I posted it over at my old blog because I haven't figured out the blockquote feature on MovableType yet. Here is the summary:
"So...40% of the badass 2004 Class at Terrorism High are dead.
The friggin' Guardian says we are winning the War on Terror.
And there might be a simple explanation for Haditha.
Overall, a pretty great evening here in the deepest, darkest province."

Click the link.

Update: I can do blockquotes!

And, finally, the first real report of the Marines' versions of Haditha. The stories told by the Iraqis can almost fit into the Marine version, if you leave out the civilians begging for their lives and being shot execution style, that is.

Wuterich's version contradicts that of the Iraqis, who described a massacre of men, women and children after a bomb killed a Marine. Haditha residents have said that innocent civilians were executed, that some begged for their lives before being shot and that children were killed indiscriminately.

Wuterich told his attorney in initial interviews over nearly 12 hours last week that the shootings were the unfortunate result of a methodical sweep for enemies in a firefight. Two attorneys for other Marines involved in the incident said Wuterich's account is consistent with those they had heard from their clients.

And Wuterich's account of how it happened:

A corporal with the unit leaned over to Wuterich and said he saw the shots coming from a specific house, and after a discussion with the platoon leader, they decided to clear the house, according to Wuterich's account.
...
A four-man team of Marines, including Wuterich, kicked in the door and found a series of empty rooms, noticing quickly that there was one room with a closed door and people rustling behind it, Puckett said. They then kicked in that door, tossed a fragmentation grenade into the room, and one Marine fired a series of "clearing rounds" through the dust and smoke, killing several people, Puckett said.
...
Although it was almost immediately apparent to the Marines that the people dead in the room were men, women and children -- most likely civilians -- they also noticed a back door ajar and believed that insurgents had slipped through to a house nearby, Puckett said. The Marines stealthily moved to the second house, kicking in the door, killing one man inside and then using a frag grenade and more gunfire to clear another room full of people, he said.

According to a source in the article, the Marines probably were following the Rules of Engagement if this account is true. Note that civilians in an open area were not harmed while chasing other suspects soon after the house-to-house hunt.

Posted by: cbjohnson at 04:58 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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