To: TimF who wrote (60867 ) 7/12/2007 12:53:20 AM From: Sully- Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 90947 Haditha Accusations Falter posted by wretchard The Belmont Club 7/11/2007 06:54:00 PM The hearing officer recommended charges against one of the Marines accused of the "Haditha massacre", Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, be dropped for lack of evidence. "The government version is unsupported by independent evidence," Ware wrote in the 18-page report. "To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary." The Jawa Report thinks that there will be "an outcry among the MSM and other leftist traitors who are working for a humiliating American defeat in Iraq," which if true would indicate a terrible state of affairs. The Haditha case isn't over yet, but in some ways it already bears passing resemblance to the Duke Lacrosse case, in which an audience was actually eager to find a class of persons guilty, not because of any particular evidence, but because it suited their world view. Let's see how the rest of it plays out. <<< "The recommendation to drop the murder charge is nonbinding. A final decision about whether Sharratt should stand trial will be made by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general overseeing the case." >>> The hearing officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ware, wrote: He said further prosecution of Sharratt could set a "dangerous precedent that ... may encourage others to bear false witness against Marines as a tactic to erode public support of the Marine Corps and its mission in Iraq." "Even more dangerous is the potential that a Marine may hesitate at the critical moment when facing the enemy," he said. The sad thing is that may have been the whole point. fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com breitbart.com mypetjawa.mu.nu