WP: Marine Called Haditha Shootings Appropriate

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/23/AR2006082301829.html

A sergeant who examined the scene hours after Marines killed two dozen Iraqis in Haditha last year said the shootings appeared to be an appropriate response to a coordinated insurgent attack, according to a sworn statement obtained by The Washington Post.

Sgt. J.M. Laughner, part of a Marine human-intelligence exploitation team that was hunting down insurgent bombmakers, went from house to house in Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005, and acknowledged finding two dozen bodies, including some of women and small children.

But Laughner said the scenes of the slayings appeared to match the version of events the Marine squad provided that day and did not seem especially out of the ordinary, according to a transcript of Laughner's interview with military investigators in March.

Laughner's account supports the argument made by some Marines in Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines -- that they believed they were following their rules of engagement when they opened fire on groups of people inside at least three homes after a roadside bomb killed a member of their unit. Several Marines are under criminal investigation in connection with the civilian deaths that day, but no one has been charged.

Laughner's statement, although just one viewpoint, is further evidence that Marines who were on the ground that day viewed the civilian deaths as accidental rather than the result of a vengeful rampage.

[babylonsister]

1. What a bunch of patently blatant bullshit. Haven't they seen the pics? nt

[OwnedByFerrets]

2. The telling statement is

"did not seem especially out of the ordinary". He was probably telling the truth with this statement.....unfortunately, what was done is probably an everyday occurance, but never gets reported.

[Kagemusha]

3. Yeah, killing civilians = perfectly appropriate response

after all, they could've been insurgents. Better safe than sorry. Didn't mean to, they were just there.

[saigon68]

7. Yes, killing Islamic civilians = Killing potential IslamoFacists

Go "Blow their Brains Out" boys

and kill an Islamic for Mommy, amerika will be safe

Remember "FREEDOM IS ON THE MARCH"

</sarcasm>

[0007]

17. ....and.....and ....... stay tuned to FAUX News for any lastest updates

on this late breaking news.

[Recursion]

12. I read that to mean that seeing civilians dead was ordinary

which is not to say that deliberately killing civilians was ordinary. If there were an ambush in a village a lot of civilians will get caught in the crossfire; that probably looks roughly the same as a massacre when all you're doing is counting bodies.

[babylonsister]

4. I have to kick and NOM this for its BULLSHIT! nt

[bowens43]

5. Unbelievable.

Slaughtering men , women and children is just an accident if you're a pissed off marine.

[Disturbed]

6. Move along folks.

Just ordinary ops going on.

[ms liberty]

8. Killing women and children is NEVER an appropriate response...

in the eyes of a civilized people - or at least it shouldn't be. This is appalling.

[Aviation Pro]

9. In Little Monkey's brave new world....

...Sgt. Laughner will one day be a section chief in the newly formed Department of Internal Security responsible for the recruitment and training of death squads.

[professor_grove]

10. that´s what happens when

serial killers are recruited into the armed forces.

[gratuitous]

11. Sounds like Laughner was pretty ignorant as an investigator

And very determined to stay that way. Women and children, Sgt. Laughner. Your wife. Your children. Killed by a bunch of mad, pants-wetting thugs armed to the teeth. Your wife, Sgt. Laughner. Your children. Popped in the back of the head for the crime of insufficient support of a hostile invasion of your home town. What result might your investigation come to in that circumstance? Would it be any different from your conclusion in Haditha?

You didn't do your job because your sympathies are with the mad pants-wetting thugs.

[GeorgeGist]

13. What planet do these morons live on...

where the deliberate murder of someone is considered an accident.

[saigon68]

14. The planet Zoingo

That's east of Pluto

[IndianaGreen]

15. Too many Freepers and Bible thumpers in the military

Laughner's account supports the argument made by some Marines in Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines -- that they believed they were following their rules of engagement when they opened fire on groups of people inside at least three homes after a roadside bomb killed a member of their unit.

The Marines must have been following the same rules of engagement the SS had when it liquidated the Czech village of Lidice after the assassination of Rheinardt Heydrich.

[Tempest]

16. He may see it that way, and the Marines may see it that way

Even many Americans may see it that way.

Iraqis will never see it that way and if the soldiers get away with it, the Iraqis won't let it go without a response. Which means more U.S. soldiers will die unncessarily.