Responding to reports of atrocities committed by US troops in Haditha, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld spoke at a news conference in Singapore while attending a defense ministers conference, saying such things should not happen.
"We know that 99.9 percent of our forces conduct themselves in an exemplary manner. We also know that in conflicts things that shouldn't happen, do happen.
Mr Rumsfeld, a world-renowned expert in war and combat, like all other members of the Bush malAdministration, said that he could not comment directly on the Haditha massacre investigation, noting that to do so might taint the investigation. He added, “We don't expect U.S. soldiers to act that way, and they're trained not to.”
The military is conducting two investigations into the alleged murder of about two dozen Iraqi citizens by U.S. Marines in Haditha, an insurgent stronghold in western Iraq. One is a criminal probe into the actual events that day last November, and the other is looking into whether soldiers told the truth about what happened or if there was a cover-up.In Washington, a senior U.S. military officer said in a video teleconference with reporters at the Pentagon that commanders realize that troops involved in counterinsurgency operations "could snap" in the face of severe pressures.
"When you're in a combat theater dealing with enemy combatants who don't abide by the law of war, who do acts of indecency, soldiers become stressed, they become fearful," said Brig. Gen. Donald Campbell, the chief of staff at the top U.S. military headquarters in Baghdad. "It's very difficult to determine in some cases on this battlefield who is a combatant and who is a civilian.
"It doesn't excuse the acts that have occurred, and we're going to look into them," he added. "But I would say it's stress, fear, isolation and, in some cases, they're just upset. They see their buddies getting blown up on occasion, and they could snap."
GEN Campbell spoke with confidence during the teleconference, adding that he fully expected that the Haditha conference would prove that the massacre was the work of “a few bad apples” and that no senior officers were involved in any way, either by providing troops with command guidance on how to shoot 3 year old girls while they were sleeping in their beds, or by aiding in the cover-up.
It is rumored that GEN Campbell addressed the issue of command responsibility for actions of troops by citing the well-known Bush Command Responsibility doctrine which states that “Majors, Colonels, Generals, Cabinet Secretaries, and Presidents are only accountable for successes.”
The current scorecard is: Troops, 274, Command, 0.
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And, of course, Bill O'Reilly again impugns the dead US troops at Malmedy.
How can that twit get it so wrong twice...and never acknowledge the mistake?
The US military, as a whole, might want to consider a blanket contact blackout with O'Reilly until he apologizes...and agrees never to comment on war atrocities ever again.
I would never excuse the actions in Haditha or the young men who let their frsutrations get the best of them. But when your in the military and in the field for a long time you start to lose any semblance of being a kind human spirit with feelings. (At least I did!) You really could care less about what is going on around you. You wake up, follow orders, do your job and let the pieces fall where they lay. No matter what your military job title is, your a soldier first, it's kill or be killed and your always packing!
Ah! The memories!
Neil - I'm not up to speed on the Bill O'Reilly/Malmedy thing. Can you fill me in, please?
274 to nuthin'. To me, that says leadership is sorely lacking.
Malmedy is in Belgium. When stationed in Augsburg, we made forays into Belgium - Bastonge, Char LeRoi, Malmedy. Malmedy is where an American position was overrun by a contingent of SS troops. Some were killed, many were taken prisoner and somehow, those taken prisoner were placed in an open area and gunned down. By whose order or why isn't really known. The town of Malmedy has a beautiful memorial to those troops BTW.
O'Reilly debated Wes Clark about the killings in Haditha recently and used the Malmedy incident as fodder for his argument. HOWEVER - he got the roles reversed. He has said on at least 2 occasions that at Malmedy, SS troops were rounded up and slaughtered by American troops. AND, when proof was sought by going to Fox's website (O'Reilly's place), the remarks OReilly made were either erased/scrubbed or 'Normandy' was inserted rather than 'Malmedy.'
Keith Olbermann went off on O'Reilly the other day regarding Malmedy. Keith is NOT a fan of Mr. O'Reilly. One thing I noticed is Clark doesn't respond to the mischaracterization. I'm betting he either didn't recall it or didn't know. I know I probably wouldn't have known except I had visited Belgium some years ago.
As for Haditha itself, I don't put anything past those stationed in Iraq. I was assigned to a hospital in Germany and heard awful stories from those who had served in Vietnam. I heard things said that were unbelievable as well. I once had the woman in charge of all the enlisted women say to a group of us that she wanted another war so she could make E7. My husband (who was not my husband at that time), then a captain & who had made captain while in VN didn't find this amusing either.
As part of our rotation we were sent to outlaying medical clinics to cover when certain folks were on leave. I once spent two loonngg months in Erlangen at the clinic there getting to know 'grunts' up close & live. Quite an experience being one of 11 women in a sea of hundreds upon hundreds of men. And - I could never figure out as to why it never sank in that after being in the field for several weeks or months at a time folks would come back into town and trash it and be flummoxed when the townspeople weren't more engaging or welcoming.
Oh, BTW, this isn't Neil. But 've been reading your blog since I ran across it last fall.....someone linked to it for some reason.
Thank you for commenting. I hope you find the content and comments thought-provoking, whether you agree or not with what you find here. One of the greater "crimes" in a democracy is the refusal to think, and to engage.
I can't explain GEN Clark's not calling O'Reilly on his error. GEN Clark was SACEUR for three years, and I suppose quite familiar with that era. As for O'Reilly, demagoguery is his speciality, and since it's FOX, you expect historical error, accidental or intentional.
One of the best things about Olbermann's show is watching him dismantle O'Reilly, isn't it?
I think Haditha was disgraceful, but hardly surprising. Nineteen year old Americans with guns haven't changed much in the 30 years since the late unpleasantness in SEA.
Fixer, I think part of the problem lies in the fact that 35 years ago the MBA types gained a very strong hold on the Pentagram and the service academies, they started preaching and teaching "man management" rather than leadership. Most field grade and general officers don't really know what leadership is anymore.
Everyone,
You can see Olbermann's takedown of O'Lielly right here.
I can't speak for Clark, because the clip above doesn't show Clark after the Bill Bluster, but can I guess that he was flabbergasted, becasue this was the second time Falafel Bill did this? Plus, it's via vid, not face to face.
Oh, and the actor Charles Durning was one of the US soldiers to escape Malmedy. I can't imagine what he would do or say if he met Falafel Bill in person.
http://www.pbs.org/memorialdayconcert/wwii/durning.html
Wordsmith, good response. Been out of touch with domestic remodeling issues the last coupla weeks. That, and this hospital which has a fanatsy about my working there 40/week....;).
I've been puzzeled by GEN Clark's lack of reaction as well. Both times that O'Falfalel made this claim, he was facing Clark on vid. Neither time had a response from Clark. Heck...I've never been to Belgium...but I knew about Malmedy from plain simple reading.
Last fall, Loofah Lover stated that the SS were massacred by the 82nd ABN. I'm wondering if his show is still beamed into Ft Bragg? BTW, Olberman is all over this one, like my springer on her food bowl.
NOC, out.
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