Massacre at Haditha

Sickening and depressing news from Iraq (via Tbogg): the murder of 15 civilians in Haditha:

A Pentagon probe into the death of Iraqi civilians last November in the Iraqi city of Haditha will show that U.S. Marines "killed innocent civilians in cold blood," a U.S. lawmaker said Wednesday.

From the beginning, Iraqis in the town of Haditha said U.S. Marines deliberately killed 15 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including seven women and three children....

On Wednesday, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said the accounts are true.

Military officials told NBC News that the Marine Corps' own evidence appears to show Murtha is right.

On Nov. 20, U.S. Marines spokesman Capt. Jeffrey Pool issued a statement saying that on the previous day a roadside bomb had killed 15 civilians and a Marine. In a later gunbattle, U.S. and Iraqi troops killed eight insurgents, he said.

U.S. military officials later confirmed that the version of events was wrong....

Military officials say Marine Corp photos taken immediately after the incident show many of the victims were shot at close range, in the head and chest, execution-style. One photo shows a mother and young child bent over on the floor as if in prayer, shot dead, said the officials, who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity because the investigation hasn't been completed.

One military official says it appears the civilians were deliberately killed by the Marines, who were outraged at the death of their fellow Marine.

This is so disheartening.

Also disheartening, but not surprising: the unanimous response from the right. A sampling:

• In From the Cold: "I am sickened by these unfounded charges. Representative Murtha has, once again, dishonored himself, his state, the United States, and the United States Marines. I doubt the Marines have a medal for such a long-slung slug like Representative Murtha is."
• Right Voices: "So Murtha, a former Marine, is convicting his own based on hearsay? Or is he just using his fellow Marine to futher his agenda? Anyway you slice it, he is a traitor!"
• The Asylum: "I am sickened by these unfounded charges. Representative Murtha has, once again, dishonored himself, his state, the United States, and the United States Marines."
• California Conservative: "Frankly, this is the actions of a traitor or a sellout. He deserves to be ridiculed, excoriated and frog-marched off Capitol Hill, then remanded to jail. No bail."

As with Abu Ghraib, the first line of defense is denial (note how many of these people used the word 'unfounded' to describe a story that was confirmed by military officials). The second line of defense is slime and defend. The offense itself doesn't harm the troops; reporting it does. Slaughtering civilians doesn't harm the effort in Iraq; talking about it does. People who are not capable of moral outrage over the crime itself are full of self-righteous anger at the people who are. It's Abu Ghraib all over again.

We haven't gotten to the 'fraternity hijinks' propaganda phase yet...but we will, once the reality becomes undeniable. Already the first tentative excuses are being floated:

• Blue Star Chronicles: "If there was fire coming from this house prior to the Marines entering, they were doing WHAT THEY ARE TRAINED to do by killing the occupants of the house. OF COURSE they were ‘on their knees praying’. You would be on your knees praying too if a bunch of United States Marines were entering YOUR house after you’d been shooting at them. Don’t send our troops to battle with their hands tied."
• Haze Gray Under Way: "The event in Haditha reads like a horror novel. A convoy of Marines comes under fire and attack. They respond and at least 15 civilians are killed in the assault. Haditha is within the Sunni Triangle, the most treacherous area of Iraq and the fact that raid execution has been conducted with minimal impact to noncombatants is a tribute to the training of the soldiers.

We're going to see a lot more of this, and it's going to get a lot uglier.

[That's all, folks]