Sources: Lawmakers told to brace for Haditha fallout

[MaineDem]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Some members of Congress have been told to brace for the fallout from potential charges of murder and cover-up stemming from an inquiry into an alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines, sources say.

Military investigators strongly suspect that what happened in the western Iraqi city of Haditha last November was a rampage by a small number of Marines who snapped after one of their own was killed by a roadside bomb, the sources told CNN.

Pentagon sources told CNN that at least 24 Iraqis were killed.

Sources told CNN on Monday that the investigation is substantially complete, and that charges -- including murder charges -- could be filed sometime in June. And, sources said, investigators have concluded there was a cover-up -- but won't say if it is limited to the handful of Marines who did the killings.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/05/29/marines.haditha/index.html?section=cnn_topstories

[Kagemusha]

1. Something that might be relevant to DU'ers

In the 4th paragraph, "the investigation" refers to the investigation by NCIS into the incident itself. "Investigators" refers to the Army probe into the cover-up, which is, as I just said, Army, not NCIS, so in spite of grossly misleading reporting, these are not the same investigators who've largely completed one investigation and who have made conclusions in a separate case.

There's no excuse for this kind of sloppiness when which probe is investigating what is clear public knowledge.

[Rose Siding]

2. There's plenty to contradict that a cover-up was limited to the killers

While the military was putting out its first erroneous story, officers were at the scene overseeing photos of dead parents sheilding dead children with their bodies.

Yesterday's LAT:

He said he and his team remained at the camp until they were called back to the scene of the explosion about 5:30 p.m. the same day.

When they arrived, Briones said that most of the Marines on the site were sergeants or above, including several officers: "I remember because they didn't have enough lance corporals to deal with the bodies."

Briones said his team was assigned to mark the bodies of the victims by number and place them in body bags. He said a sergeant or a junior officer, he couldn't recall which, asked if any of the Marines carried personal cameras and that he and another Marine, whom he identified as Lance Cpl. Andrew Wright of Novato, said they did.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-marine29may29,0,2620650.story?page=2&coll=la-home-headlines

[SpiralHawk]

3. Charlie Gibson just interviewed Rep. John Murtha on ABC's Good Morning

It was the most shameful bit of "journalism" I have ever witnessed.

Gibson tried again and again to apologize for Bush and the massacre and the cover-up, and he attempted to attack Murtha (the messenger).

Murtha shoved Gibson's shameless spin, and apologia, and propaganda, back down his neoCON throat.

ABC should be ashamed to have this partisan hack on its staff -- trying to cover-up and apologize for an important story that the American public has a right to know about.

No massacres of innocent women and children in the name of the American people -- it is that simple.

ABC and its Good Morning Apologists do not get it.

[dysfunctional press]

9. charlie gibson makes me ill...

i used to like abc news- but not anymore.
i just won't watch faux jr.

[symbolman]

15. Oh, they "get it" alright

it's their JOB to sell us the Cigar Smoking Roller Skating Chimp that does tricks, badly..

Welcome to DISNEYLAND, remember who owns ABC.. FantasyLand is right around the corner.. when will they create MEDIALAND or have they already?

[teknomanzer]

39. MEDIALAND... uh, you're living in it...

how else do you think the American public was persuaded to go along with preemptive war?

[rodeodance]

18. I hoped you sent ABC/GIPSON an memo with your complaint.

[Supersedeas]

28. Charles Gibson is a prop -- he doesn't want truth in an interview

[uppityperson]

30. Heard Murtha on NPR, guy is pissed "murder" "cover-up"

good interview on NPR

[Trajan]

41. No massacres of innocent women/children in the name of the American people

It really IS that simple .....

[gratuitous]

4. "Brace for Haditha fallout"

The story starts with "some members of Congress" are on notice that there might be some unpleasantness. I wonder which members? And who told them to be ready for "fallout"? Is CNN saying that some people might be upset when the story and the details of "potential charges of murder and cover-up" come out? What does CNN know about these details, and why is CNN more concerned with how "some members of Congress" might be affected by this than it is with the actual events?

[JNelson6563]

5. The dumbasses who supported the war?

That's my guess. Thsoe bright enough to see from the beginning that this war was a bad idea are looking mighty good to their constituents right about now. The others? Eh, not so good.

Julie

[babylonsister]

6. "Unpleasantness"? Jeeze, can that word be any more benign

when describing the 'fallout' for this atrocity?
I'd like to see the officers who were in charge held responsible, and don't give a damn how Congress feels about it.:grr:

[Virginia Dare]

11. Could be the final nail in the Chimp Administration coffin?

Once the depth of this atrocity, and probably others, becomes known the last vestiges of support for the war and this administration will be completely gone.

Next comes the all out war between Congress and the Administration which has been simmering off and on for months now.

As his poll numbers go south, Bush will continue to ramp up his power grab to maximum overdrive. What will the Congressional Bushbots do? That is the question.

[rodeodance]

19. I thought lots of issues were the last straw (Katrina, for example)--but

with each last straw--the jaugernaut continues.

[Virginia Dare]

25. True, but...

after Katrina, I think his approval numbers fell quite substantially, I think they will do so again when the true depth of this atrocity comes to light. I think with Murtha and others out there speaking the truth, it will come to light this time.

From all accounts that I have read, scores of civilians, including small children were ruthlessly murdered, with no quarter shown whatsoever. Bushco has nothing in their arsenal to combat this kind of truth.


He will be in the mid-teens or lower in the next month. My prediction.

[wordpix]

33. this SHOULD be the nail but with this gang of criminals it's one horrible

"incident" to the next. Yes, it will be interesting to watch the Congressional Bushbots as the coverup is uncovered. You can bet some of them knew about this and were part of the coverup themselves. Watch who squirms most.

[cliss]

38. I just put 2 + 2 together

Now I realize why those 2 scumbags had their little "appearance" last week.

Bush & Blair were going to beat the press to the bad news. They were going to cut them off at the pass, because they KNEW it was coming down the pike.

Scumbags.

[acmejack]

7. Incidentally, I wrote to the editorialist that quoted the FREEP

and mentioned the 119 dumbasses that responded with their simplistic tripe.

Dear Ms. Heard,

It pains me deeply to find myself in circumstances which require me to
write this letter to you, but after reading your column of 30 May, 2006, I
felt obligated to do so. I wish to go on the record and state that the
Free Republic is a known as a radical Right Wing web site which represents
some of the most extreme elements of American society, people known for
their fringe views, who in no manner, shape, or form speak for the greater
portion of American Society.

I am quite literally sickened by the events at Haditha and in no way
support the commission of war crimes, regardless of the uniform of the
perpetrator of those crimes. Those who commited these reprehensible acts
of cold blooded murder must be punished in accordance with the law. It
is unacceptable for this to stop at the very lowest level, however. I
fervently desire to see the architects of this illegal war brought to
justice before the International Court at the Hague. If, and when, we
overthrow the despots who have seized control of the US and get the
situation to a point where the people actually have a voice in things, we
shall be happy to remand Messrs. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Ms. Rice to
the competent authority.

Very Respectfully,
acmejack

She responded:

I can't agree with you more. I also hope that Bush, Blair and their sycophants will get their just rewards at the hands of a competent judge. Bush certainly knew what he was doing when he opted out of the International Court and signed bi-lateral agreements with sycophantic nations to the effect that the US military cannot be charged in those countries for war crimes etc. I also know that the tipping point is nearing. Two thirds of Americans do not know support the Iraq war and the approvals ratings of both Bush and Blair are heading firmly south.

Best wishes from Cairo,
Linda Heard

[MaineDem]

8. Wow

She didn't address FR but those are some pretty harsh words for "Bush, Blair and their sycophants."

[Canuckistanian]

10. That's amazing!

You should post this separately!

[pberq]

17. Amazing response!

[llmart]

23. Thanks for taking the time to write that..........

we need more people to keep writing these sorts of letters and I think I need to write more also. Every LTTE, etc. helps.

[wordpix]

34. the world has had it with BushCo. Thanks for the letters.

[shadowknows69]

12. The lawmakers brace for fallout?

how about our fucking soldiers?

[wordpix]

37. maybe certain lawmakers were part of the coverup & those are the ones who

should brace? :shrug:

[David__77]

13. Such massacre is the essence of this unjust, immoral war.

The Iraqi people rightly stand in judgement against the U.S. government and those U.S. citzens who refuse to take action against these atrocities.

[symbolman]

14. Is this the

Lt Calley Moment in this repeat war? The My Lai Massacre..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Calley

Like Mark Twain said, "History does not neccessarily Repeat itself, but it Rhymes.."

[KittyWampus]

16. Is there any chance those Marines were a "Death Squad" acting on orders?

[rodeodance]

20. see this poll also:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1313972

[leesa]

21. No question of right or wrong to these people, just good or bad PR.

They are all busily thinking up their personal excuses and rationalizations to stabilize their re-election position. They are completely amoral.

[LuckyLib]

22. It was only a matter of time. Our soldiers (for the most part) get

that they've been railroaded. There is no end in sight. Bombs go off daily, murdering Iraqis civilians and police, and American soliders alike. Someone was bound to snap, and here we have it. Let the coverup begin!

[maxsolomon]

24. This is what war makes inevitable.

KURTZ
" I've seen horrors...horrors that you've seen. But you have no right to call
me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that...But
you have no right to judge me. It's impossible for words to describe what is
necessary to those who do not know what horror means.
Horror. Horror has a face...And you must make a friend of horror. Horror and
moral terror are your friends. If they are not then they are enemies to be feared.
They are truly enemies. I remember when I was with Special Forces...Seems
a thousand centuries ago...We went into a camp to innoculate the children.
We left the camp after we had innoculated the children for Polio, and this old
man came running after us and he was crying. He couldn't see. We went
back there and they had come and hacked off every innoculated arm. There
they were in a pile...A pile of little arms. And I remember...I...I...I cried...
I wept like some grandmother. I wanted to tear my teeth out. I didn't know what I
wanted to do. And I want to remember it. I never want to forget it. I never want
to forget. And then I realized...like I was shot...Like I was shot with a
diamond...a diamond bullet right through my forehead...And I thought:
My God...the genius of that. The genius. The will to do that. Perfect,
genuine, complete, crystalline, pure. And then I realized they were
stronger than we. Because they could stand that these were not
monsters...These were men...trained cadres...these men who fought with
their hearts, who had families, who had children, who were filled with
love...but they had the strength...the strength...to do that. If I had ten
divisions of those men our troubles here would be over very quickly. You
have to have men who are moral...and at the same time who are able to
utilize their primordal instincts to kill without feeling...without passion...
without judgement...without judgement. Because it's judgement that
defeats us.

[Virginia Dare]

26. This is why as a country you do not take the decision to...

go to war lightly.

I remember how sickened I was when the MSM treated the whole Iraq invasion like it was the Superbowl or something. That was the last straw for me and I was finally finished with the MSM.

They should have been investigating the veracity of the Bush Administration's claims, but instead they were acting as cheerleaders for their lies, all in the name of greed!

Blood is on their hands as well.

[Guaranteed]

27. Bingo. "Rah rah."

:puke:

[daleo]

29. I liked Conrad's version better - it fits Bush/Rummy/etc.

"His was an impenetrable darkness. I looked at him as you peer down at a man who is lying at the bottom of a precipice where the sun never shines...

"One evening coming in with a candle I was startled to hear him say a little tremulously, 'I am lying here in the dark waiting for death.' The light was within a foot of his eyes. I forced myself to murmur, 'Oh, nonsense!' and stood over him as if transfixed.

"Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. Oh, I wasn't touched. I was fascinated. It was as though a veil had been rent. I saw on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror -- of an intense and hopeless despair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision -- he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath:

"'The horror! The horror!'

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

40. "Reliable Sources" has gone off the deep end!

:D

[bobbieinok]

31. emphasizing many previous posts

--this is the millionth 'last straw', knock-out blow, etc, for the bushco??????????

--why are just 'a few lawmakers' warned?????

[wordpix]

32. there was a cover-up, all right, that no doubt leads to RummyBushCheney's

bed of evil and incompetence.

[Rex]

35. Iraq - the gift that keeps on giving (to the terrorists)

Not all the car bombs in Iraq could equal the 'capital' the terrorists are going to get out of this massacre! Thanks George, thanks Dick! You guys really have put America in the spotlight and made us so much safer! :sarcasm:

[TankLV]

36. Did you hear who won "amerikkkan idol"!!!!!! Who cares about a stinky

old DEMOCRATIC war anyway?

The dems under clinton's cock started this war, after all, the repukes only controll 3 branches of our government!

Why do you hate amerikkka?