Last night, 60 Minutes took aim at the Haditha incident, in which Marines are charged with a massacre of innocents. The blog In the Crosshairs has a few things to say about the interview, and quite a lot to say about such incidents in general. A sample: From the interview:
SSG Frank Wuterich... is asked.
They were running away from you? You shot them in the back? Yes
Wuterich said that the people in the white car didn't comply and then ran. Running from the car, given the possibility it is a car bomb, and then being able to detonate it once they were clear is potentially a hostile act. They should have gotten on the ground. If they didn't run, or commit a hostile act, then it was an unlawful act.
On such incidents:
"The belief or perception of the Marines...is the only thing that determines whether this was a tragedy in the fog of war or a criminal act. No amount of moralizing prejudgment by disgraced ex-Marines makes them guilty and no rationalizing about lost buddies can change the truth if it was revenge."
Hat tip: Alan Fraser
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