Murtha’s Rush To Judgment
Previously I had posted some criticism of Rep. Murtha for coming out and accusing some Marines of murder before they were allowed due process through the military court system. Today in the Washington Post is a letter from a Marine who was accused of similar crimes but was exonerated by evidence presented during his trial.
Read the whole thing.
On a related note, Rep. Murtha is vowing to back an inquiry (via reader Mike Adamson) into situation in question. One would hope that Murtha would recuse himself from any such proceedings given that he has already made up his mind as to the guilt of these men. But, he probably won't.
Because his goal here isn't so much the uncovering of a military cover-up as it is using this situation to bash some foreign policy he dislikes. If we were truly interested in an honest review of the situation he wouldn't have declared guilt before there was a trial.
A year ago I was charged with two counts of premeditated murder and with other war crimes related to my service in Iraq. My wife and mother sat in a Camp Lejeune courtroom for five days while prosecutors painted me as a monster; then autopsy evidence blew their case out of the water, and the Marine Corps dropped all charges against me ["Marine Officer Cleared in Killing of Two Iraqis," news story, May 27, 2005].
So I know something about rushing to judgment, which is why I am so disturbed by the remarks of Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) regarding the Haditha incident ["Death Toll Rises in Haditha Attack, GOP Leader Says," news story, May 20]. Mr. Murtha said, "Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."
In the United States, we have a civil and military court system that relies on an investigatory and judicial process to make determinations based on evidence. The system is not served by such grand pronouncements of horror and guilt without the accuser even having read the investigative report.
Mr. Murtha's position is particularly suspect when he is quoted by news services as saying that the strain of deployment "has caused them [the Marines] to crack in situations like this." Not only is he certain of the Marines' guilt but he claims to know the cause, which he conveniently attributes to a policy he opposes.
Read the whole thing.
On a related note, Rep. Murtha is vowing to back an inquiry (via reader Mike Adamson) into situation in question. One would hope that Murtha would recuse himself from any such proceedings given that he has already made up his mind as to the guilt of these men. But, he probably won't.
Because his goal here isn't so much the uncovering of a military cover-up as it is using this situation to bash some foreign policy he dislikes. If we were truly interested in an honest review of the situation he wouldn't have declared guilt before there was a trial.
