May 31, 2006
'Cut and Run' Murtha Goes Off Half-Cocked
Printer FriendlyBy: Michelle Malkin
Democrat Rep. John "Cut and Run" Murtha thinks he knows the truth about Haditha – and he has been blabbing it to every last cable-show host that will host him. The loose-lipped former Marine has accused troops of wantonly killing some two dozen civilians, including children, "in cold blood" in the terrorist stronghold in Iraq last November. There are two ongoing military investigations into the incident itself and the actions of higher-ups in the Haditha aftermath.
Let me repeat that: The investigations are ongoing. Not complete. Official reports aren't expected for several weeks.
I do not know the truth about Haditha. Neither do Murtha and the media outlets calling the alleged massacre a massacre before all the facts are in. It would be helpful if they could handle these grave charges without serving as Al Jazeera satellite offices. GOP Sen. John Warner, who like Murtha also served in the Marines, struck the right tone over the weekend – refusing, unlike Murtha, to render a verdict against the Marines before trial and avoiding Bush Derangement Syndrome, but also taking the allegations very seriously.
I do know this. Children are dead. Other children have been orphaned. There are pictures of bullet holes and bloodied homes. There are evolving stories about what happened last Nov. 19 and serious allegations of a possible cover-up.
I also know this: Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, the Marine who was killed by a roadside IED (improvised explosive device) that day, followed a proud family tradition of military service. He had received a commendation for bravery on his first tour of duty in Iraq in 2004. One of his fellow Marines said Terrazas' body was split in two by the bomb explosion that rocked his Hummer while on patrol that morning.
And there's this: Haditha is crawling with terrorists. The Associated Press points out that "in just three days last August, six Marine snipers were killed in Haditha and 14 Marines died in nearby Parwana in the deadliest roadside bombing of the war." Most-wanted al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is reported to have lived in Haditha. The Washington Post quoted a military lawyer noting that Nov. 19 was the Marine 3rd Battalion's "hottest day" in Iraq.
"In addition to drone surveillance that day," the paper reported, "AV-8 Harriers were dropping bombs, helicopters were evacuating wounded, and a large firefight occurred about one-third of a mile from the site of the civilian shootings, said several people familiar with the investigation." Audio of radio traffic that day reportedly contradicts Rep. Murtha's claim that the Marines did not come under small-arms fire after the roadside explosion, according to one of the Post's military sources.
We know this, too: Naval Criminal Investigative Service officials have not turned their backs. Time magazine, which initially broke the story of survivors' accounts that prompted the military probe, reports that Haditha residents – who have yet to be visited by any of Iraq's own officials – "were gratified by [the investigation's] thoroughness" and "were especially impressed by the NCIS investigators" conducting three separate enquiries.
Finally, there is this incontrovertible fact: There are countless numbers of anti-war zealots on the American left rooting for failure. They believe the worst about the troops. They've blindly embraced frauds who've lied about their military service and lied about wartime atrocities. They've allied themselves with socialist kooks and coddled murderous dictators. They are looking for any excuse to pull out, abandon military operations and reconstruction, and impeach the president.
They insist on giving suspected foreign terrorists more benefit of the doubt than our own men and women in uniform. And that, I know, I am not willing to do.
I will wait. I will pray. And I will remind you that while the murder of civilians is and remains an anomaly in American military history, it is the jihadists' way of life.
Posted by redguy at May 31, 2006 09:03 AM
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Comments
So now Murtha is at it again! And the liberal media just laps up every last little bit of this attack on our troops. Never mind that they are under fire all the time there in Haditha. So far, it would seem that this was NOT an unwarranted attack. But that means nothing to Murtha.....WHEN? When will we, as a nation, have the courage to call a traitor what he is? WHY have the public and the Conservative media not called for Murtha's military records. There were rumors that his record seemed as murky as J.Kerry's. Yet I've never heard a public outcry DEMANDING the release of this "hero's" records! This nation's government has not the courage of its own convictions! We have allowed treason and sedition to become rampant and have done NOT A THING to stop the growth of it! Traitors get full press, while the true heroes in this nation - those (mostly) young people who are sacrificing their families and their lives are repeatedly attacked! This country is backwards! And American citizens, too apathetic, too complacent, and too busy with their own little spheres, sit back and cluck their tongues!
I wonder what their reaction will be when the Left takes over? When their churches are taken by eminent domain to serve the Left's own socialist purposes?
When will we, as a nation, WAKE UP AND FIGHT BACK?
Posted by: Litl Bits ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.redstatesusa.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at May 31, 2006 11:04 AM
When will people start seeing the MSM and the rest of the left as the anti-military creatons they are? They think that airing the names of those KIA once every month or so, will portray them as pro-military. Unfortunately it seems to be working in the eyes of the G.P.
How many more spurious claims will America allow before prosecuting these capricious MSM freaks?
My God! The First Amendment deserves respect, not to be interpreted at the will of the libelous reporter. Does slander mean absolutely nothing in this day and age? I guess the appurtenant laws that go with The Constitution are meaningless, in their eyes.
If Republicans took the 2nd Amendment as lightly as the leftist pigs take the 1st, we'd print it on t-shirts and go on a shooting rampage, calling it our right to keep and bare arms. "Uh, I gots a right to bare `em, where's it say I ought not squeeze the trigger at will?". I bet they wouldn't allow the Second Amendment to be taken so lightly, would they?
It's pure disdainfulness toward the most beloved document in the nation to treat its words with such contempt.
I remember not so far back, in the days of the O.J. trial, watching TV and hearing the media calling him an “alleged” killer. I also saw the same respect more recently with Kobe Bryant, calling him an “alleged” rapist. Yet when Dan Rather made accusations about Bush, he used words, such as “confirmed” and “documented”. If somebody hasn’t been convicted in a court of law or admitted to the accusations, why is it that the MSM get away with all of these fallacies? Why aren’t they being prosecuted or at least sued? Why is it that a public apology always does the trick for destroying the credibility of the innocent, when the media was wrong? That deke apology is gone far faster than the mélange of smears they air before the apology.
I bet they’d NEVER air any possibly false information if they were forced to re-air their public apologies on all news broadcasts for a year or to follow the slanderous reporter for a year to whatever station they got to. They wouldn’t have room for news, if they continued this way. Not to mention, people would start (finally) questioning their credibility once they saw them apologizing over and over. It would certainly encourage what is now an oxymoron (honest journalism).
Posted by: TheIcePrincess at May 31, 2006 07:35 PM
Thank you, Michelle, for speaking up for those far away and unable to speak for themselves because they are too busy fighting to protect our freedom! It is so sad to remember when (many years ago) the media could offer tributes to our servicemen and women. The hate that is regularly spewed by liberal politicians and both the print and tv media is so demoralizing. My only hope is that their efforts will backfire and that the conservative voters will come out in force for this great country of ours - before it is gone forever!
Posted by: JASCC at June 7, 2006 03:06 PM
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