thedrifter
06-07-06, 07:13 AM
Haditha - Reasonable Doubt
Posted By Blackfive
This is probably one of the most important reads on the subject of Haditha and echoes sentiments that I've expressed on radio and here on Blackfive. Haditha - Reasonable Doubt:
...Marine Captain James Kimber commanded Lima Company of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. The troops involved in the incident were from Kilo Company. He tells interviewers that he first learned about the shootings in February when he heard that a Time magazine reporter was asking questions about civilian deaths. Notably, Kimber says he heard nothing about a civilian massacre during weekly meetings with the Haditha City Council and talks with local leaders. "It would have been huge, there would have been no question it would have filtered down to us," he said. "We reported no significant atmospheric change as a result of that day." Kimber who has been relieved of his command and is back in Camp Pendleton, CA says, “I believe I was a political casualty as a result of the Haditha incident.” Some media accounts indicate that some of the dead were relatives of a Haditha City Council member. The May 12, 2006 edition of Iraq Reconstruction Update carries a photo and short article about Marine officers holding weekly meetings with the Haditha City Council with no mention of the alleged shooting controversy...
Again, we should investigate, charge if evidence requires and try by court-martial. I would just ask that we all remember who labeled these United States Marines as murderers...
Update: John Donovan at MilBlogs points out a Times UK article - The Wrong Target: Terrorism, Not America, Is a Real and Present Threat to Our Freedom.
Update 2: Michael Yon has posted Hijacking Haditha - where he discusses, from personal experience, how the press can rush to judgement and why American military are easy targets...
Ellie
Posted By Blackfive
This is probably one of the most important reads on the subject of Haditha and echoes sentiments that I've expressed on radio and here on Blackfive. Haditha - Reasonable Doubt:
...Marine Captain James Kimber commanded Lima Company of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. The troops involved in the incident were from Kilo Company. He tells interviewers that he first learned about the shootings in February when he heard that a Time magazine reporter was asking questions about civilian deaths. Notably, Kimber says he heard nothing about a civilian massacre during weekly meetings with the Haditha City Council and talks with local leaders. "It would have been huge, there would have been no question it would have filtered down to us," he said. "We reported no significant atmospheric change as a result of that day." Kimber who has been relieved of his command and is back in Camp Pendleton, CA says, “I believe I was a political casualty as a result of the Haditha incident.” Some media accounts indicate that some of the dead were relatives of a Haditha City Council member. The May 12, 2006 edition of Iraq Reconstruction Update carries a photo and short article about Marine officers holding weekly meetings with the Haditha City Council with no mention of the alleged shooting controversy...
Again, we should investigate, charge if evidence requires and try by court-martial. I would just ask that we all remember who labeled these United States Marines as murderers...
Update: John Donovan at MilBlogs points out a Times UK article - The Wrong Target: Terrorism, Not America, Is a Real and Present Threat to Our Freedom.
Update 2: Michael Yon has posted Hijacking Haditha - where he discusses, from personal experience, how the press can rush to judgement and why American military are easy targets...
Ellie