Haditha notes

I prefer to link to other blogs, rather than copy-pasting their content, but this post about the latest Iraq headline deserves repeating in full:

For those following the Haditha "massacre" story, I think we'd be well advised to keep in mind the following:

1. Our enemy routinely commits atrocities such as the slaughter of civilians

2. Our enemy stages atrocities and claims they were the actions of coalition forces

3. Our enemy is fighting a propaganda war

4. Our media routinely get suckered by enemy propaganda

5. Our military personnel have been accused of every atrocity imaginable, only to have the "evidence" presented by our seditious media turn out to be nonexistent or fake

6. Our military personnel do not target civilian noncombatants, including children

7. Every one of our military personnel has been well-drilled on the My Lai Massacre and the actions of Lt Calley's platoon - it is part of military training, and serves as a strong cautionary tale for our armed forces

8. Our military personnel are professionals, accustomed to Iraq tours, and seasoned under fire

9. The Uniform Code of Military Justice is far more effective at punishing lawbreakers than the American judicial system, which is why the American military wants to use it to resolve the cases of terrorists captured on the battlefield

10. The American military is more trustworthy, more honorable, and more dedicated to American values than the media covering this war

In the end, I think we'll all find (yet again) that the real story is far, far different than the media is presenting.