President Bush comments on Haditha massacre allegations
The President made his first public comments on allegations that US Marines were involved in a massacre in Haditha, Iraq today:
“I am troubled by the initial news stories,” Bush said. “I’m mindful that there’s a thorough investigation going on. If in fact, laws were broken, there will be punishment.”
And isn’t that about all that should be said at the moment? The investigation is ongoing and it would be irresponsible to say much more without the facts. These Marines still have the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court-martial. Rep. Murtha and the rabid anti-war left will have plenty of time to bang their drum once the facts are established.
Archived in: IraqMay 31, 2006 at 10:01 pm | Trackback
5 comments
The president should have supported the marines and questioned both the propriety of the media attacks over the Memorial Day weekend and the patriotism of people who will condemn these kids without a trial. These are the same people who are outraged that the “shoe bomber” has not had the benefit of a day in court. Yet for soldiers who are on OUR SIDE, we must convict them immediately. Bush is the Commander in Chief. It is his duty and responsibility to defend members of the armed forces. He wimped out.
The MSM Bias & Haditha…
The left and the MSM so WANT this to be another My Lai….they don’t care if the truth is something other then that because they wont to believe it. This has to be a My Lai because we Americans are all so evil.
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“It is his duty and responsibility to defend members of the armed forces. He wimped out.”
I am going to respectfully disagree. Yes, the President has a duty to individual soldiers and I agree there are many who are ready to convict these Marines without any facts, but the President has a much larger duty to insure order and discipline within the services. This is why I believe taking no position is appropriate until the facts are established. If the allegations are true, these Marines deserve punishment. If they are cleared, people like Rep. Murtha will look foolish. The President’s duty is to establish facts and then take appropriate action.
Were the military not under constant assault by its left-wing detractors I might agree. But waiting for evidence will be of no particular use as the attack will continue regardless of conclusions reached by military review. If the decision clears the soldiers, claims of bias will be made and the attacks will continue, probably allowing the Times to break its record of forty odd front pages claiming Abu Ghraib and Hiroshima were similar events. The president should show the same confidence in these troops that the vast majority of the American public has. I can’t imagine any real threat to order and discipline will result in any event. If anyone should be a United States military partisan, it’s the president.
“But waiting for evidence will be of no particular use as the attack will continue regardless of conclusions reached by military review.”
I agree that the left will not stop, but before we go into a reflexive defense mode, the innocence or guilt of the soldiers in question must be determined. If they are guilty, then it becomes important to draw the clear distinction between the US military as a whole and these individual bad actors while they get punished. If they are innocent, then the President has a duty to stand firm against the people who wish to hang them with no questions asked. None of that can happen before the facts are determined.