Soldier home from Iraq: I killed innocents for my country

[Exgeneral]

In light of the current festivities in Iraq, an reminder what got us to this point.....

Sgt. Massey: On the outskirts of Baghdad. Near a military compound. There were demonstrators at the end of the street. They were young and they had no weapons. And when we rolled onto the scene, there was already a tank that was parked on the side of the road. If the Iraqis wanted to do something, they could have blown up the tank. But they didn't. They were only holding a demonstration. Down at the end of the road, we saw some RPGs (rocket--propelled grenades) lined up against the wall. That put us at ease because we thought: 'Wow, if they were going to blow us up, they would have done it.'
Paul Rockwell: Were the protest signs in English or Arabic?
Sgt. Massey: Both.
Paul Rockwell: Who gave the order to wipe the demonstrators out?
Sgt. Massey: Higher Command. We were told to be on the lookout for civilians because a lot of the Fedayeen and the Republican Guards had tossed away uniforms and put on civilian clothes and were mounting terrorist attacks on American soldiers. The intelligence reports that were given to us were basically known by every member of the chain of command. The rank structure that was implemented in Iraq by the chain of command was evident to every Marine in Iraq. The order to shoot the demonstrators, I believe, came from senior government officials including intelligence communities within the military and the U.S. government?
Paul Rockwell: What kind of firepower was employed?
Sgt. Massey: M-16s, 50-cal.machine guns.
Paul Rockwell: You fired into six or ten kids? Were they all taken out?
Sgt. Massey: Oh, yeah. Well, I had a 'mercy' on one guy. When we rolled up, he was hiding behind a concrete pillar. I saw him and raised my weapon up, and he put up his hands. He ran off. I told everybody 'Don't shoot.' Half of his foot was trailing behind him. So he was running with half of his foot cut off
More...

[Worst Username Ever]

1. a good read, powerful

[G_j]

2. I've met this man

when I stood with Veterans For Peace (I am not a vet but a supporter)

I've never seen people react as they did when they read his sign:
"I killed Innocent Civilians For My Government" as he stood in full uniform.

As people drove by mostly they looked quite shocked and were quiet, often looking away. It is a very sobering an effective message.
God bless him!

Thanks ! for sharing this story, I didn't know it was available on line.

[Kanary]

5. If you see him again, please give him my heartfelt thanks!

What he did is courageous, and priceless.

Kanary

[Exgeneral]

6. I note that you can get an emaiil to him

via the authors of the article.

[G_j]

10. and I know he would greatly appreciate it

he deserves our support. What he is doing is incredibly courageous.
He is not only doing interviews, he is standing on the street corner in uniform, admitting that he killed innocent people.

(He also spoke at our local March 30 peace rally)

:toast:

[Kanary]

16. email sent, and friends alerted to this piece

I didn't see the addy before, because I have to admit that I couldn't finish the whole thing. That is just awful.

Do you know........ how does he get along with his fellow Marines? That was a very large part of his life. Are there others who support him? I would certainly hope so, but..... I know how that goes.......

He'll be in my thoughts......

Kanary

[G_j]

19. I really don't know

I didn't really have a chance to talk a whole lot. There was one incident that I recall where we were harassed and that was by a young Marine in a car. You could tell that something in him short circuited as he went into a screaming rage and drove around the block again to scream some more. I felt very bad for him. This obviously shook him up and took him far out of his comfort zone. He obviously did not want see to a Marine in that light and saw it as a betrayal. Our friend was very calm and attempted to talk to him, but the young man was not in a communicating place.

I'm sure there are mixed reactions to this kind of honesty, it strikes so deeply at the very heart of what they have put their lives on the line for.

[Stone_Spirits]

21. I know what you mean

it is hard to read because it is so upsetting.
so sad

[Kanary]

23. thank you!

AFter so many posts condeming DUers for admitting to having honest emotions, I'm to the point of deciding I need to just not reveal anything about myself at all.

So, I appreciate your words. We're all different, and what some can handle, others can't.

Thanks again.....

Kanary

[regnaD kciN]

32. I don't know how Marines get along with him, but...

...for the wingnuts in general, he's right up there on the Hate List with Michael Moore. Google his name, and you'll find site after site describing him as a traitor, an al-Qaeda sympathizer, mentally-disturbed, or just a fictitious left-wing hoax.

[maxanne]

34. wow

That is true courage. We should all send messages of support. The veterans for peace are so brave.

This is enough to make me weep. We need to be out of there.

[Kanary]

13. Thanks, I will do that!

He, more than a lot who get recognized, needs the support. I really don't know that I could do that.

Kanary

[G_j]

11. yes, I will n/t

[janx]

15. Where was this?

In what part of the country?

[G_j]

35. NC

Asheville

[maxanne]

3. chilling

thanks for posting this. Everyone should read it.

[maxanne]

4. chilling

thanks for posting this. Everyone should read it.

[alittlelark]

7. A very brave and moral man

stuck in a cowardly immoral situation. He will be able to get over this because he chose to speak about it - he chose the moral path.

I'm sure his head is still in a whirl, but he'll come out of it OK, over time.

What about the others?

[Exgeneral]

9. That should be a concern of this entire country

not only the mental nightmares like what happened to the guys in Vietnam, but on top of that the unknown quantity of DU exposure . That's depleted uranium, and we are just now coming to grips with the casualties from it's previous use in Kosovo and GW1.

Did you know that when you factor in the chronic injuries and Gulf War syndrome,the casualty rate from Gulf War 1 was the highest in the history of modern warfare?

[alittlelark]

14. The DU issue keeps erradicating itself from my brain

it is a defense mechanism I guess. It is so far past horrifying that my mind prefers to >'delete'.

Where is the outrage, where is the media? 90+% of this country would be up-in-arms if they knew!!

maybe that's why they don't know......:cry:

[PaDUer]

18. They're still in denial about Viet Nam

they still are trying to HIDE the effects of agent orange and ignoring the families who've contacted them!!

8. the chickens are coming home to roost

The more stuff gets out, the more there's hope.
Sounds like My Lai all over again to me.
Sheeesh

[janx]

12. Amazing.

The whole article is simply amazing.

[Cha]

17. Thankfully, we have people like

Sgt. Massey who are willing to talk to reporters.
snips~
"Sgt. Massey: The cause of the Iraqi revolt against the American occupation. What they need to know is we killed a lot of innocent people. I think at first the Iraqis had the understanding that casualties are a part of war. But over the course of time, the occupation hurt the Iraqis. And I didn't see any humanitarian support.
Paul Rockwell: What experiences turned you against the war and made you leave the Marines?

[Capn Sunshine]

20. This message should have been in F911

I honestly think he held back compared to what he knew, for the sake of trying to appear as neutral as possible.

I guess this was a good idea, as the exposure widens. I want more red meat than a lot of poeple.

[MisterP]

22. another Smedley Butler!

[Exgeneral]

26. "War is a racket"

that guy?

[JSJ]

24. do the crime of murder, express remorse, get off free and clear

Only in the good old US Armed Forces! BooYa!

[LibertyorDeath]

25. Kick

They DON'T hate us for our Freedom

[Kanary]

27. I just received a kind note from the author

Thank you again for posting this!

Please, everyone send some greetings to this courageous troop!

Kanary

[G_j]

33. yes

especially after reading above how the R Wingnuts have it in for him.

[keithyboy]

28. NOooooo!! We don't do that. This guy is treasonous just like Kerry was..

You know damn well Kerry was lying after the Viet Nam war and do is this guy. Abu Gharib was an illusion, and we would never abuse of torture prisoners. Now stop saying that!!! (sarc off)

[Cheswick2.0]

29. kick

Very good article.

[hedda_foil]

30. Shoot the Demontrators.

Target practice?

[Sweetpea]

31. These are the kinds of testimonials people need to read as well

as those by the Iraqi people. I am still having a hard time finding good links from Iraqis.