Forwarded from WesPAC| Securing America

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In this week's Time, General Clark, Reuel Marc Gerecht, Gary Solis, and Philip Caputo discuss the reported massacre of civilians in Haditha, "explore when combat becomes a massacre--especially in a guerrilla war--and who shares the blame."

Below are excerpts of the article in Time, : "Rules of Engagement":

   WESLEY CLARK

    If the Haditha reports are true, there can be no excuse. Not stress. Not anger. Not frustration. But this incident raises more disturbing questions. Have there been other such incidents? Does it indicate progressive decay in the standards of discipline in our forces? On top of Abu Ghraib, what moral authority do our forces retain? Can we recover our standing in the eyes of the Iraqis? And what will the ramifications of this incident be for U.S. power worldwide? ..."

Gayle S. Putrich, of The Marine Times writes that A dozen Marines may face courts-martial for alleged Iraq massacre.  The Massacre at Hadithah appears to be moving towards hearing and likely prosecutions.  

Marines will face criminal charges for a Nov. 19 incident that left 24 Iraqi civilians dead, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael W. Hagee confirmed Wednesday to Marine Corps Times. While not revealing who will be charged, or the severity of the charges, Hagee said the investigation shows mistakes were made that will result in courts-martial.
Hagee's comments came after a late-in-the-day briefing with Sens. John W. Warner, R-Va., and Carl Levin, D-Mich., the chairman and ranking Democrat of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He was visiting Capitol Hill in anticipation of the release of two investigative reports, which are expected to show that among the 24 civilians killed in Hadithah, 125 miles northwest of Baghdad, five of the victims -- all unarmed -- were shot in a car with no warning, according to Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who received a briefing earlier in the afternoon.