Some testimony from the Haditha Massacre hearings was just released. Lt. Alexander Martin looked on the bright side: after the massacre, he said, Haditha residents became more cooperative, offering tips about IEDs. That’ll happen when you slaughter 24 innocent civilians in response to an IED. And Lt. Max Frank testified that when he arrived on the scene, he thought it was “unfortunate” but hadn’t been done on purpose. He was told by Lt. Adam Mathes, who we have seen before talking about the enemy’s disregard for human life, wanted the Marines not to issue an apology, arguing that “the best way to explain this to the Iraqi people” would be to tell them, “It’s an unfortunate thing that happens when you let terrorists use your house to attack our troops.” Let’s make this very plain: he wanted to tell Iraqis that what happened in Haditha, a lethal mass reprisal against civilians in response to an attack on American soldiers, is American policy.
And even more incredible was the testimony I heard on NPR from a Marine officer who said that the carnage was awful. His protest, however, was not about the massacre, but that his troops had to clean up the bodies. The scene was so disturbing - women and children slaughtered in their bedrooms - that it was very "upsetting" to the soldiers ordered to clear the scene. Their leader was angry that his troops had been subjected to such work.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
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