one of her speeches while asking her simple questions.
Our Militay isn't discrediting this country. But the media certainly are as well as the politicians whose power agendas come first. The anti-America people talk about the Military Machine ~ what about the Media Machine? I see that being far more dangerous to the security of this country than our Miliary ever could be.
If our Soldiers and Marines (I'm one), really snapped, we would start killing reporters first. We have a special hate for most journalists.
I am beyond furious at Murtha and the always anti-American media. It is my understanding that the men involved in the alleged incident at Haditha are highly experienced in the worst combat situations. They are heroes. It had occurred to me that ten men were highly unlikely to start shooting 3 and 4 year old children and women (among others) in a situation where some allege that they were not even under fire. I'm just not believing this. I could understand that it is indeed possible that one or two went nuts after seeing their buddy blow up and after working in a very hot zone for a long time. But I could not call that murder. I suppose it is easy for people to judge who are not working in intense heat carrying my weight in gear, all while under threat of a bullet or mortar fire. I am in awe of our soldiers and marines and have been praying for them faithfully since we first went to Afghanistan. A lot of the MSM is desperate for sensationalism, and quite a few appear to want us to lose. We must never forget that the insurgents know they can't win militarily. Their only hope is to create Vietnam, and have the public break faith through inaccurate reporting from useful idiots in the media and other traitors.
What is trolling?
Chris, they are creating Vietnam…this isn't as much conventional warfare as it is guerrilla warfare.
But we have to remember that even though there are people on both sides of this issue in America, that they are Still Americans. Plus, where the media is concerned…they follow the story and it is usually the negative one. This war is a propaganda war, more a war of wills. Plus look at how many Iraqis have died at the hands of these so-called insurgents. Look at the IED's…that is called low-cost but effective ways to break the will of the people and harm our troops. That is the same tactics that were used in Vietnam to frighten the locals and break the will of the American people. It worked then and it appears to be working now.
The terrorists have won in a way in my eyes…they have most people worried about another attack daily and have divided our nation against each by those who are for the war and those who are against it. Remember United we stand, Divided we fall!!!
PLUS!!!
Look at the what happened in Canada! They were right there! That is what we fight- an invisible person or people full of hatred for America living right in our midst! I think it will be something we will have to deal with for the rest of our lives unfortunately.
"The terrorists have won in a way in my eyes"
I guess my response would be, "So, should we let them win and just pull out." That would only serve to embolden them. They would take over the entire country and it would be worse off than before we went in.
It is a battle of wills and we need to be stronger than them. Are we Americans so comfortable in our prosperity that we are too weak to stand up for anything that doesn't directly affect us? Why are their wills stronger than ours? This is the greatest country on this earth and we can't stand up to a destructive ideology? There's something wrong there.
I'm not concerned with Canada, those guys were found. They're here in the United States as well, I bet on it. The difference between what just happened anything else the terrorists have done is that the terrorists failed…again. They're failing because we are not letting them rest.
Guess where the first mentions of "Vietnam" came from? Hint: it wasn't the terrorists. Hint: It was any Iraqi. Hint: It wasn't the military fighting this war. Nope, it was the Democrats and defeatists. The "guerilla's" just picked up on that and ran with it, knowing our leftist media would take the torch from them and continue the race with it.
No, CJ, I am not suggesting that there be a deafest attitude or a pull out.
What I read about Vietnam is that it failed because of the lack of will and what they called "gradualism". They explain that gradualism is where the we (USA)began pausing in our efforts and thus gave the enemy time to recover and regain strength because of fear of using too much strength.
It states in this report called "Gradualism- Fuel of Wars:
The first- a cardinal feature of the Eisenhower years- was to ensure peace through unmistakable determination to protect vital U.S. interests anywhere in the world. This determination was made plainly evident to all through Administration statements and deeds. It was a policy of credible firmness, which retained initiative and freedom of action in American hands. There was no apology for strength, and no mistaking the sterness of the national will.
And America stayed at peace.
Beginning in 1961, however, two new doctrines began to evolve that have radically altered our nation's defense planning. One is known as "flexible repsonse"; the other is called "gradualism." Both doctrines de-emphasize our strength, leash our power and replace our superiority with "parity," all in the euphoric hope that through demonstrations of peaceful purpose and restraint, America would entice her sworn enemies away from aggression.
However well intended, these departures have been tragic for our country. Prudent firmness was displaced by extreme caution, hesitancy, then indecisiveness. As doctrines of response, not of intiative, they have created a worldwide crisis of confidence in U.S. deterrence, undermined our alliances and divided the nation. In place of peace they have actually fostered aggression and escalated a war.
Flexible response, in the current thinking, does not mean, as it has historically meant, the capability to respond to a variety of threats with applicable and sufficient force to crush them. It now means that an aggressor's military excursions will initially encounter only comparable force-i.e., it is a deliberate policy of reaction, leading to stalemate.
Thus war is invited, as aggressors are given the freedom to choose the time, place and means of doing battle, all with an acceptable risk. Assured that America's crushing force will be dribbled into battle, the military marauder is encouraged to bellieve that even a protracted conlfict will be pursued on his terms.
As this new version of "flexible respinse" invites war once it has begun. The policy says that, just as with our first reactions to aggression, subsequent U.S. reactions will also be cautiously phased to prevent overapplication of force. The process can hardly fail to nourish a skirmish into a major war. Moreover, after each carefully restrained escalation there will be a "pause." This ingenuous stratagem provides in a effect a one-sided military recess during which the enemy is importuned to recalculate his risks and contritely review his indiscretions as his own depredations continue. The "pause" occurring when the aggressor's force has been at least temporarily stalemated by our military effort, actually enables our enemy to recoup his strength at his most vulnerable moment. Thus rejuvenated by successive pauses, he continues and intensifies the struggle.
America's laboratory for testing gradualism has been in Vietnam. There it has failed- it has prolonged and escalated the war.
Published in 1968
There is more be I think you get the idea. We are during this in especially when it comes to Iran!
Did you see the Haditha articles in Time and Newsweek? Man, oh, man…my daughter(17years old) who loves to read rather than watch the news brought them to my attention in horror. I told her I had already seen them and we have to wait and see…and there is more to things than meets the eye…
But for that to catch her attention, a typical teenager who doesn't pay much attention to anything but herself and her world, that makes me worry.