A look back, and a look forward. The Haditha Marines have mostly been cleared. They behaved professionally and responsibly, doing the best they could in a very difficult situation.
Rep. Jack Murtha (D) is a pig, whose porcine nature is shared by the snuffling press who feed from the same trough of lies and distortions. I donated a little money to the Marines’ defense, as did about a zillion others. I am proud of the fact. Whatever honor Murtha derives from his own military service has been squandered on this debacle. He should spend about a week in sackcloth and ashes in front of the Capitol Building.
And the look forward: no apology will be forthcoming from Murtha or the press. Or, almost worse, there will be a very brief, almost anonymous release from Murtha’s press flacks, and it will get almost no coverage in the media. Perhaps the New York Times will apologize on page 23 just below the used car ads…. but probably not.
Haditha prosecution goes 0-7. But you won’t see that headline in the same Armageddon-sized font The New York Times used repeatedly when the story first broke.
The Times, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa, and the rest of the anti-war drum-pounders who fueled the smear campaign against the troops two years ago should hang their hands in shame. They won’t, of course. Perpetuating the “cold-blooded Marines” narrative means never having to say you’re sorry.
It means never having to look Lt. Col. Chessani (charges dismissed), Lt. Andrew Grayson (acquitted), Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum (charges dismissed), Capt. Lucas McConnell (charges dismissed), Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt (charges dismissed), Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz (charges dismissed), Sgt. Frank Wuterich (awaiting trial) and their families in the eyes and apologize for the preemptive character assassination they all faced at the hands of the hyperventilating, noose-hanging press.
Read the whole thing. Ask yourself how you’d feel if the accused was your son, or nephew, or brother, or uncle…. or father. And if, God forbid, the accusations turned out to be true (which, it is becoming very clear, is not the case here), would you feel that your loved one had been fairly treated by Murtha and the press? A Marine who had over-reacted under stress would not deserve this treatment.
These guys were character-assassinated by the very best.
I wonder how Murtha is sleeping these days. Does he have some fantasy where he thinks all the accusations were true, but couldn’t be proved? Does he think he has some special bit of insight and secret information? Is he hopelessly partisan, deep in Bush hatred, or just crazy as a loon? Impossible to say.
This would be a good time for decent people to pray for the falsely accused to be able to reassemble their lives.
