not what we need right now in the area if this is true.

 

Lawmaker: Marines killed Iraqis ?in cold blood?

Navy conducting war crimes probe into November violence in Haditha

A video provided to Reuters by Hamourabi Human rights group shows covered bodies in Haditha

 

Updated: 9:27 p.m. ET May 17, 2006

 

WASHINGTON - A Pentagon probe into the death of Iraqi civilians last November in the Iraqi city of Haditha will show that U.S. Marines "killed innocent civilians in cold blood," a U.S. lawmaker said Wednesday.

 

From the beginning, Iraqis in the town of Haditha said U.S. Marines deliberately killed 15 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including seven women and three children.

 

One young Iraqi girl said the Marines killed six members of her family, including her parents. ?The Americans came into the room where my father was praying,? she said, ?and shot him.?

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On Wednesday, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said the accounts are true.

 

Military officials told NBC News that the Marine Corps' own evidence appears to show Murtha is right.

 

A videotape taken by an Iraqi showed the aftermath of the alleged attack: a blood-smeared bedroom floor and bits of what appear to be human flesh and bullet holes on the walls.

 

The video, obtained by Time magazine, was broadcast a day after town residents told The Associated Press that American troops entered homes on Nov. 19 and shot dead 15 members of two families, including a 3-year-old girl, after a roadside bomb killed a U.S. Marine.

 

On Nov. 20, U.S. Marines spokesman Capt. Jeffrey Pool issued a statement saying that on the previous day a roadside bomb had killed 15 civilians and a Marine. In a later gunbattle, U.S. and Iraqi troops killed eight insurgents, he said.

 

U.S. military officials later confirmed that the version of events was wrong.

 

Murtha, a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, said at a news conference Wednesday that sources within the military have told him that an internal investigation will show that "there was no firefight, there was no IED (improvised explosive device) that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."

 

Military officials say Marine Corp photos taken immediately after the incident show many of the victims were shot at close range, in the head and chest, execution-style. One photo shows a mother and young child bent over on the floor as if in prayer, shot dead, said the officials, who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity because the investigation hasn't been completed.

 

One military official says it appears the civilians were deliberately killed by the Marines, who were outraged at the death of their fellow Marine.

 

?This one is ugly," one official told NBC News.

 

Three Marine officers ? commanders in Haditha ? have been relieved of duty, and at least 12 Marines in all are under investigation for what would be the worst single incident involving the deliberate killing of civilians by U.S. military in Iraq.

 

The Marine Corps issued a statement in response to Murtha's remarks:

 

"There is an ongoing investigation; therefore, any comment at this time would be inappropriate and could undermine the investigatory and possible legal process. As soon as the facts are known and decisions on future actions are made, we will make that information available to the public to the fullest extent allowable."

 

Murtha held the news conference to mark six months since his initial call for "redeployment" of U.S. forces from Iraq.

 

He said U.S. forces were under undue pressure in Iraq because of poor planning and allocation of resources by the Bush administration.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12838343/

Murtha was on "Hardball" tonight discussing this.

If they were to be truly held accountable for their actions they should get the death penalty (by American standards right?).

If they were to be truly held accountable for their actions they should get the death penalty (by American standards right?).

 

if this is all true than it would appear so. i guess we will all see the official report in the coming days.

 

however i doubt they will get the harshest penalty because many will say "these young boys shouldn't have been there, they couldn't put up with the rigors of war."

 

it will be an ugly chapter no matter how it plays out.

^_^ )-->QUOTE( ^_^ @ May 18 2006, 1:16 AM) 1152150[/snapback]

 

If they were to be truly held accountable for their actions they should get the death penalty (by American standards right?).

if this is all true than it would appear so. i guess we will all see the official report in the coming days.

 

however i doubt they will get the harshest penalty because many will say "these young boys shouldn't have been there, they couldn't put up with the rigors of war."

 

it will be an ugly chapter no matter how it plays out.

Um, did you just quote Murtha word for word? I'm pretty sure he said that exactly the same way.

Um, did you just quote Murtha word for word? I'm pretty sure he said that exactly the same way.

 

i honestly didn't see him on tv tonight. i was busy watching playoff hockey and playoff b-ball