US confronts brutal culture among its finest sons

[cal04]

In the wake of the Haditha massacre come further allegations of outlaw killings in Iraq. They add to growing unease about US military culture that fails to distinguish civilian from insurgent. American veterans of the war in Iraq have described a culture of casual violence, revenge and prejudice against Iraqi civilians that has made the killing of innocent bystanders a common occurrence.

(snip)
Some American veterans have expressed little surprise at the latest revelations. 'I don't doubt for one moment that these things happened. They are widespread. This is the norm. These are not the exceptions,' said Camilo Mejia, a US infantry veteran who served briefly in the Haditha area in 2003. American veterans have told The Observer of a military culture that places little practical emphasis on avoiding civilian casualties in the heat of battle, although they also point out the huge problems of urban fighting against a tough enemy that often hides within the civilian Iraqi community. 'In these circumstances you would be surprised at how any normal human being can see their morals degenerate so they can do these things,' said Garrett Reppenhagen, a former US sniper.

Mejia, who has served time in jail for refusing to return to Iraq for a second tour of duty, said there was widespread prejudice against Iraqis in his unit, and that Iraqis were routinely referred to as 'Hajis' in the same way that local people during the Vietnam war were called 'gooks' or 'Charlie'. 'We dehumanise the enemy under these circumstances,' said Mejia. 'They called them gooks in Vietnam and we called them Hajis in Iraq.'

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In the days since evidence of the Haditha killings emerged, media organisations, including The Observer, have been contacted with details of other incidents that Iraqis have long claimed involved the execution of civilians by US
troops. Among them is an alleged massacre at Makr al-Deeb, near the town of Al-Qaim on the Syrian border, where marines were alleged to have bombed a wedding party and then shot a number of survivors. At the time, Major General James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Division, was scathing of those who suggested a wedding party had been hit, claiming his soldiers had attacked a foreign fighters' safe house.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1789986,00.html

[msongs]

1. sons who murder children are not "finest" nor are their commanders

if they cover up or order it done. personal moral failures are not honorable no matter what the ideological cause.

if the pressures of war are a justification, why is that 99.99% of soliders in war do not carry out deliberate murders of civilians?

are we now going to honor the SS and excuse their behaviors because they "cracked" under pressure and murdered civilians?

If the right wingers or anyone else is gonna justify all this stuff, they should remember what their own dr. laura says:

good girls do not do bad things, bad girls do bad things.

this military fish stinks from the head.

Msongs
www.msongs.com
batik * digital art
mugs and shirts

[Benhurst]

2. recommended NT

[cal04]

3. another article from Knight Ridder mentioning shovels being planted

In an exclusive interview with Knight Ridder on Friday, Awad's family gave their version of what happened to him in the early morning hours of April 26. They said U.S. Marines dragged Awad from his home, killed him and then planted an AK-47 assault rifle and a shovel next to him to make him look like a terrorist.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/14728788.htm


One of the issues raised by the scandals is whether cover-ups have taken place and how high up the chain of command knowledge of the killings went. At Haditha it appears there was a clear attempt at a cover-up, both by marines on the ground and officers back at base who issued a press release claiming the Iraqis had either died in the initial explosion or had been insurgents. At the same time, the marines and sailor being investigated in the killing of a civilian in Baghdad also appear to have attempted to cover up the death by planting evidence on the body. It is a practice that Reppenhagen, who is now a senior member of peace group Iraq Veterans Against the War, said had happened before. 'We have members who can tell you about carrying shovels in their vehicles to throw down next to killed civilians as "proof" that they were planting IEDs (improvised explosive devices),' he said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1789986,00.html

[LibertyorDeath]

4. Thanks for this info.