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Politics : FREE AMERICA -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bald Eagle who wrote (7649)	6/6/2006 3:53:42 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14758

Let's open our borders to more of them! Bush and the repubs are going to lose big this Nov with immigration/iraq/gas. My bets are down.

To: Bald Eagle who wrote (7649)	6/7/2006 10:22:47 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 14758

Officer praises Haditha marines SMH.com.au ^ \| 6/7/06 \| Adam Tanner AN OFFICER who once led the US marine platoon later accused of killing 24 civilians in Haditha has said his unit acted with restraint and a firm moral compass in earlier engagements. First Lieutenant Jesse Grapes, 27, led his 43-man platoon during months of fighting so fierce that three were killed and about half were wounded. He left the platoon in August, three months before the incident in which some men who had been under his command are alleged to have killed innocent Haditha civilians in anger over the death of a fellow soldier. "I can honestly say that throughout my time with the marines I knew, they served themselves and their country with honour and courage, and were guided by a strong moral compass," he said on Tuesday, in his first interview since news of the Haditha killings sparked fresh outrage over the US war in Iraq. "I can think of a number of incidents where it could have been easy for them to lose that moral compass, and they never did." Lieutenant Grapes, who now runs a school in Silicon Valley, California, said that in more than five months of "intense" patrols around Falluja, only once did he see a soldier fire a gun in anger. In that incident, just outside Falluja, he said Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas - whose death later appeared to trigger the rampage in Haditha - angrily shot an Iraqi leaving the scene after setting off an explosive device that killed a member of the platoon. Terrazas later received a commendation for his actions. "He was probably the most popular marine in the platoon of 43," said Lieutenant Grapes, who volunteered for the military immediately after the September 11 attacks. "It was almost impossible not to love him." Despite his pride in his platoon, Lieutenant Grapes said it was possible some of the marines were involved in misdeeds in Haditha. The military is now investigating the killings and some expect murder charges to be laid against key figures. "These marines have been under a great amount of duress for long periods of time and seeing lots of terrible things," he said. "It's not exonerating it in any way, but it provides some back story. I'm personally heartbroken that this occurred for all parties - for the Iraqis, for the marines involved." The death toll among Iraqi civilians continues to soar. May was the bloodiest month in Baghdad since the war began, with nearly 1400 civilians murdered in targeted killings and many more dying in bomb blasts. smh.com.au