It seems Haditha, though tragic, was exploited politically, and the allegations were exaggerated, if not unfounded.
In March 2006, Time magazine broke the story, which erupted in the press. The accounts relied on a narrative that the Marines had gone berserk after the killing of Cpl. Terrazas and murdered Iraqis in retaliation. "Eyewitnesses" reported that the riders in the car had been lined up and executed, and that there had been a rampage through the houses targeting women and children. A coverup by the top brass was also asserted.
Yet neither was Haditha the atrocity or "massacre" that many assumed--though errors in judgment may well have been committed. And while some violent crimes have been visited on civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, overall the highly disciplined U.S. military has conducted itself in an exemplary fashion.
The critics rushed to judgment; facts and evidence were discarded to fit the antiwar template.
This is the deepest shame of Haditha
clipped from: www.opinionjournal.com 