For What It's Worth

I read this comment over at Tristram Shandy:

I don't in any way condone the killing of civilians in a time of war, but a few things should be noted about what happens to soilders under stress. In order to stay alive in a combat situation your survival senses have to be maxed out at all times. Your body can accomplish this if you get angry and stay angry. This is actually a deep component of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

What this comment is referring to is the My Lai in Haditha, where a group of enraged Marines entered the homes of civilians and murdered them, including children, in cold blood. However, it is important to note the following:

The first official report from the military, issued on Nov. 20, said that "a U.S. marine and 15 Iraqi civilians were killed yesterday from the blast of a roadside bomb" and that "immediately following the bombing, gunmen attacked the convoy with small-arms fire."

That is the way the story went for four months until Time magazine obtained a video made by an Iraqi journalism student. The tape showed the bodies of women and children, some in their pajamas.

According to MSNBC, the video was confirmed by the Marines' own investigation: "Military officials say Marine Corps photos taken immediately after the incident show many of the victims were shot at close range, in the head and chest, execution-style." Women and children were among the 24 civilians murdered: "One photo shows a mother and young child bent over on the floor as if in prayer, shot dead, said the officials. …"

The New York Times says that the lawyers who have questioned the marines at Camp Pendleton state that the situation in Haditha was chaotic at the time of the killings. It is also expected that the defense will state that many times the insurgents hid in civilians homes.

American civilians today know nothing about war, because the majority voted for a president who said that it was better to take the war over there than here. I did not vote for this president because I believe that war is the last resort and the Bush Administration rushed into war without exhausting every possible peaceful alternative. Perhaps if the government had, then we would not have marines doing 3 tours, shooting children in Haditha and the military making up stories about it.

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

The Armed Services Committee has been informed of this and the Senators are to investigate. What really scares me is that we have seen what happens with investigations and we have also seen how the Democrats turn tail and flee on such matters.