Marine on Trial in the Court of Public Opinion

I thought I'd post this here...after already posting on another blog of an anti-war Brit.

Here's his rant...and my response follows:

American Marines have been filmed shooting injured Iraqis at point blank range.

The picture below was taken of one such incident. It took place in a Fallujan mosque.

click photo to read ITN news story

That's right. In a mosque. If there could possibly be a more inappropriate place to showcase wanton disregard for Muslim life, I can't think of it. If there's any image more likely to launch hitherto moderate Muslims into fanatical vengeance fantasies, I can't imagine it.

(Christians might like to imagine how they'd react to footage of a wounded, dying Western man being shot at point blank range by a group of Arab soldiers on the altar of a church. This doesn't even take into account the separate horror Muslims will feel at soldiers trampling over prayer rugs with their dirty boots, or the thoughtless, careless way in which such sacred buildings are summarily destroyed.)

One incident was shown on ITN news this evening, with just the soundtrack of the killing heard clearly, but with the picture paused as it was "too distressing to be broadcast".

In another incident, also shown on British TV tonight, soldiers are seen discussing how a shot Iraqi has fallen between two buildings and cannot escape. One soldier walks up to the gap, aims at the injured man, shoots, and walks away saying "He's done". This footage was broadcast in Australia and other countries days ago and has whipped up a storm of outrage trailing right across the planet.

Fallujah is broken, smashed, smelling of "broken corpses and decaying flesh" , with no water or electricity or food. We hear that 50 doctors and nurses have tried to enter but that 17 of these were shot dead by US troops while crossing the River Euphrates. We hear today that the journalist who made that report has been shot by US soldiers.

We hear stray dogs and cats are eating corpses in Fallujah because the bodies aren't being cleared away. That Iraqi blogger also makes the following claims:

"They report today that Asma Khamis al-Muhannadi, a doctor who witnessed the US and Iraqi National Guard raid the general hospital said, "We were tied up and beaten despite being unarmed and having only our medical instruments."

She said the hospital was targeted by bombs and rockets during the initial siege of Fallujah, and troops dragged patients from their beds and pushed them against the wall.

Al-Muhannadi went on to say that all of them were put under intense inspection and, "Two female doctors were forced to totally undress."

She continued on, "I was with a woman in labor," she said, "The umbilical cord had not yet been cut. At that time, a US soldier shouted at one of the (Iraqi) national guards to arrest me and tie my hands while I was helping the mother to deliver. I will never forget this incident in my life.""

We hear that Amnesty expresses concerns about violation of international laws in Fallujah, that the Red Cross and Red Crescent have been denied access because the US says it is capable of treating any remaining civilians, despite the vast numbers of innocent people who have bled to death or died as a result of lack of access to basic medical care.

We learn that typhoid is spreading in "ghost town" Fallujah and that puppet president (unrecognised by Iraqis) Allawi laughably insists there has been not a single civilian loss in Fallujah. No wonder he's so unpopular with his people. Not even Rumsfeld or Hoon are brazen enough to make that bold a claim. Conservative estimates are currently around 2,000 Iraqi dead. The distinction between "insurgent" and "civilian" is impossible to make.

Military families, traditionally pro-war and pro-government, have made unprecedented breaks with convention by protesting about the Iraq campaign vociferously. A few days ago, families of dead Black Watch soldiers forced their way to Downing Street's steps to hand in a wreath of protest. Soldiers and their families have spoken out so strongly against this war that the Ministry of Defence scarcely knows how to handle the sudden abandonment of protocol.

And meanwhile, Iraqi sources say the Fallujah massacre has only inspired the able-bodied men of Iraq to fight all the more against their unwanted occupiers. They intend to fight to the death.

This is a war waged without reason, without humanity and without a hope of succeeding in its professed aims. A few years ago, a lot of Muslims disliked the West's foreign policy, but only a handful of crazed extremists ever took violent revenge. Today, watching thousands upon thousands of people being killed, their homes destroyed and an entire city reduced to rubble, how many more will be preparing to fight back? With pride, life and hope obliterated so publicly and so humiliatingly, what do these nations have to lose by fighting us back? Aren't these ideal conditions for destructive hate and suicidal vengeance to flourish?

As a global population, we have never been more at risk. Let's not kid ourselves: we are all pawns in our governments' callous, acquisitive war games and we will be the ones who have to pay for their greed.

This senseless killing must stop now and those responsible must be brought to justice. If you oppose this war, please make sure your voice is heard.

Okay...here's my response...

Ah...maybe things are different in Great Britain, but I think that the Marine in question is entitled to a trial before he's convicted of being guilty of ANYTHING.

I have to agree with the previous commenter...if someone on the opposite side of your opinions said the sky will be blue...you'd want to argue about it, just to be contrary.

I've heard the audio of the incident...I don't believe anyone's seen the video...and all I see within your blog is a still picture of a Marine guarding a prisoner. No evidence of wrong doing in all those "fact filled" pieces of evidence. I'm sure that the military will make a full investigation of the incident.

You need to understand the context of right and wrong, especially in a combat zone is relatively fuzzy...I believe that Clausewitz called this the "fog of war." If you haven't heard, the insurgents have been known to booby trap their dead...and even their wounded. I'm sure you've seen it in a hundred movies, the guy that says "Leave me behind...but leave me a grenade." The grenade is then placed under the body (as it's bleeding out). When the body is rolled, the spoon flies, the four second fuse starts burning and KABOOM! Whoever may have rolled over the dead soldier...whoever was providing security (i.e. the guy pointing his weapon at the insurgent)...and anyone else that might be in the area...a corpsman perhaps?

Let's say for the sake of argument that the insurgent hasn't yet bled out...but he sees the opportunity to kill some American Marines...and decides to use his grenade, pistol, etc.

Lots of ifs here...but it is completely plausible.

You seem to have lost sight of the fact that the Iraqi insurgents have used the mosques in Fallujah improperly in accordance of the Laws of Land Warfare and the Geneva Convention. True, the buildings do enjoy certain sanctity from attack...provided they're not actively supporting enemy activity...but the minute they're used for any purpose to support an enemy force, they lose their immunity. The invisible force field goes away and they become legitimate military targets.

I'm also appalled at your apparent disregard for what both your forces and my forces are trying to accomplish in Iraq. Did we force this "good guy" to don an orange jumpsuit, kneel in front of a video camera to plead for his life, and then did the Marines saw his head off with a K-bar? No, no and hell no.

Before we try to tag this Marine with the crime of the century, let's allow him his day in court.

I guess I'm back to the "shame on you" stance...

From the high ground...

MajorDad1984