Thursday, June 22, 2006



Murdering civilians

US military authorities seem finally to have woken up to atrocities committed by those under their command, and are begining to enforce the law. Earlier in the week, we learned that a group of soldiers were facing murder charges for shooting three prisoners back in May. Now, we learn that seven marines are facing similar charges for taking an Iraqi man from his home, shooting him, then dumping a rifle and shovel next to the body so they could claim that he was planting a roadside bomb. Recent media reports suggest this sort of coverup is widespread, and you really have to wonder how morally sustainable the US occupation is when they've devolved to shooting the very people they claim to be fighting for.

The BBC story quotes a marine spokesman as saying that

The marine corps also prides itself on holding its members accountable for their actions.

But given the failure so far of the US military to hold its own to account, we'll just have to wait and see...

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