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The Iraq War: The Haditha Massacre
Q Bit
The news made me sick in my stomach. By now we have become used to occasional, deeply troubling stories from Iraq, but this one is different.
Politics is not my forte, but I understand, within my limitations, the value of existence and that the core of my living is supported by an environment promoting life with respect.
On May 26, the Los Angeles Times reported:
Marines from Camp Pendleton wantonly killed unarmed Iraqi civilians, including women and children, and then tried to cover up the slayings in the insurgent stronghold of Haditha, military investigations have found.Officials who have seen the findings of the investigations said the filing of criminal charges, including some murder counts, was expected, which would make the Nov. 19 incident the most serious case of alleged U.S. war crimes in Iraq.
The report continued:
In its initial statement to the media, the Marine Corps said the Iraqi civilians were killed either by an insurgent bomb or by crossfire between Marines and insurgents.But after Time magazine obtained pictures showing dead women and children and quoted Iraqis who said the attack was unprovoked, the Marine Corps backtracked on its explanation and called for an investigation.
Now that isn't new. Similar stories of innocent civilians being killed have been reported before--collateral damage, as the war hawks call it, a small price to pay for Liberty and Freedom.
The following day, I turned pale.
On May 27, Los Angeles Times followed up the story:
Photographs taken by a Marine intelligence team have convinced investigators that a Marine unit killed as many as 24 unarmed Iraqis, some of them "execution-style," in the insurgent stronghold of Haditha after a roadside bomb killed an American in November, officials close to the investigation said Friday.The pictures are said to show wounds to the upper bodies of the victims, who included several women and six children. Some were shot in the head and some in the back, congressional and defense officials said.
One government official said the pictures showed that infantry Marines from Camp Pendleton "suffered a total breakdown in morality and leadership, with tragic results."
You can read the chilling details and the further follows-ups in the Los Angeles Times.
The algorithm is simple: Liberty and Freedom at the cost of innocent lives. This side and that side. It doesn't matter which side you are on. You suffer either way. A bullet is a bullet and it takes a life. American or Iraqi.
President Bush seems to have taken notice. AP reports via Yahoo news:
"I am troubled by the initial news stories," Bush said in his first public comments about the deaths of about two dozen civilians at Haditha last November. "I'm mindful that there's a thorough investigation going on. If, in fact, laws were broken, there will be punishment."
It appears that the President has expressed his genuine concern. But given the record of his administration, in particular the reluctance to function within the laws and constitutional premises, and living in a heap of lies which grows every day, I am skeptic.
Here's hoping President Bush will walk his talk this time, because it's never too late to do the right thing.
The Iraq War: The Haditha Massacre
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temporal
URL
June 1, 2006
02:15 PM
QB:
Read this and tell me if this sounds familiar:)
PTSD: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
MAJOR FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PTSD
In their Vietnam Era Stress Inventory, Wilson and Krauss (1980, 1982) defined seven major factors associated with PTSD. They include:
1. Depression and Suidical Syndrome
2. Isolation and Withdrawal
3. Sensation Seeking Syndrome
4. Paranoid State Syndrome
5. Profound Psychic Numbing
6. Alienation and Cynicism Syndrome
7. Problem of Intimacy Syndrome
sustained and hostile occupation does that to the occupying forces...
we should brace ourselves for worse
ayatollah george bush zindabad
Q Bit
URL
June 1, 2006
09:16 PM
Temp:
Yes: It does indeed sound familiar. I mean, of course the reason behind can be attributed to stress related issues that the occupation forces suffer from.
But that's not the complete story. The Marines are trained for combats. They are also aware of potential nerve breaking situations and how to handle themselves in such situations.
If we are looking for justifications, then of course there is always a justification for any event of occurence no matter how sick it is.
The troublesome aspects of the story (also notice similarities with Abu Ghraib), are in the attempted cover ups by the Marine officials despite the fact that the pictures taken right after the incident are in absolute contradiction of the stories of the soldiers involved in the crime.
How much worse could it become? If shooting in the back of the head of a 3 year old is not worse enough, I don't know what is next.
Shantanu Dutta
June 2, 2006
02:06 AM
It is collateral damage if the Iraqis get hurt- It is war casualty if the Americans do - simple. The Administration is "concerned" if the decibel level rises too high. That is all
Q Bit
URL
June 4, 2006
12:52 AM
Shantanu:
yes, spikes like Haditha make them concerned, otherwise I don't think they are bothered.
Sanjay
June 12, 2006
12:03 AM
Q Bit, pity that nobody from the Muslim world cared when Saddam was committing attrocities that easily dwarfed Haditha. But if the Americans so much as sneeze, then suddenly it's time for Islamists to notice. Shows what the credibility of the critics is.
When the Pakistan Army was bombing villages in Baluchistan, creating casualties far worse than Haditha, I wonder whether any of the Muslim activists even noticed? It's pretty indicative of who's setting the human rights agenda among the anti-establishment crowd.
Q Bit
URL
June 12, 2006
12:35 AM
Q Bit, pity that nobody from the Muslim world cared when Saddam was committing attrocities that easily dwarfed Haditha
What makes you think the Muslim world didn't care? Saddam's regime was always known to be a brutal one and he had his fair share of criticism. The point is Saddam is not alone; there are tens of countries that are equally oppressive.
It's not about the Muslim world who didn't care, it's also about the non-muslim world who prefer to look the other way.
How many countries officially criticized the US for maintaining the Guantanamo Bay prison?
How many stories you see in the media that detail the human rights issues in North korea as opposed to their ambitious nuclear program?
How many criticisms you see in the case of China?
The list goes on.
But if the Americans so much as sneeze, then suddenly it's time for Islamists to notice.
Are you saying Haditha amounts to sneeze? You must be kidding yourself.
When the Pakistan Army was bombing villages in Baluchistan, creating casualties far worse than Haditha, I wonder whether any of the Muslim activists even noticed? It's pretty indicative of who's setting the human rights agenda among the anti-establishment crowd.
They do notice, just that it never gets the headline. Talking about Pakistan's bombing in Baluch, Indian government is not really far behind in kashmir and NE provinces. True, Indian army does not bomb, but they routinely violates human rights.
balaji
June 12, 2006
02:57 AM
I guess we are talking here about an avowed democracy. The mighty righteous US.
Not that I am condoning Saddam's atrocities against the Shias or his own tribes.
If Saddam, tried to cover up - it wd be no surprise.
If avowed angels of democracy-spreading do such things they call for criticism. And the credibility of the criticism need not be questioned.
If one starts comparing US army atrocities with Saddam then are we equating both of them on some count? If so, what is the big difference between both of them?
War is sinister. Only the wise think a million times before going to war. Not trigger-happy, macho men.
Sanjay
June 12, 2006
07:04 PM
[i]What makes you think the Muslim world didn't care? Saddam's regime was always known to be a brutal one and he had his fair share of criticism. The point is Saddam is not alone; there are tens of countries that are equally oppressive.[/i]
When did Saddam have his share of criticism from Muslims? Show me the rallies, show me the activist campaigns. There were none worthy of mention. Where was CAIR? AWOL.
[i]It's not about the Muslim world who didn't care, it's also about the non-muslim world who prefer to look the other way.
How many countries officially criticized the US for maintaining the Guantanamo Bay prison?
How many stories you see in the media that detail the human rights issues in North korea as opposed to their ambitious nuclear program?
How many criticisms you see in the case of China?
The list goes on. [/i]
On the contrary, the evidence of famine and torture are well publicized for North Korea, and repression in China as well.
The Western media have set the benchmark for human rights criticism, certainly not the Islamic media.
[i]Are you saying Haditha amounts to sneeze? You must be kidding yourself. [/i]
No, you're merely alleging that I am, as per the usual misrepresentation. Compare the Muslim reaction to attrocities committed by Saddam or Musharraf to their reaction to Haditha. The difference couldn't be more obvious.
[i]They do notice, just that it never gets the headline. Talking about Pakistan's bombing in Baluch, Indian government is not really far behind in kashmir and NE provinces. True, Indian army does not bomb, but they routinely violates human rights.[/i]
On the contrary, there have been no reports in Islamic news media of the attrocities Islamabad has been perpetrating in Baluchistan. Where's Al-Jazeera? Silent, of course.
http://baltimore.indymedia.org/newswire/display/11692/index.php
Again, your reply shows that you regard human rights as a tit-for-tat game. But those who wear fur don't have any credibility in protesting it. Muslims show no abatement in the number seeking to immigrate to the developed West to taste the better life it offers -- that better American standard of living which is a direct product of the better American values that they just can't fathom, but whose fruits they crave.
Muslims won't achieve more credibility with non-Muslims by locking women under veils and burkhas, or by playing a selective game on human rights. You can be heard all you want, but being believed is an altogether different matter.
Ashlie
URL
April 4, 2007
03:25 PM
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