Haditha opens our eyes

By: North County Times - Editorial | Saturday, June 3, 2006 6:14 PM PDT ∞

Our view: Civilian perspective of sanitized war skews understanding of what troops face in Iraq

Civilians have no idea. Again and again, we hear such sentiments from military men and women upon their return from combat. They're right, of course. Watching a war on the page or screen is fundamentally different from experiencing it firsthand. Decisions that seem clear and obvious in the comfort of our kitchens often appear quite different on the field of battle. Or on the bloody streets of Iraq.

Technology can bridge many distances and give us the illusion we know what Iraq's conflict is like, but the gap between what soldiers and civilians know about battle is still quite wide. That gap can be seen in how quickly many civilians have rushed to judge the U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton who have been accused of committing a massacre in Haditha, Iraq, in November. And the gap's effect is felt by the Marines themselves, as they wage war led by civilians in Washington, D.C., who invaded Iraq with far too little understanding of the hell they chose.

What allegedly happened at Haditha and other incidents now coming to light remind us, devastatingly, that war is worse than many U.S. civilians would believe. When placed in impossibly tense situations, some soldiers trained and armed to kill will do so in the wrong ways at the wrong times for the wrong reasons. That is not to excuse their actions nor to convict them without trial, but to explain the context.

War has always been barbarous. Veterans of World War II sometimes tell tales that belie the sanitized story taught in our textbooks. But especially since Vietnam, when revulsion after the My Lai massacre helped turn U.S. public opinion against the war and against the military, the civilians in charge and their selected brass have worked to keep the public ignorant of the terrible toll taken by war.

Fifteen years ago, there were the "surgical strikes" and "collateral damage" euphemisms rolled out for the first Gulf War, accompanied by video-gamelike footage of missiles shredding buildings, not people. In this new Iraq war, some politicians have shied away from attending military funerals and allowing photographs of returning flag-draped coffins so as not to alarm the increasingly restive public. These civilian leaders prefer to add to the burdens borne by beleaguered troops and their families than spread the sacrifice more broadly among all Americans.

As a result, far fewer Americans, including those in Washington, know intimately the true cost of war, on everything from the federal budget to an individual Marine's soul. Because the case for war is overstated (Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction," in this case) and the cost understated, we enter war too lightly. When reality steps in to correct those impressions, we are more likely to capriciously turn on those men and women who volunteer to fight our wars.

It's been said before and must be said again and again: Most U.S. troops, and most Marines based at Camp Pendleton, have conducted themselves with honor, courage and integrity while doing a very difficult job. But the peculiarities of this Iraq war ---- many Marines are in their third tours, an entire nation of potential battlefields and surprise attacks, the inability to strike back against opponents without uniforms and rules of engagement ---- may have pushed some Marines past the confines of acceptable behavior.

In Haditha, a few Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment are accused of (but not yet charged with) storming at least three homes on Nov. 19 and killing 24 unarmed civilians in retaliation for the slaughter of a fellow Marine earlier that day. As bloody details of that incident spill out ---- and an investigation of a possible cover-up continues ---- we learn that another group of Pendleton Marines is facing murder, kidnapping and conspiracy charges stemming from the April shooting death of an Iraqi man west of Baghdad. Finally, controversy swells around a March raid in Ishaqi, a village north of Baghdad, in which an undetermined number of civilians died after a U.S. airstrike collapsed a building thought to be sheltering an al-Qaida fighter.

Even on the battlefield, there are rules that must be followed. There are at least two major military investigations into what happened at Haditha in November, and if warranted, there must be a full, rigorous and impartial prosecution of any Marine who crossed that line. The Uniform Code of Military Justice, which includes a presumption of innocence, is but one of the many things that separates us from "them."

We must have justice, and we also must have wisdom and empathy. The Marines appear to be learning from the Haditha incident and its subsequent investigations, and will surely improve upon the professionalism that distinguishes the Corps as a result.

But the American public must take care not to turn against the troops, the vast majority of whom are doing an admirable job under impossible circumstances. Whatever one may think of the war or its civilian authors, the men and women fighting overseas deserve our respect and our empathy.

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Crystal wrote on Jun 4, 2006 6:23 AM:Thank you so much for pointing out the fact that we as civilians must not lose our faith and respect in our troops. My fiance is over in Iraq

Chuckles wrote on Jun 4, 2006 6:58 AM:Uh, guys? Umm. There's a statewide election on Tuesday. You know, voters casting votes on candidates, and propositions. Kind of a big deal. Some important issues at stake. So that means that today's paper is the last, big Sunday paper, and the last Perspective section, before Tuesday's election. And some folks still haven't yet made up their minds on some of the local races. Not to be insenstive to the Iraqis, but Haditha can wait, no? Shouldn't you be publishing and reprinting your political endorsements today?

Guiseppi wrote on Jun 4, 2006 7:33 AM:This tragic and catastrophic war is uppermost in the minds of Americans. This is shown by the latest national Zogby poll, announced Friday. John Zogby said 70% of the voters believe the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction, adding ‘I have never seen a number like that since I have been polling.’ The poll clearly shows the war in Iraq has become so popular, that control of Congress, statehouses and other offices are going to be yanked from the hands of those Republicans who have failed America. This election Tuesday is about this senseless and unnecessary war. It is about an administration that lied to the American people, dragged us into this quagmire, and continues lying to us about the necessity of staying in that quagmire. GET OUT! There is NO REASON TO STAY! Tying us down in a war like this is exactly what our enemies want: suck the economic blood out of the nation until we weaken; ensnare us into more inevitable atrocities, dragging our national esteem into the inevitable muck and manure of disrepute. Thank you, NCT, for addressing this number one issue just prior to the election. This election is about the failure of leadership by the President and his party in Congress. It is high time for a change in politics in this nation. I do not for a moment believe the Democrats can screw up things like Cunningham, Duncan Hunter, Tom DeLay and Ken Lay.

Jimmy wrote on Jun 4, 2006 8:25 AM:America must learn about two types of soldiers that must go into battle: first there are the warriors and then come the paramilitary Police. In Iraq and Afghanistan, aside all of its controversial lies-misteps-and lunacy of our civilian commanders have done and are still perpetuating (ie Bush, Chaney and Rumsfeld), we had within the first year the Warrior stage was complete and through with only pockets of resistance. These warriors we sent were the best trained soldiers but have one mindset to kill or be killed and are given all tactical means to accomplish their goals and objectives, they are not the subsequent Paramilitary Police. Warriors have to be trained differently to become disconnected desensitized with basic humanity to not let murder, mayhem, slaughter and distruction affect them and their judgements until afterwards. They have a job to get done, they follow orders and they deal with their emotions, psychological and spiritual issues afterwards. They follow strict rules of battle engagement, they go in quick with adequate forces to obtain the objectives and they are soon successful in those objectives and they should be sent home afterwards to deal with the traumas they have endured. This is what they have been trained for. There is a small transition time period but after an initial warrior stage period when combat ceases our Military commanders with expertise in the secondary stage phase one group in and another out as even there are warrior Generals and Paramilitary Police Generals, each specialists in their fields of knowledge and expertise, warriors need to be exited out of the occupied lands and the Paramilitary police need to be brought in. These Paramilitary Police Officers may wear the same uniform but they are trained entirely differently with sensativities to the culture, country and people. They establish order via involvement of the small communities. They define the community problems. They with the communities define action and change, establish borders and transcend from military power and dominance to decisonmaking and are trained to empower the local populace, unless there is a desire to dominate and dictate order (this later part is what we have currently in Iraq and Afghanistanas as our warriors are still there). The Paramilitary Police start to win the hearts and minds by actions of provision of goods and services, organizing work and educational support systems balanced with Justice via establishment of peaceful social structures. Their paramilitary background is used as a last resort. But Bush, Chaney, and Rumsfeld haven't learned a damn thing from history as they still have the warriors on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Warriors are to be brought in only if the situation becomes too unstable and only to reenforce the peace if the paramilitary police with the domestic powers can't control the order - again the warriors are in quickly and out. This is where the problem lies curently at this stage without the withdrawal and replacement of our wariors it is simply called called imperialistic dictatorship. The warriors are burnt out, reactive and defensive, they are begining to suffer severe mental trauma, disease, paranoia and even showing early stages of bi-polar disorders and a result of these fears actions like in in Haditha and dozens of others are taking place that even our military commanders recognize are occuring and whom are pleading face to face with their warrior troops to cease and desist.....our troops who served well need to be brought home and the paramilitary police presence needs to replace these fine soldiers, now! Unless the civilian commanders want domestic insurgent activites to continue and tit for tat reprisals to be the daily mode of operations....bring the warriors home now and put the second stage Paramilitary Police transition teams in.

Peter wrote on Jun 4, 2006 8:32 AM:Thank you for printing a brave editorial. We are often told that war has changed; now it is more modern. Here is proof that war is still hell. It destroys innocent lives on all sides of a conflict. Iraqi families killed, US families destroyed. Everyone loses in a war.

Beach man wrote on Jun 4, 2006 10:22 AM:I totally agree! Innocent until proven guilty (eventhough things don't look too good initially). If there is any blame in this situation, it needs to take into account our national (civilian) leadership that put us into this mess in the first place. Accountability is requird at all levels of the command structure.

facts wrote on Jun 4, 2006 12:46 PM:The factual truth is that our troops have killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis in these last 4 years. A lot of them were Iraqi soldiers defending their homeland against invasion. After they were killed, we began the fight against a home-grown insurgency that is getting stronger every year. Our military still drops 500 lb. bombs on civilian homes and unapologetically shoots up civilians on the roads. We don't count civilian deaths but you can bet they do. We need to immediately withdraw from Iraq and never ever invade another nation again just because we think we can.

Ron wrote on Jun 4, 2006 3:18 PM:Armies kill people and break things. That's their job, that's what they do. This nonsense of "sensitive warfare" is something dreamed up by those who simply can't face facts. A real soldier is sometimes required to stick a knife into his opponent, while looking him in the eyes. This is the reality of war, and warfare. I wish those who no nothing about the military would just shut up.

DS wrote on Jun 5, 2006 8:02 AM:Of course war is hell, and I agree that we cannot turn on the young men and women taking orders. But you are flat wrong if you think we should not be turning on our military leaders -- Rumsfeld and Bush -- for getting us into a situation that may have turned our troops into temporary monsters. We need to hammer the leaders who have sent these kids to Iraq three and four times. We need to hammer the leaders who had no plan for the deep insurgency. We need to hammer the leaders who lied about weapons of mass destruction and ignored the military brass who dare criticize the effort. I won't turn on the young people of this community who are giving everything they've got over there. But we must, must must demand that the leaders who started this war and mishandled it mightily pay for what they have done. God bless the souls of everyone involved in Haditha -- the Marines and the Iraqis. They are all just pawns in a game that has gotten out of control thanks to our incompetent leaders and their disrespect for American troops.

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