Murtha’s Memorial Day Tribute: Accusing U.S. Military Of “A Coverup”
AP reports: “The fallout from the killing of as many as two dozen Iraqi civilians by Marines could undermine U.S. efforts in Iraq more than the Abu Ghraib prison scandal did, a lawmaker who is a prominent war critic said Sunday.”
Does Jack Murtha honestly believe that his efforts to promote these headlines helps to minimize the “fallout?” Or, instead, do they “undermine U.S. efforts in Iraq”?
The shootings last November at Haditha, a city in the Anbar province of western Iraq that has been plagued by insurgents, were covered up, said Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), D-Pa.
“Who covered it up, why did they cover it up, why did they wait so long?” Murtha said on “This Week” on ABC. “We don’t know how far it goes. It goes right up the chain of command.”
. . .“I will not excuse murder, and this is what happened,” Murtha said. “This investigation should have been over two or three weeks afterward and it should have been made public and people should have been held responsible for it.”
Let’s keep this real simple: No one is disagreeing in principle.
The issue is not about whether or not a crime was committed and should be investigated (Note: the matter remains under ongoing active investigation) or, if found guilty, whether the soldiers should be held accountable, everyone can agree on that.
The issue is about what Jack Murtha is seeking to accomplish by eagerly airing the dirty laundy in public? His actions are purposefully damaging the reputation of our military, and also providing political ammo to our enemies here and in the Middle East who can point the finger at “evil” America and continue to incite violence in the region.
Just because the local 6 o’clock news, “reporting” in accordance with the guidelines of political correctness, doesn’t identify the race/skin color of a rapist or murderer doesn’t mean that a crime hasn’t been committed and that the investigation isn’t serious. Or does it?
Murtha certainly knows better. And maybe he should exercise some true political correctness when it really counts: protecting the integrity of our nation during a hostile time of war.
UPDATE: (5/30)
Michelle Malkin: Incident at Haditha, Pt. II
Hyscience: “What Really Happened at Haditha?”
RELATED:
Murtha Must Go
May 28th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
Official: Evidence in criminal probe of Iraqi deaths points toward murder by Marines
Military investigators probing the deaths last November of about two dozen Iraqi civilians have evid
May 28th, 2006 at 8:41 pm
[...] California COnservative has more here [...]
May 28th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
The issue is what Jack Murtha is seeking to accomplish by eagerly airing the dirty laundy in public?
I really fear he may get re-elected, because Diana Irey does not have the name recognition he has given himself from all this press attention. But, God help us, he should really be soundly defeated! How can anyone not see how damaging this is? How irresponsible? Let the military conduct their own investigation, in peace, and not draw the kind of hysteria and premature condemnation that will get more of our soldiers killed. Is this how he wants to celebrate Memorial Day?
May 28th, 2006 at 9:32 pm
The local PBS station is running a documentary on how Japanese-Americans were mistreated during WWII. What the hell? This is not military history day, this is Memorial Day.
May 28th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
The more immigrants come into America and are not of its past, and therefore many are Anti-American, will see more of this type of catering to them by the politicians.
May 28th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
Can someone investigate Murtha’s fridge?
May 29th, 2006 at 7:57 am
I guess we better get rid of Republican Senator John Warner, who has suggesetd that the US military may have covered this up initially, and Republican Congress member Kline, who’s said pretty much the same things as Murtha.
It is curious that the wingnuts have about ten times as much outrage over bad publicity as they do over the victims of this massacre.
But then again, it’s only a bunch of dead Iraqis, right?
May 29th, 2006 at 10:35 am
Murtha should have waited until Tuesday to say, “I will not excuse murder and that what’s happened.” His timing makes his objective and motivation supremely clear, and it’s disgusting.
May 29th, 2006 at 10:36 am
Pride And Prejudice
Obviously, the latest developments in the military investigation are fueled by chilling echoes of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, used to discredit our sacrifices in Vietnam. The anti-war mongers are perversely excited at the prospect of hitting anothe…
May 29th, 2006 at 10:51 am
Actually, it is the actions of the marines who (if true) dishonored 200 years of military tradition. If true, they have disgraced their uniform, dishonored their fellow marines and did some serious damage in our struggle to stop this insurgency.
The public stance of Murtha and John Warner tells friend and foe alike that the USA does hold itself to the highest standards, and when it fails to do so, will (or should) take immediate steps to stop it.
The public stance makes the “cover up” that is allegedly happening more difficult to maintain.
If Iraqis see justice, then that may relieve the fallout. Otherwise, they will see the US Military as just another one of the militias going around killing people and settling scores.
May 29th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Yes, blame the messenger.
May 29th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
Airing our “dirty laundry?” Who are you, Karen Hughes? DO you think such things CAN be hidden, much less should?
The first reaction to Murtha was that he was distorting it, taking a dark view of things. Now, without a word of apology when he proved to be dead right, you argue he should have covered it up. A “lessoned learned” session for moronic bloggers seems to be in order.
May 29th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
[...] Today a number of rightie bloggers express concern that Rep. John Murtha’s blabbing about the alleged massacre of civilians by U.S. troops at Haditha will hurt the war effort. IMO this exemplifies the classic colonialist attitude toward the simple swarthy natives, who won’t notice they’re oppressed if we don’t tell them. But the Gulf Times of Qatar says that Iraqis don’t consider a civilian massacre by U.S. troops to be news. Word that US Marines may have killed two dozen Iraqi civilians in “cold-blooded” revenge after an insurgent attack has shocked Americans but many Iraqis shrug it off as an every day fact of life under occupation. [...]
May 29th, 2006 at 6:41 pm
Leftist anti-military US hating people seem to abound in the comment sections of blogs these days. Defending Murtha’s reprehensible actions during a time of war when he supposedly served as a marine is supposed to be something we’re to admire?
Do you know anything about the marines? Of course you don’t.
Murtha is another token military guy (anybody check out this guy’s record?) standing on the left undermining the war effort and emboldening the enemy to kill more American soldiers.
Ilario Pantano, himself a marine, was under investigation last year for ‘killing innocent Iraqis’ but the trial proved otherwise and he was acquitted. Nevertheless, it ruined his military career, and this kind of action is bound to do that for the guys who have had the balls to fight in this war.
Leftists are attacking our military recruitment centers trying to deter people from signing up, they’re attacking our war wounded and their families at Walter Reed, they’re being called ‘murderers’ and ‘baby killers’ just like they were during Vietnam.
But the media dare not show any movies of the terrorists’ atrocities, head hacking and parading around human entrails–that would be indefensible.
I see some strange moral relativism here that doesn’t belong.
The terrorists WANT TO KILL US. They want to destroy our very way of life.
Leftists who are too chicken to stand up and fight for anything ought to move to Cuba if it’s so damned great-
This hasn’t been a coverup. That’s Murtha telling more lies again.
There is a military investigation and we will find out the results of that just like we did with the Abu Ghraib scandal, and with Ilario Pantano’s case.
This is a rush to judgement based on no evidence.
Our men and women in uniform who are now being held to an impossible standard.
Go to war - but gosh, don’t hurt anybody! And if you do, you could face a military tribunal for murder when you come home. Do you think that makes them think twice when they’re in battle? How many soldiers have died because of this kind of thing?
C’mon. What are you. Nuts?
We need more dead terrorists and unfortunately, as we saw on 9/11, civilians are a part of the death toll.
The difference is; terrorists are purposefully killing civilians and children, and our boys don’t do that.
If they do, they should be punished, but the fact that we are incessantly questioning their behavior in the field of battle is reprehensible, and it’s coming from someone who supposedly war a uniform and fought battles, too.
Where is his sense of duty, honor, country?
from Frontpage Magazine’s WAR BLOG (which doesn’t seem to have links for individual entries which is a shame):
Not much of that was publicized about how wrong Murtha was then, heh?
Ever hear of ‘innocent until proven guilty’?
Winning against terrorists requires convincing the enemy to give up. Defeatist expressions from our side encourage the enemy to continue the fight.
So do you want to win or lose? And what sacrifice have you made to insure that we win?
And what choice do we have in this? Do you think the enemy is going to stop their religious vow to destroy us because we want to ‘make nice’?
May 29th, 2006 at 7:37 pm
If Iraqis see justice, then that may relieve the fallout. Otherwise, they will see the US Military as just another one of the militias going around killing people and settling scores. — Joe Student
What *are* they teaching these daze? Better stay in school, kid, ’til you figure out how the *real* world works.
May 30th, 2006 at 7:50 am
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May 30th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
Murtha - Cause and Effect
There has been a spike in insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan the last few days. The seditionist news stations are trying to figure out why. They think we have to work harder to ‘win their hearts and minds’.
May 31st, 2006 at 8:16 am
First, Jack Murtha has demonsrated (over a lifetime) a profound concern for the military and soldiers in general. To characterize him as a lefty on issues relating to the military is absurd. When slimeballs challenged his patriotism months ago, they were chastened by military leaders who know better.
Second, Murtha is making a case…a case that you don’t buy, but a legitimate outlook that deserves better than your attacks on his character. The case goes like this:
The war is an extraordinary burden on the military. The duration and intensity are monopolizing resources, straining logistics and wreaking havoc on the all volunteer force.
Okay, wars are burdensome, so what, you ask? The negative impact on the military demands a reasonable expectation of a positve result. He sees none. The insurgency is gaining momentum, sectarian violence is on the rise, infrastructure remains a mess. Given that we are exerting so much effort, why don’t we have better results?
Murtha (and many others) conclude that “the occupation†itself is fueling the insurgency. American military presence is resented and acts as lightening rod for Muslim extremism. Ramadi offers an excellent example: anyone caught so much as meeting with Amercans is targeted for execution. This is not just true for the Sunni insurgency, but holds true for the Shiites as well. Witness Moqtada al Sadr.
For Murtha, this represents the ultimate nightmare for the american soldier who is making incredible sacrifices that result in hatred rather than gratitude…and no end in sight.
Haditha illustrates and symbolizes what we are doing to our soldiers and to Murtha’s beloved Corps. It’s improtant to discuss this now rather than waiting for courts marshall because tens of thousands of our frontline combat troops are facing exactly the same situation that the marines in Haditha faced. After repeated deployments and watching their comrades blown up, how will they react? Murtha knows how they will react because he is one of them. He is not demonizing the Haditha marines; he is trying to save honorable soldiers from suffering their fall from grace.
July 20th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Phentermine….
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