The Killings in Haditha
Tonight "60 Minutes" broadcast an interview with a Marine Sergeant, who is charged with the unjustified killing of 24 Iraqis in Haditha. I was only able to watch a few minutes of the interview, before becoming angry beyond belief at the true criminal behind those killings, George W. Bush, President of the USA.
The Sergeant being charged was in his first ever live "combat", when this occurred. He was trained as a Marine to engage a military enemy, with rules of combat appropriate to that. He was not trained to do police work. When the men he was responsible for were attacked and one of them blown to pieces by a bomb, his training took over, and he sought the "enemy". When he found that enemy, or someone he had to believe was the "enemy", he acted to make sure no more of his men were killed, which is his responsibility. The subsequent house raids that resulted in more killings of Iraqis can easily be criticized in retrospect, but I doubt that any trained military put in that position would have done any differently.
Of course the real criminal is George W. Bush, who ordered the unjustified attack on Iraq, and has adamantly refused to remove American troops, now that any reasonable goals of the attack have been met. Bush has not acted as any ordinary human being would if in that position.
The day has to come when this criminal gets the justice he deserves. I hope Obama will be the one to make sure that happens, but the odds are overwhelming that he wont.
The Sergeant being charged was in his first ever live "combat", when this occurred. He was trained as a Marine to engage a military enemy, with rules of combat appropriate to that. He was not trained to do police work. When the men he was responsible for were attacked and one of them blown to pieces by a bomb, his training took over, and he sought the "enemy". When he found that enemy, or someone he had to believe was the "enemy", he acted to make sure no more of his men were killed, which is his responsibility. The subsequent house raids that resulted in more killings of Iraqis can easily be criticized in retrospect, but I doubt that any trained military put in that position would have done any differently.
Of course the real criminal is George W. Bush, who ordered the unjustified attack on Iraq, and has adamantly refused to remove American troops, now that any reasonable goals of the attack have been met. Bush has not acted as any ordinary human being would if in that position.
The day has to come when this criminal gets the justice he deserves. I hope Obama will be the one to make sure that happens, but the odds are overwhelming that he wont.
