Another thing, we greatly handicap our troops by making them avoid conflict when civilians are present. Do you think the terrorist do the same? If anything they use that to their advantage. By trying to placing civilized rules of military conduct on our troops while the enemy has no rules whatsoever, we are giving the enemy an advantage that has to have increased the number of our troops casualties.

This is what we should have done after the first uprising in Fallujah – we should have ‘Dresden-ized’ the place and sent the Sunnis an unequivocal message that any continued resistance will meet with a swift and brutal response, as well as letting them know that they have more to fear from our reprisals than from al Qaeda’s.

Instead, we hesitated, tried to take the moderate approach, and this thing has just dragged on and on and on.

You don’t win wars by winning hearts and minds. You win wars by making your enemy fear you so much that it completely crushes their will to resist. You can concnern yourself with winning hearts and minds only after you have done this.

Machiavelli was right. It is better to be feared than loved. And in subduing your enemies, you are better to determine what injuries you need to inflict and then do so in one stroke, lest you have to continually repeat them. In our desire to see ourselves as better than the enemy, as more humane, we have taken a soft approach and allowed the carnage to be dragged out, which is the most inhumane thing we could have done.

The Marines were trying their best to get this area under control, but the town people were pretty much in cohoots with the terrorists. When the Nov ’05 incident occurred and yet another 20-yr old was blown in half, the Marines decided “a new tactic” (my words).

No matter what this investigation reveals – To me, all these “civilians” are collaborators. I would exhonerate all the Marines. None of them are guilty of anything. I say our Marines don’t kill anybody who don’t deserve it… (at least 99.999% of them don’t). They do what they have to do.

When Abu Garab occurred, as bad as it was, I felt it would blow over… but this Hadathi thing…. my gut-just-feels-worse…. I sense it will handcuff our guys, there’s only one way to fight this war and the public needs to know the history… the left is running rampant with more similar stories (ie: pregnant women shot, man shot and troops put a shovel in his hand, etc etc..). More than likely the man did use a shovel to bury an IED. I will stand with our Marines…

Also, now they are getting mandatory “sensitivity” and “rules of war – civilian rights” training.. I don’t like this cycle…. This could be the beginning of the end… We have to do something!!

Serious charges have been alleged and in depth investigations are ongoing. Until they are finished, people like Murtha should just SHUT UP!

Trashing our troops while in harm’s way for political gain is about as low as anyone can get. Kerry did it in ’71 and memories of that cost him the Presidency (fortunately). Murtha is doing it now and hopefully, it is going to cost him his seat in the House.

His opponent, Diana Irey, in this election deserves all the support she can muster to unseat him.

This is war- legal murder and destruction. (what the h*ll are we doing nation building for people that hate us?)

The things we have asked these guys to do and the conditions they endure give us the luxury of debating legalities in peace. We turn them into the killing machines necessary to win WAR, and then we have the gall to consider them criminals? Those guys, whether they made a mistake this time or not (and next time sensitivity could cost them their buddies life), are the selfless heros I’d want watching my back (and they are watching all of ours), not someone with corevalue? training towards a hostile population.

Condolences and apologies to the survivors if the victims were innocent, and on to the next mission, which should be redeploying to longterm strategic Iraqi bases while the Iraqis kill each other peacefully.

Ilario Pantano, in my opinion, is one of the heroes of this conflict who paid a severe and unnecessary personal price for fighting the war on terror the way it needs to be done; by killing the enemy.
We should be taking no prisoners; we should not be &…

Ditto on “Coulter was right,” and the rest of your post too. A review of any 100 of the 1200 years of Islamic history will tell you everything you need to know about their intentions, methods, and motivations. Its all there.

Know your enemy. Hell, acknowledge that you even have an enemy in the first place!

THERE ARE NO RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pffft. Coulter was right. Go ahead allah, delete this comment also.

Even as double-amputee Iraq-war vet [Sgt. Peter Damon] (left) is suing Michael Moore for $85 million, claiming the portly peacenik recycled an old interview and used it out of context to make him appear anti-war in ‘Fahrenheit 9/11′, former Dem…

http://www1.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/06/haditha_explaining_the_inexpli.html

The story of what happened (or didn’t) at Haditha gets more convoluted as we go, but let me make a couple observations on the WaPo version of events…….

The following is anecdotal. There are tons of possible scenarios that happened that day, one being:

*******************

A fire fight breaks out – the marines were engaging 1 home; the home with the children and women. The Marines finally gain control of the home and enter. By this time the 2 to 3 adult males that created the fire fight are hiding in spider holes under the home with a weeks worth of food rations, Radios, etc (old trick – Saddam Hussein not the inventor).

As the Marines enter the home one last live round is fired at the marines by the fleeing male insurgents and then from the Marines point of view everything in that house is suspect (as if it wasn’t already) and anything that moved died.

That’s just anecdotal food for thought.

*******************

Btw, criminals are clever, children are often used for criminal acts, women are not always innocent (they are becoming suicide bombers), african children that are soldiers will kill with a smile on their face (possible in Iraq), criminals hide themselve well (Malvo and Mohammed were snipers in an old automobile in Washington DC with a hole in the trunk – Saddam tried the hole trick but failed), …

This clever plot (to antagonize the Marine so that they kill innocent people or what appear to be innocent people) could have been a genius plan cooked up by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. If so, this guy has “1 Up’ed” Osama Bin Laden on the 9-11 attack.

I saw an interview on CNN of a child, some “8 years” old girl that apparently played dead so that the Marines wouldn’t kill her. Who is this girl? Where are her parents? Who did her parents associate with?

I reiterate, innocent until proven guilty.

I AGREE!

However, remember this: President Bush has interfered with ALL the generals who SHOULD be running the war. Instead, Bush is conducting a POLITICALLY CORRECT WAR, trying to placate the looney left and traitors like Murtha.

If we are going to be politically correct, Americans WILL die!

And so, I agree, if we WANT to lose, we should leave now.

Top U.S. General in Iraq Orders Value Training for Troops
Thursday, June 01, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The top U.S. general in Iraq on Thursday ordered American commanders to conduct core values training on moral and ethical standards on the battlefield.
Army Gen. George W. Casey’s order came as the U.S. military investigated whether U.S. Marines might have intentionally killed unarmed civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha on Nov. 19.

The killings, in which victims included women and children, followed a bomb attack on a military convoy that killed a Marine.

Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, said in a statement the training would emphasize “professional military values and the importance of disciplined, professional conduct in combat” as well as Iraqi cultural expectations.

“As military professionals, it is important that we take time to reflect on the values that separate us from our enemies,” Chiarelli said. “The challenge for us is to make sure the actions of a few do not tarnish the good work of the many.”

The training will be conducted in units over the next 30 days and was aimed at reinforcing training service members received prior to their deployment, according to the statement.

The order was issued about a week after the U.S. Marine Commandant, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, traveled to Iraq and cautioned troops on the danger of becoming “indifferent to the loss of a human life,” following the allegations that Marines killed civilians in Haditha.

“Women and children for gods (sic) sake?”

Just who do you think these savages kill in their homicide bombing attacks? Clue: innocent women and children.

GOD BLESS THE MARINES!

These barbarians declared war, and we must finish it. Those who believe that we should fight a war handicapped by ‘special rules’ are as bad as the enemy.

We are fighting TERRORISTS, and the rules of the game have changed. They changed them on September 11, 2001.

“Women and children for Gods (sic) sake?”

Just who do you think these savages kill when they blow themselves up, invisible people? Try innocent women and children. Barbarians all.

GOD BLESS THE MARINES and the chips fall where they may.

I will not judge what I cannot judge.

That “We are better than they” crap is old and tired. Three thousand-plus dead Americans on September 11, 2001 prove that.