|
Soldiers face inadequate penalty |
|
|
|
Thursday, 24 January 2008 |
It turns out Paris Hilton and a group of U.S. Marines have more in common than you might think.
On Nov. 19, 2005, a group of U.S. Marines killed 24 unarmed men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq.
The massacre is believed to have been an act of retaliation following the killing of Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas.
Although the incident occurred over two years ago, the soldiers and officers involved in the killings will finally face court appearances this spring.
Similar to the minor charges leveled against Hilton after violating probation in June 2007, those
involved in the Haditha case have experienced a decrease in possible punishment.
According to the Associated Press, squad leader Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich faces charges including
voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice.
He could face up to 160 years in prison if convicted of these charges.
However, other charges including unpremeditated murder and making a false statement were
dismissed.
Four soldiers and four officers were originally charged in connection to that day.
Today, only two officers still face charges including dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice,
among others.
Although the reasoning for the killings has been widely disputed, the remains of the scene showed
women and children going about their business in their homes – hardly a situation that seems
threatening.
According to an article in The Washington Post, surviving Iraqi civilians reported many of the victims
“pleaded for their lives and said they were not insurgents, moments before they were shot.”
Do these incidents even surprise us?
Sixty-four U.S. servicemen and women have been charged for their roles in the deaths of innocent Iraqi
citizens since the war began and 18 have been sentenced to prison time, according to The Washington
Post.
One has to wonder why this occurs.
Does it stem from a greater problem within our military? Is it actually possible that these techniques
are being encouraged or overlooked by the U.S. Military?
Or can we simply chalk it up to 64 bad apples?
Either way, charges should not be dropped. Investigation into the Haditha killings has led many to
believe those killed were not dangerous insurgents.
They were innocent women and children – families forced to live in a war zone and spend each day in
fear of the fate they eventually fell victim to.
Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, a soldier initially charged in the Haditha case, “admitted to urinating on the skull
of one of the dead Iraqi men because he was upset about a well-liked Marine’s death that day,”
according to Reuters.
While this behavior is unacceptable, I think it is worth keeping in mind the circumstances these
soldiers live in each day.
I in no way condone the killing of innocent Iraqis in Haditha; the loss of innocent life in Iraq is perhaps
what bothers me most about the War in Iraq.
However, the threat of living in a war zone, or perhaps worse, going to work there, is beyond my
comprehension.
Many of the service members currently serving in Iraq have served longer terms and with fewer leaves
than ever before.
Our military should view these incidents as real problems and look for ways to prevent them in the
future.
Perhaps these horrific acts could be prevented if the U.S. Military offered additional mental, emotional
and physical assistance to its employees?
Regardless, it is our job as U.S. citizens to hold the military responsible for its endeavors – no matter
how far away they occur.
Millie Tolleson, a senior journalism major from Hendersonville, is the associate editor for editorial content.
Trackback(0)
 |
Opinion 
TrackBack URI for this entry
Show/Hide comments
Tolleson shows no knowledge of the judicial process that resulted in charges being dismissed against four Marines or the reasons charges have been reduced against two (but not all as she claims) of the remaining defendants.
Miss Tolleson should consider: What if the incident in Haditha was not what the media and Congressman Murtha initially claimed it to be? That is, after all, the conclusion that Josh White at the Washington Post and Paul von Zielbauer at the New York Times have come to (though stories of exculpatory evidence and testimony didn't make the front page).
To make a snickering comparison to Paris Hilton when the lives of the Marines and their families have been destroyed is sickeningly uninformed. It will make Miss Tolleson happy to know that the Marines and their families are in hell--long before they've had a day in court and long before they've been proved guilty of a crime.
The real story about Haditha is that the media, driven by their anti-Bush and anti-war bias, were willing to use the Haditha Marines as symbols of a war they opposed. It has been a lynch mob mentality--unconcerned with the facts.
Miss Tolleson writes that "it is our job as U.S. citizens to hold the military responsible for its endeavors – no matter how far away they occur." Actually, the same is true about the media. And the American media continues to have far less of a sense of responsibility than our military in this whole matter.