Congressman Jack Murtha (D-PA) accused the Pentagon of covering up the murder of 24 innocent civilians in Haditha, Iraq on CNN's Situation Room show.
CONGRESSMAN JOHN MURTHA (D-PA): "Well, what I worry about Wolf is [that] this happened six months ago and you heard nothing about it. As a matter of fact, the original story was that an [improvised explosive device] killed these 15 people. It became very confusing to the public. Time Magazine came out with an article and they still tried to cover it up.
"Now, there were payments made to victims which aren't made unless we kill them one way or the other. And secondly, they knew about it the day afterwards...
"And the longer it goes the worse it is for us, because it looks like it's our policy to do something like this...
"This helps [al Qaeda] recruit terrorists."
It really looks like Murtha is right. What happened in Haditha was a terrible act of murder, and there is no defense for killing innocent Iraqi civilians.
What's even worse is the fact that this involves a cover-up that could go as high as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
I hope the guilty parties are tried, and heads roll. This kind of barbaric act cannot be allowed to happen, even in a time of war, and those involved, including leadership, should be punished to the full extent of the law, including the firing squad if needed. The people involved should be used to set an example through their respective punishments that the U.S. military doesn't accept or condone this type of war-criminal-like behavior.
I also would like to see Rummy brought before Congress and maybe a military tribunal to answer for his role in this situation, his knowledge of the cover-up, and why this wasn't reported or taken care of in a proper legal fashion.
As a person that has friends in Iraq, I do care about and support the troops. I do not care to support a horrible crime committed by troops or a cover-up, and I'm mad as hell that our military would have concerted in a cover-up of such an act.
Every time I see this story run or see more facts, I get more disgusted by the lack of good judgment and leadership these men showed. These men disgraced anything good that happened on the ground and have put a huge black mark on the entire Iraq operation. I hope they all get what's coming to them...even justice by death, if need be.
One way or another, this disgrace must never happen again.
Tags: [Congressman Jack Murtha (D-PA)], [Congressman Jack Murtha (D-PA) today accused the Pentagon of covering up the alleged murder of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq], [murder of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq], [Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld], [murder], [Haditha], [Iraq], [Pentagon], [And the longer it goes the worse it is for us, because it looks like it's our policy to do something like this], [Politics], [News], [Political News], [al Qaeda], [marines]
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