The Political Grapevine
Yesterday, I sent this link to this post about John Murtha to FNC’s Brit Hume with the goal of raising the profile of this emerging scandal. Lo and behold, Brit mentioned me on the Political Grapevine. Of course, it’s flattering to be mentioned by such a serious journalist but the best news is that it’s raising the profile on the scandal. Check this out:
Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman John Murtha refused to comment today when asked by Gary Gross of the Let Freedom Ring blog for a reaction to Colonel Ware’s recommendation. You’ll recall that Murtha has said the Marines “overreacted” and “killed innocent civilians in cold blood.” But today his office said he would not comment because the investigation is ongoing.
Here’s what Hume said about Col. Ware’s recommendation:
An officer investigating murder allegations against a U.S. Marine accused of shooting three of the 24 Iraqis killed in Haditha has recommended the charges be dismissed.
Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Paul Ware says the government’s theory that Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt executed the three men was “unsupported and incredible” and relied on contradictory statements by Iraqis. Sharratt testified at a preliminary hearing that he fired only after one of the Iraqis pointed a gun at him.
Colonel Ware’s recommendation is not binding. A final decision on whether Sharratt will stand trial will be made by the commanding general overseeing the case.
Three other Marines face murder charges in the Haditha incident, which occurred after a Marine was killed in a roadside bombing.
Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman John Murtha refused to comment today when asked by Gary Gross of the Let Freedom Ring blog for a reaction to Colonel Ware’s recommendation. You’ll recall that Murtha has said the Marines “overreacted” and “killed innocent civilians in cold blood.” But today his office said he would not comment because the investigation is ongoing.
The good news is that this case is moving out of the shadows and into the sunlight. Once it gets there, it will ‘disinfect’ this entire charade. Those that have followed this from the beginning know that there have been alot of accusations flying that simply didn’t add up.
Tim Harrington has done yeoman work uncovering one troubling thing after another about the investigation of this incident. The thing that initially got me upset about this process was (a) Murtha’s total willingness to throw these Marines under the bus while denying them their constitutionally guaranteed rights and (b) his willingness to do that without the slightest bit of proof.
Rep. Murtha couldn’t have had proof because Col. Ware couldn’t have made this recommendation if there was wrongdoing. What’s most frustrating is that Rep. Murtha’s office stopped answering calls early Wednesday afternoon. The bad news for him is that I’ve forwarded this information to the House GOP leadership so they can ramp up the pressure.
Last fall, Murtha was named one of the most corrupt politicians in America by CREW. That’s pretty amazing considering the fact that a significant portion of CREW’s funding comes from George Soros:
CREW has received financial backing from George Soros’s Open Society Institute, Democracy Alliance, the Tides Foundation, the Streisand Foundation, the Arca Foundation, the David Geffen Foundation, the Wallace Global Fund, the Mayberg Family Charitable Foundation, the Woodbury Fund, and the Sheller Family Foundation, all institutions distinguished by their support for far-left causes.
It speaks volumes that CREW issued that rating long before this information came out. Their rating was based on the other corruption that Murtha was involved in.
The Jawa Report is on the case, too. Here’s what they have to say:
John Murtha (D) should be forced to resign from Congress for his atrocious prejudging and slurring of our Marines. Hopefully, he will have a lawsuit brought against him. Tim McGirk of TIME should also be fired for getting this politically driven, insurgent-initiated propaganda witch hunt started.
I couldn’t agree more. Mssrs. Murtha and McGirk should be run out on a rail for their disgusting behavior. McGirk wrote an article that’s been essentially discredited. Murtha made inflammatory accusations that were officially discredited yesterday.
In other words, they deserve each other.
Technorati Tags: Constitutional Crisis, John Murtha, Tim McGirk,Tabloid Journalism, Haditha+Marines, Justin Sharratt, Frank Wuterich, Jeffrey Dinsmore, Paul Ware, Article 32
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
July 12th, 2007 at 9:19 am
[...] Cross-posted at California Conservative Categories: The Constitution, Military, Iraq, Pelosi, Corruption, Investigations, John Murtha, Scandals, Media Bias, Ethics | [...]
July 12th, 2007 at 9:40 am
‘It would always happen. We always got the wrong house…’
“People would make jokes about it, even before we’d go into a raid, like, ‘Oh fuck, we’re gonna get the wrong house’. Cause it would always happen. We always got the wrong house.”
Sergeant Jesus Bocanegra, 25, of Weslaco, Texas 4th Infantry Division. In Tikrit on year-long tour that began in March 2003
“I had to go tell this woman that her husband was actually dead. We gave her money, we gave her, like, 10 crates of water, we gave the kids, I remember, maybe it was soccer balls and toys. We just didn’t really know what else to do.”
Lieutenant Jonathan Morgenstein, 35, of Arlington, Virginia, Marine Corps civil affairs unit. In Ramadi from August 2004 to March 2005
“We were approaching this one house… and we’re approaching, and they had a family dog. And it was barking ferociously, cause it’s doing its job. And my squad leader, just out of nowhere, just shoots it… So I see this dog - I’m a huge animal lover… this dog has, like, these eyes on it and he’s running around spraying blood all over the place. And like, you know, what the hell is going on? The family is sitting right there, with three little children and a mom and a dad, horrified. And I’m at a loss for words.”
Specialist Philip Chrystal, 23, of Reno, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Brigade. In Kirkuk and Hawija on 11-month tour beginning November 2004
“I’ll tell you the point where I really turned… [there was] this little, you know, pudgy little two-year-old child with the cute little pudgy legs and she has a bullet through her leg… An IED [improvised explosive device] went off, the gun-happy soldiers just started shooting anywhere and the baby got hit. And this baby looked at me… like asking me why. You know, ‘Why do I have a bullet in my leg?’… I was just like, ‘This is, this is it. This is ridiculous’.”
Specialist Michael Harmon, 24, of Brooklyn, 167th Armour Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. In Al-Rashidiya on 13-month tour beginning in April 2003
“I open a bag and I’m trying to get bandages out and the guys in the guard tower are yelling at me, ‘Get that fuck haji out of here,’… our doctor rolls up in an ambulance and from 30 to 40 meters away looks out and says, shakes his head and says, ‘You know, he looks fine, he’s gonna be all right,’ and walks back… kind of like, ‘Get your ass over here and drive me back up to the clinic’. So I’m standing there, and the whole time both this doctor and the guards are yelling at me, you know, to get rid of this guy.”
Specialist Patrick Resta, 29, from Philadelphia, 252nd Armour, 1st Infantry Division. In Jalula for nine months beginning March 2004
‘Every person opened fire on this kid, using the biggest weapons we could find…’
“Here’s some guy, some 14-year-old kid with an AK47, decides he’s going to start shooting at this convoy. It was the most obscene thing you’ve ever seen. Every person got out and opened fire on this kid. Using the biggest weapons we could find, we ripped him to shreds…”
Sergeant Patrick Campbell, 29, of Camarillo, California, 256th Infantry Brigade. In Abu Gharth for 11 months beginning November 2004
“Cover your own butt was the first rule of engagement. Someone could look at me the wrong way and I could claim my safety was in threat.”
Lieutenant Brady Van Engelen, 26, of Washington DC, 1st Armoured Division. Eight-month tour of Baghdad beginning Sept 2003
“I guess while I was there, the general attitude was, ‘A dead Iraqi is just another dead Iraqi… You know, so what?’… [Only when we got home] in… meeting other veterans, it seems like the guilt really takes place, takes root, then.”
Specialist Jeff Englehart, 26, of Grand Junction, Colorado, 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry. In Baquba for a year beginning February 2004
“[The photo] was very graphic… They open the body bags of these prisoners that were shot in the head and [one soldier has] got a spoon. He’s reaching in to scoop out some of his brain, looking at the camera and smiling.”
Specialist Aidan Delgado, 25, of Sarasota, Florida, 320th Military Police Company. Deployed to Talil air base for one year beginning April 2003
“The car was approaching what was in my opinion a very poorly marked checkpoint… and probably didn’t even see the soldiers… The guys got spooked and decided it was a possible threat, so they shot up the car. And they [the bodies] literally sat in the car for the next three days while we drove by them.
Sergeant Dustin Flatt, 33, of Denver, 18th Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. One-year from February 2004
“The frustration that resulted from our inability to get back at those who were attacking us led to tactics that seemed designed simply to punish the local population…”
Sergeant Camilo Mejía, 31, from Miami, National Guardsman, 1-124 Infantry Battalion, 53rd Infantry Brigade. Six-month tour beginning April 2003
“I just remember thinking, ‘I just brought terror to someone under the American flag’.”
Sergeant Timothy John Westphal, 31, of Denver, 18th Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. In Tikrit on year-long tour beginning February 2004
“A lot of guys really supported that whole concept that if they don’t speak English and they have darker skin, they’re not as human as us, so we can do what we want.”
Specialist Josh Middleton, 23, of New York City, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. Four-month tour in Baghdad and Mosul beginning December 2004
“I felt like there was this enormous reduction in my compassion for people. The only thing that wound up mattering is myself and the guys that I was with, and everybody else be damned.”
Sergeant Ben Flanders, 28, National Guardsman from Concord, New Hampshire, 172nd Mountain Infantry. In Balad for 11 months beginning March 2004
July 12th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Were in a war you stupid murthaf@#$er. Thats what you and your treehugging freak friends will NEVER fully understand. Its not “Bush’s war” as you like to spew.
I will sit back and laugh when some Jihadi, stoked by the Anti American TRAITORS that spew this BS. If scumbags like this (you know, not a homo) had ANY voice 60 years ago we’d all be heil fn hitlering each other. The time is coming these Dhimmi’s will pay a huge price, not only from the idiot Muslims but form American PATRIOTS!! YOU WILL LOSE just as youve made America a LOSER.
You had better pray we never meet Ms. Benn.
July 12th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
First, at first blush, all the quotes from Benn look like they could have been made up by one person (maybe two) using two different “personas”. Just from a quick glance through them. Wonder if anyone besides a moonbat has ever talked to these guys face-to-face? Just sayin’.
Second, I gotta say Mr. Murtha is lucky not to be under the Military Code of Justice any more. He’d certainly be in a world of hurt if he was.
Last, I wonder how many people in this country realize that our own revolution started in 1775 and the firing didn’t stop until 1782? That’s nearly twice as long as Iraq has had to get on solid footing, and the only reason our revolution didn’t last longer was basic incompetence by the British. I hardly think the “insurgents” (has a nice, local ring to it, doesn’t it?) are as incompetent as the Brits were, and are unarguably more bloodthirsty, They have the added luxury of fighting a force that has basically been hog-tied with “rules of engagement.”
Again, just sayin’.
July 26th, 2010 at 9:58 am
As a completely new puppy owner I value all the insight in this article. I really want my four-legged friend to get well trained and have a wholesome atmosphere to live in. Thanks for the insight.
December 13th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Do you people have a facebook fan page? I looked for one on twitter but could not discover one, I would really like to become a fan!