John Murtha's Apology - AWOL

In November 2005 an incident took place in Haditha, Iraq. 15 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including seven women and three children allegedly were killed by US Marines as a deliberate act of revenge. Time Magazine reported the incident but it was Representative John Murtha (D-PA) who pronounced them GUILTY OF MURDER while the case was still under investigation. On May 17, 2006 the following story was posted on msnbc: Lawmaker: Marines killed Iraqis ‘in cold blood’.

Murtha, a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, said at a news conference Wednesday that sources within the military have told him that an internal investigation will show that "there was no firefight, there was no IED (improvised explosive device) that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood." [Emphasis mine]

There were also 8 "bad guys" and one Marine killed at Haditha. Charges were brought against 8 Marines as a result of the investigation which followed.

Today, according to this article Haditha charges dropped against top Marine officer, a Judge dismissed the charges against the highest ranking officer, who while not present at Haditha, was charged with Violating a Lawful Order and Dereliction of Duty.

Military Judge Col. Steven Folsom dropped all charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who was accused of violating a lawful order and dereliction of duty, at a hearing at the Camp Pendleton Marine base in Southern California.

This action means that of the 8 Marines charged 6 have had the charges dropped and one was acquitted at his court marshall. None of the Marines has been found guilty of any charges, although One Marine still remains accused of wrong doing as Haditha.

The accused ringleader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, still faces court martial. The proceedings against him, however, have been put on hold pending the appeal of a pretrial ruling.

John Murtha, a former Marine himself, not only violated one of the most sacred Democratic Guarantees, (presumption of innocence), but has failed to apologize for his disgraceful pronouncement.

It is for the bad example of Democratic Principles as shown by John Murtha that he is hereby presented the Scales of Injustice. I am sure that as one of the unindited Abscam defendants he will appreciate the award.