Iraq's My Lai?

US Marines from Camp Pendleton (1st Marine Division, Third Batallion) will face charges in connection with with the "execution style" murder of up to 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, according to Gen. Michael W. Hagee.

My Lai was a turning point, politically, in the Vietnam war. Will Haditha be the same for the war in Iraq? Do Americans not care, as suggested by Juan Cole? Or will the upcoming Time article, "The Shame of Haditha," raise American (and mainstream media) consciousness?

Women and Children Killed
According to the Army Times, "at least seven of the victims were women and three were children."

Armed Services Committee Chair Sen. John W. Warner (R-VA), who was briefed on the affair Wednesday, called this a "very, very serious" allegation with "a significant loss of [civilian] life." Warner said that the Senate would hold hearings, as it did with Abu Ghraib. [Note: critics contend that the military fallout from Abu Ghraib, officers being held accountable, has been minimal.]

Former Marine and Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) contends that the November shootings at Haditha must have been covered up. Murtha, a critic of the war, said Sunday, "I will not excuse murder and that what's happened... This investigation should have been over two or three weeks after the incident."

Another Civilian Investigation
Also, AP reported Wednesday that there is an investigation into allegations that Marines killed a a civilian on 26 April at Hamandiya. The LA Times reports that seven Marines are being now held in the brig at Camp Pendleton for this civilian death. The brig confinement is characterized as "unusual."

I started working on this article more than a week ago - and it somehow found its way to back burner. I was jolted back to work when I read weekend newspaper headlines.

Background
On 19 November 2005, a Marine -- Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas (20, El Paso, TX) -- was killed when the convoy he was travelling with was allegedly hit by a roadside bomb in Haditha, about 150 miles northwest of Baghdad.

The first report was that the civilians were killed in the blast. A subsequent investigation -- instigated after Time shared its research with military officials -- concluded that 15 civilians were killed as a result of cross-fire between the Marines and Iraqi "insurgents."

However, Time magazine published a March report which claimed that "the Marines barged into houses near the bomb strike in retaliation, throwing grenades and shooting civilians who were cowering in fear." Tim McGirk writes:

[T]he details of what happened that morning in Haditha are more disturbing, disputed and horrific than the military initially reported.

Last month, the Marine Corp relieved three officers of command: Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, "commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment" and two unnamed company commanders. The batallion is based at Camp Pendleton, CA.

Two investigations are proceeding: one by the Multi-National Forces Iraq and one by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Reactions
Columnist Robert Koehler writes:

What happened in Haditha six months ago — two days after Rep. John Murtha introduced his brave, lonely resolution to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq — shatters every argument of the stay-the-course crowd and throws the dithering cowardice of Congress into stark relief. The longer we force our exhausted troops to stay not the "course" but the lie, the more dangerous the occupation becomes, for the Iraqis, for us, for the world.

US Conservatives Guide Amy Hess, in an unrelated blog post on Thursday, reminds us that the actions of one group should not be construed as the actions of all:

Before we jump on board the "all soldiers are baby-killers" bandwagon when it comes to Iraq, we should all take some time to actually talk to somebody we know has served there. Memorial Day is coming up. Go take a soldier out for coffee, and thank him (or her) for the time given serving America in the military. And do him (or her) the decency of asking what an American soldier really does do in Iraq these days.

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