Disgusted at several Marines attitudes!!!

[catherine]

I have stayed away from debates about the Iraq war and debates about Bush. However I have just listened to a ITV news report about the alleged killing of civilians in Haditha. The marines that were interviewed were arrogant and unbeliavely pompous! One of them had the gall to state that this hadn't damaged their reputation, it's like a boxing match, we haven't been knocked out, we merely have a black eye!!! Another said that he didn't believe that the marines had done that, but if they had they shouldn't be prosecuted! How about a little humility. There were women and young children killed, and I'm sorry, it makes me sick to my stomach!!!

 

[Galahad]

If the crimes happened they are the responsiblity of the criminals, not the Marines. I can understand their position completely. It's not the fault of OTHER Marines that some did wrong.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

If the crimes happened they are the responsiblity of the criminals, not the Marines. I can understand their position completely. It's not the fault of OTHER Marines that some did wrong.

Exactly. You can't paint a whole organization by the actions of a few.

 

[catherine]

If the crimes happened they are the responsiblity of the criminals, not the Marines. I can understand their position completely. It's not the fault of OTHER Marines that some did wrong.

I'm not saying it's their fault! I was just disgusted by their attitude!

 

[Viking]

Those people are over there as representatives of their country and when they do things like that it falls back on the country.
This war is looking more and more like Vietnam and like after Nam the USA will need many years to restore her reputation

 

[BalooTheBear]

Those people are over there as representatives of their country and when they do things like that it falls back on the country.
This war is looking more and more like Vietnam and like after Nam the USA will need many years to restore her reputation

There are certainly some people who sure would like it to be compared to NAM...

Do any of you know what it is like to be a Marine on duty in Iraq?? Or any soldier on duty in that country??

Unlike NAM - This country is not going to start name calling true American heroes who put their lives on the line every single moment of every single day that they are over there.....

Go on flame away................

 

[Disneynut25]

There are certainly some people who sure would like it to be compared to NAM...

Do any of you know what it is like to be a Marine on duty in Iraq?? Or any soldier on duty in that country??

Unlike NAM - This country is not going to start name calling true American heroes who put their lives on the line every single moment of every single day that they are over there.....

Go on flame away................

No flame here.....I think our soldiers have a tuff job to do. Hopefully this war will end soon before we lose any more of our soldiers.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Unfortunately, these kind of things happen when "occupational" forces stay too long. The insurgency seems to have fizzled out, but now, all factions and waring neighbors in Iraq have decided to take one another on, with our troops stuck in the middle. I only hope that President Bush decides to bring em home sooner rather than waiting for some "future President" to do the right thing.

 

[inaminute]

I'm not saying it's their fault! I was just disgusted by their attitude!

What would you have preferred their attitude be? Shame? Guilt?

They weren't the ones who committed the atrocity. Why would they act like they had?

 

[DawnCt1]

I'm not saying it's their fault! I was just disgusted by their attitude!

Their "attitude" is that the possible criminal behavior of a few is NOT representative of the entire Corps. If a few "catherines" are thieves, should we assume everyone named Catherine is a thief? Of course not.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Those people are over there as representatives of their country and when they do things like that it falls back on the country.

They are attacked from all sides. Women and children attack the marines and are used to lure them into danger. Unless we are there we can't judge. Even if it looks bad there may be an explanation. Unfortunately war has civilian casualties. Why don't we hear the outcry against the suicide bombers and those that kill are soldiers. When our soldiers are killed it's the US's fault. Sorry, i'd love to sympathize. I hate war. But our soldiers are over there fighting people who exercise no limits on what they will do and yet are continually expected to hold the moral high ground at the expense of their own lives. If we faught the way the Iraqi's did the war would be over, the people who want peace would have it, and there would be a democratic government established with freedom and equality for those same women and children.

 

[Viking]

What would you have preferred their attitude be? Shame? Guilt?

They weren't the ones who committed the atrocity. Why would they act like they had?

That's a strange attitude:
You expect ALL of them to be proud of their victories even if they weren't personnaly involved.
But on the other hand when something like Abu Graibh or that massacre, which is now under inspection, it suddenly were only SOME black sheep.
You can eat the cake or you can keep it, but you can't have it both ways.
Those who haven't done this shouldn't feel guilty, but they should be ashamed. I always thought Esprit de Corps were one of the main virtues of the Marines.

 

[horseshowmom]

They are attacked from all sides. Women and children attack the marines and are used to lure them into danger. Unless we are there we can't judge. Even if it looks bad there may be an explanation. Unfortunately war has civilian casualties. Why don't we hear the outcry against the suicide bombers and those that kill are soldiers. When our soldiers are killed it's the US's fault. Sorry, i'd love to sympathize. I hate war. But our soldiers are over there fighting people who exercise no limits on what they will do and yet are continually expected to hold the moral high ground at the expense of their own lives. If we faught the way the Iraqi's did the war would be over, the people who want peace would have it, and there would be a democratic government established with freedom and equality for those same women and children.

I agree...

 

[inaminute]

You expect ALL of them to be proud of their victories even if they weren't personnaly involved.

Where'd I say that?

I believe everyone should be either proud or ashamed of their own deeds.

The only people who should be ashamed of their actions are those who actually committed the crimes. No one else.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Their "attitude" is that the possible criminal behavior of a few is NOT representative of the entire Corps. If a few "catherines" are thieves, should we assume everyone named Catherine is a thief? Of course not.

True, but this kind of behavior reflects badly on every American in service, especially in the eyes of those we are supposedly liberating. I can certainly understand the soldiers' frustration, but it shouldn't exclude any American from feelings of guilt. I believe that there are 3 reports now of these kinds of horrible, illegal actions being investigated in Iraq, and there are sure to be more. When you have a country of people, brought to their knees by war, hunger, etc., and they decide to all gang up on each other, or on our guys and gals over there, without regard to the safety of even their own children, it's easy to see why a few soldiers would be pushed to the limits of human decency. This war has sucked from the beginning, and only appears to be getting worse. It's about time the Iraqi military takes over and we get our soldiers back now!

 

[catherine]

Their "attitude" is that the possible criminal behavior of a few is NOT representative of the entire Corps. If a few "catherines" are thieves, should we assume everyone named Catherine is a thief? Of course not.

No, but I'll tell you what, if a few "catherines" were thought to have killed innocent women and children, and I was being interviewed about it, as a representaive of those "catherines" I sure as heck would NOT have the same pompous, uncaring attitude that those marines had!! How could they possible think that if the marines in Iraq murdered innocent children they should go unpunished. I'm sorry that is beyond me!

 

[crazyforgoofy]

I haven't seen the interview but with so much pride in The Corps those young men probably felt they had to defend being a Marine. My husband is an old Marine and some of the rhetoric seems familiar.

I believe that there was a failure to lead that goes far above the squad level. Young men who have seen too much combat, had too many tours, seen too much death and yetwere expected to keep on keepin on were not given the support they deserve. Is each individual accountable for his own actions? Yes, absolutely. But they're not alone. The failure of Command and Control allowed it to happen. If there'd been more troops sent in at first I wonder if this would have happened?

 

[CapeCodTenor]

They are attacked from all sides. Women and children attack the marines and are used to lure them into danger. Unless we are there we can't judge. Even if it looks bad there may be an explanation. Unfortunately war has civilian casualties. Why don't we hear the outcry against the suicide bombers and those that kill are soldiers. When our soldiers are killed it's the US's fault. Sorry, i'd love to sympathize. I hate war. But our soldiers are over there fighting people who exercise no limits on what they will do and yet are continually expected to hold the moral high ground at the expense of their own lives. If we faught the way the Iraqi's did the war would be over, the people who want peace would have it, and there would be a democratic government established with freedom and equality for those same women and children.

I agree. There was a story a few months back where a Marine killed a wounded insurgent. The insurgent was lying flat on his stomach and the Marine shot him dead…the outrage over this was huge. But what people don’t realize is that’s one tactic used by insurgents to kill our solders and Marines. By playing dead the insurgent would draw the soldier/Marine in and then kill them. We are fighting a war against people who are cowards that hide amongst the civilian population.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I agree. There was a story a few months back where a Marine killed a wounded insurgent. The insurgent was lying flat on his stomach and the Marine shot him dead…the outrage over this was huge. But what people don’t realize is that’s one tactic used by insurgents to kill our solders and Marines. By playing dead the insurgent would draw the soldier/Marine in and then kill them. We are fighting a war against people who are cowards that hide amongst the civilian population.

But don't you see a problem in a soldier reporting to his superiors that a group of Iraqi civilians had been killed by a roadside bomb, only when the military investigates the scene, the Iraqis civilians were shown to actually have been gunned down by American forces? Two things the military thrives on, discipline and chain of command, completely break down in situations like that.

 

[Free4Life11]

I agree with you OP, saying that even if they killed women and children they shouldn't be prosecuted?? WTH??

I hope they get to the bottom of this and find whoever was repsonsible, lock them up, and throw away the key!