Monday, June 23, 2008

Imperial 'Justice'

The Haditha massacre and what it means to be an empire

By Justin Raimondo

"When the Marines came into the house they just started shooting, going from room to room, killing all where they found them. When they were done, they went on to the next house in the Iraqi village of Haditha, which they attacked with hand grenades, methodically executing everyone inside. When they were done, they had killed 24 people, including two babies, a 5-year-old, a mother who had recently had an appendectomy, and an elderly couple. An Iraqi child testified:

"I couldn't see their faces very well – only their guns sticking in to the doorway. I watched them shoot my grandfather, first in the chest and then in the head. Then they killed my granny."

The Marines went berserk after of one their company was killed in a roadside bombing. A Marine confessed:

"I know it was a bad thing what I've done, but I done it because I was angry TJ was dead and I pissed on one Iraqi's head."

Americans have such a sense of… drama. When they commit war crimes, they revel in it – and rationalize it in the name of necessity. That's what happened after Haditha, where the defense lawyers for the Haditha executioners stoutly maintained, along with their clients, that the defendants' actions were defensive in nature, because they believed they were under fire and in danger. Company commander Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich to this day avers that he did the right thing, and that he would do it again......."

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