3rd And Long From Your Own 2
Back when I played football, I learned many valuable lessons. Lessons about guts. Lessons about determination and sucking it up. Lessons about sacrifice and putting the team’s best interests above your own; about continuing the fight until the clock runs out.
President Bush, Congressman John Murtha and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have all come out and made inflammatory statements in regards to supposed atrocities committed by US Marines without any basis for doing so, other than the allegations of some Iraqi villagers and despite statements to the contrary by those involved.
Many of us now know of an alleged incident at Ishaqi, Iraq that occurred in March. According to the US Military, the military raided a house where an al-Qaeda suspect was visiting. After encountering stiff resistance, they incrementally increased the level of force, until it was necessary to call in an AC-130 Specter Gunship. A video of the scene surfaced that the BBC and residents of the area claimed was proof of a massacre by US troops.
It showed numerous bodies with what was described as obvious bullet wounds. There were media reports that the bodies shown in the video, including children, were all bound and shot. US troops were cleared of any wrongdoing. The Pentagon investigation found that they properly escalated the use of force.
You’re -quite purposefully- not being told about the dozens of allegations of supposed assaults and brutality that have been determined to be unfounded. The vast majority of accusations against US troops have been dismissed.
What we are now witnessing is the manifestation - in the terrorists- of the realization that they cannot defeat US troops militarily. Therefore they are seeking a political end to at least US involvement, by framing them for massacres that they are either committing themselves or by attacking US troops –as I said in my introduction– “from behind the skirts of women”.
I believe all of these allegations of so-called “atrocities” or “massacres” will eventually be shown to be part of a broader campaign to discredit US troops and force them to leave. I believe in the coming months, we will see a sharp escalation of these accusations.
The international press has already tried and convicted these men. A quick gander at an Internet search of the latest headlines reveals:
“First, The Killings, Then The Cover Up” - Sydney Morning Herald, 6/3/06
“Please Stop The American Troops killing more people” -The UK’s Guardian 6/2/06
I have heard nothing over the last week that indicates anyone is taking any sort of measured approach to these allegations. All I hear is “massacres”, “atrocities”, “executions” “horrible crime”. If it turns out that the Marines did NOT engage in atrocities, then those responsible for these outrageous statements must offer the Marine Corps an apology, and the American people their resignations, for their stunning lack of judgment and political cowardice.
