A group of 12 United States Marines are being held at Camp Pendleton in California on charges that they murdered 24 innocent Iraqis in the town of Haditha, which is located about 150 miles northwest of Baghdad. This incident was suspected to have taken place approximately eight months ago and has come to be a battle cry for the Iraqis and war protesters here in America.
Investigations are taking place right now to find out exactly what took place. Preliminary reports say that U.S. Marine Miguel Terrazas was killed by a roadside bomb, while on patrol and his fellow Marines opened fire believing they were under attack. This was a tragic event and needs to be deciphered to see exactly what took place, then responsibility needs to be taken by those involved. This incident needs to make its way into the military court of law and be judged fairly and completely.
But aside from the court of law is the court of public opinion. This is the court where we all are the judge and the jury. We come to our own conclusions and pass judgment on those involved. We do this with every major court case we see on television. When it comes to somebody like O.J. Simpson or Scott Peterson, it matters little what the court decides when it comes to our opinions of the people involved and what crimes they might or might not have committed.
When you are deciding for yourself what should take place as far as the Haditha incident is concerned, please keep in mind that these are our men and women fighting for us. They are thousands of miles from home. They have only a thin line of letters and e-mails to keep them in touch with their loved ones. The stresses of their circumstances are beyond what most people could even begin to comprehend.
Those responsible, though, for this massacre need to be held accountable for it. They went outside of their jobs and possibly killed two dozen innocent civilians. Our soldiers are supposed to represent the very best that our nation has to offer. If these soldiers killed civilians, they need to be held accountable for their actions.
We have had a number of great successes in the war in Iraq. We toppled Saddam Hussein's government in a matter of a few weeks. We killed Hussein's sons, ending their evil reigns. We captured Hussein and he is currently on trial for the atrocities he committed during his time as the ruler of Iraq. Most recently, U.S. and Iraqi forces killed Iraq's top terrorist, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. All of these successes must also be recalled when we are trying to see whether or not Operation Iraqi Freedom has been a success.
Nobody is above the law, and nobody is below the law. This includes our soldiers as well. When they do something wrong, they should be treated just as you or I would be treated. With the same stroke, though, we should never judge our soldiers as if their jobs are normal. They are doing incredible work over in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their efforts and successes should not be marred by the ill actions of a few.
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