mark wrote on May 31, 2007 1:05 AM:1st Lt Frank spoke simple truth.

Ron wrote on May 31, 2007 8:32 AM:All the video of the "murder scene" was taken by "Hamurrabi Media" a known Islamic activists group. The terrorists blew up a Marine patrol. A Marine was cut in half by the bomb. His squadmates did what Marines do. Hiding behind civilians won't save you. Marines don't play.

witness mia wrote on May 31, 2007 10:37 AM:There was a Marine who was ordered to make official photographs of the scene. Unfortunately, this young man is now in prison. I guess it is true, "Marines take care of their own."

AW4cryinoutloud wrote on May 31, 2007 10:43 AM:To Ron: You nailed it! The sad thing is that many Americans don't seem to be aware of the damage and injustice caused our troops by the so-called Human Rights groups. Even sadder is the fact that the mainstream media "does" know about it and does nothing to expose it. Instead, they are a part of it. Hammurabi and the other groups have their own agenda. It is NOT to defend the Rights of OUR troops. It defends only Middle Eastern people and people of color. This is quoted by Human Rights Watch itself. If our media put as much effort into investigating and proving what they report, our Marines would never have been persecuted in magazines, newspapers, and on television. Not only should the Corps and the political leaders be ashamed; the mainstream media should share that shame and, from my personal viewpoint, have acted criminally in their methods of obtaining information they can't verify and yet report with headlines to make it appears as though it were fact. Sorry, I got wordy; which is nothing new. The Injustice of it all gets to me. It was totally unnecessary and just plain downright criminal.

Ron wrote on May 31, 2007 12:07 PM:This is a case of life imitating media. They're trying to create another My Lai scenario in order to prevent our troops from getting at the bombers who are hiding behind women and children - often in plain sight. If only they can prevent Marines from being effective they might survive their attacks. They're hoping CBS will jump on board the terror-media bombwagon like it did during Vietnam, showing the Americans as homicidal maniacs and the enemy as innocent farmers, oddly surrounded by booby-traps of their own making.

bottom line wrote on May 31, 2007 1:05 PM:If you kill a person who is in an instant judged to be on the "no worse enemy" side of the fence, yet an unarmed non-combatant, you are guilty of murder. Even in war, you cannot kill innocents to send a message to the guilty. To do so is counter to sound insurgency tactics. Why try to reinvent the wheel? This kind of "you're deemed enemy via proximity" thinking proved worthless in many past military conflicts. I think the whole issue can all be backed up to the failure of the folks in charge to use the preexisting (CENTCOM) plan for Iraq that had been perfected for years and seemed to answer many of the problems that have emerged. So who suffers in the end. A young kid from Anywheresville America who believed he was doing the right thing. I don't know how you people who come after the little fish (junior enlisted Marines and soldiers) can sleep at night. I hope you lay awake at night and struggle with it for the rest of your lives. Because you are going to do the dirty work and destroy some young lives ... but then you will seek to live yours in peace. I hope god denies you that peace for eternity. You don't deserve it. Your honor is vacant.

AW4cryinoutloud wrote on May 31, 2007 2:28 PM:Prosecution: When one first reads what Marines are said to have told the Iraqi's it sounds cold. But if you put it in the perspective of a Marine who fights in a hellhole of insurgents every day and knows that these people are "admittedly" aware of insurgents in their town planting IED's, then what do you expect Marines to say? There are too many feel goody people in this country who expect us to suck up to all foreign people or foreign countries, to never say anything insulting; yet, they, including the enemy, are allowed to disrespect us and our troops, to say any foul thing they choose...in the name of freedom of speech? Excuse me, but I was under the impression that WE were the ones who first came up with the whole Freedom of Speech thing. Whatever happened to all the admiration we had in this country for anyone who told it like it was? It became almost a demand for awhile. So, a fighting man who sees nothing but bloodshed day in and day out can't tell it like it is to the Iraqi's? The reason the Marines gave was the cold hard truth; NOT a crime! We are losing precious souls because of this tendency to persecute our troops. Let our Marines do what they're trained to do and stop investigating them, persecuting them, and prosecuting them when they do it. Stop picking and picking at every thought they have or every word they say. Let them get the job done and stay the hell out of their faces. Stop supporting the enemy; which is exactly what you do when you persecute the ones putting their lives at risk in this fight against worldwide terrorism. Our government, our Generals are the ones who screwed up the planning of this war and the aftermath, so stop taking it out on our Marines. Is there no honor left in the Marine Corps system of justice? Is the Corps proud that it has turned its back on its own? Is the Corps proud it can't live up to its own motto? Are all of you proud of yourselves at the end of a day of ruining the lives of honorable men and their families? Do you not give a crap that you are giving the enemy exactly what it wants? Do you not give a crap about what this persecution of those who fight for us is doing to this country? NCIS agents can pretend that they doesn't know what a dead-check is, and the prosecution can pretend that they have a crime, but it becomes more and more apparent with each hearing and with each puny, digusting, unproven accusation that you are not representing Justice in any way. It's a wonder you can look any American in the eye and not have shame project from yours.

MACK wrote on May 31, 2007 2:49 PM:I am convinced that these Marines did what they did in the belief that they were dealing with the enemy. If later an investigation reveals that some of the Iraqis were innocent, that is the price of war. It is not a delicate business for the lilly white hands of some poobahh here in the USA who sits back in judgement of young Marine grunts or older hardened soldiers who acted under the extreme pressure of combat in that hell hole known as Iraq (& Afghanistan). That's where children are used as suicide bombers and beheading captive Americans is a sport only second to dragging the corpse of a dead Marine through the filthy streets of some Iraqi village with a jeering, cheering throng of Iraqis gleefully participating! Let these guys go and give them a medal and a promotion. Convict them, force them into some lousy plea bargain? HELL NO.

Julia wrote on May 31, 2007 4:30 PM:This conversation clearly points out how the occupiers and the occupied both despise each other. This is a dark chapter in our history. All this went so badly wrong because it lacked legitimacy from the very start.

Yo Mack wrote on May 31, 2007 9:54 PM:That is one of the problems ... the average American is not forced to live in places and societies like millions of common folk in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not everybody who lives in the "hellholes" are terrorists. In fact, most are just like you Mack ... regular people who want to live in a nice home, eat good food, send their kids to good schools and enjoy life from time to time. But you describe their countries as "hellholes." But it is their home Mack. They cannot leave and take up residence in beautiful sunny California and become your neighbor, and shop at WalMart and drink Starbucks with you on Saturday morning ... then swing by Hollywood video and pick up the latest release and watch it on a 53" plasma. They can't do that. Neither place is a hellhole. The countries are beautiful and the people are too. At the moment, both are occupied by the forces of big government and big business. Don't be fooled like the rest Mack. This is a business ... meant to make money for certain people. The drama of 911 and what followed has log since evaporated. Mack, war is a racket [racket = slang for sneaky underhanded business operations]. The sooner people recognize this, the better. It really is not about the number of American boys killed. DUI drivers kill that many every month on our own soil. War = big profit$ Just imagine the new frontier in defending against Cold War II. Think Mack ... give yourself some time to think.

Ron ... wrote on Jun 3, 2007 5:20 PM:Serbia didn't attack us and we've been there for more than ten years so far. Do Democrats complain? No, not at all, that was a Clinton war, a Democrat intervention. Korea, we've been there for over 50 years in a constant combat zone. Do Democrats complain? Nope, never. Truman got us into Korea and he was a Democrat. Germany and Japan were whooped 60 years ago, we're still there and yup, FDR was a Democrat. Vietnam, Johnson was a Democrat and got us in there even though Vietnam never attacked us. Do Democrats mention that? Nope, they blame Nixon, who got us out of Vietnam, go figure. Liberals will oppose victory whenever a Republican is President if they think they can harvest a vote from it. Write that down, quiz later.