US military braces for "day of pain" over Iraqi killings

[bigtree]

09 July 2006

BAGHDAD: Commanders can expect a "day of pain" once the top US general in Iraq reviews a report that finds they failed to act on complaints their troops killed 24 civilians at Haditha, a US military official said on Saturday.

The report into whether officers failed to investigate or even covered up for Marines accused by Iraqis of killing men, women and children in cold blood was passed to General George Casey on Friday, the military said in a brief statement.

Disciplinary action now seems likely, officials said, over failures by 2nd Marine Division officers in their command duty.

"The Marines will go through their day of pain," said a military official in Baghdad familiar with recommendations made by ground forces commander, Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli.

Its findings should be made public soon, possibly in a week, as US generals and diplomats strive to assure a sceptical Iraqi public – and their new government – that soldiers are being held accountable for a string of suspected abuses.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3726287a12,00.html

[NVMojo]

1. sadly, this is the result of the Bush admin terror seige on Iraq

and their mentality will harm our troops, just as the behavior of the bad seeds in some of our troops will harm the good ones ...

[Ilsa]

2. Now wait a minute. Who will likely experience the "day of pain"?

Will it be the soldiers who broke the law, or another group of soldiers who are attacked, tortured, and killed in retribution?

[niyad]

3. will it be anything like the days of pain that the families of the victims

and their friends and neighbors are feeling?

[otohara]

4. Only A Day?

WTF are they talking about?

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Disciplinary action

I can bet company and battalion COs will see their careers are over, as they might even be recommended for dismissal from the service

SENOR NCOS will have recommendations from career counselors to ahem, file for retirement

We might even see a Regimental Commander or two face an inglorious end to their career and letters of reprimand entered into their files.

Ironically if a senior officer intervened the way they should, the same results might have been the same. That said, no officer will face a court martial, even if they failed in their command duties.

That is what all these code words mean.

[otohara]

6. Thanks For This

When up is down and war is peace and Bush is * - I already expect there to be "little" action taken towards these men. Admitting to mistakes, misconduct, lies, etal...is just not in the DNA of our leaders.