CONGRESSMAN MURTHA: This was not an action..This was troops…so stressed out, they went into houses and killed children, women and children. 24 people they killed.
9 August 2007
Dear Mainstream Media You and Congressman Murthamust set the record straight
On May 19, 2006, this exchange took place on CNN:
WOLF BLITZER: You’ve suggested this week that there, in effect, was a massacre [in Haditha].
CONGRESSMAN JOHN MURTHA: Well, there was. There’s no question about it.
I know, in talking to a number of people…I’ve never given you bad information yet. When this thing’s all over, you’re going to see exactly what I’ve said to be true.
That, there was an IED attack, it killed one Marine, and then they overreacted and killed a number of civilians without anybody firing at them. That’s what you’re going to find out.
Congressman Murtha should never have made these statements. No congressman should ever place himself in the role of judge and jury. It was wrong to use American servicemen to score points against the war they were sent to fight.
But now we also know what Murtha said was false.
Bearing false witness against servicemen during a time of war. On a scale of betraying one’s country, it doesn’t get much worse than that.
There always were questions about Congressman Murtha’s “information”. He knew that all along.
And now his “information” has been exposed in court as hysterical accusations brought by our own enemies. Two Marines, LCpl Justin Sharratt and Capt. Randy W. Stone, have now been exonerated. More exonerations will almost certainly come this fall.
There’s no question about it…
The Marines were under fire that morning. Numerous witnesses at the hearings have testified to that fact. Haditha was a complex ambush that resulted in one Marine dead and eleven wounded.
Marines did not overreact. LCpl Sharratt and his squad mates (Cpl Salinas and SSgt Wuterich) protected women and children from harm as they pursued suspected insurgents armed with AK-47s. One Marine particularly reviled in the press, Sgt Dela Cruz, took prisoners that morning and retained an incredibly cool head in a hostile environment.
But can any of our Marines be truly exonerated after Congressman Murtha repeatedly assured the world they were guilty?
You, the media, broadcast Murtha’s politically-motivated slander, virtually unchallenged, to millions around the world who believed every word he said. They still do. How many people know that Marines have been found innocent? Of those who know, how many believe the exonerated Marines are actually guilty? The damage is incalculable to our nation, the Marine Corps, and to the accused.
Anyone has the right to oppose the war in Iraq. But not by deceit and by destroying the lives of our servicemen.
You, the media, have a responsiblity to undo the damage.
Ask Congressman Murtha for an explanation.
Ask Congressman Murtha if he’ll now apologize and admit that, in fact, there were questions about what happened that morning in Haditha.
Congressman Murtha owes it to America. He owes it to the Marines who’ve been exonerated and he owes it to those who await their day in court. And so do you.
David Allender
Defend Our Marines
Some highlights of Congressman Murtha on Haditha
(click picture for a larger image)