20 Comments

• 1. liberalDream  |  June 20th, 2008 at 1:16 pm

  leo - you do realize that the marines cases have not been dropped because of their innocence - but rather that they can not secure a conviction. Primarily because they cannot get any of the Iraqi witnesses to whatever happened to come to the US for the trial.

  Look - I don’t know what happened and neither do you. However,
  your blind patriotism is equivalent to a dog that begs at the feet of the master who regularly beats him.

  Maybe they are completely innocent - but i guess you also think that what went on at Abu Ghraib was completely innocent too. A complete miscarriage of justice by the lunitic fringe left?
  i suggest you grow up and learn that the real world is not a simple matter of black and white - i hope that if the marines are truly innocent all of them get exonerated - but your blind, absolute, and mind boggling simplicity in thought (they are marines so of course they are good by definition!) is really quite amusing…

• 2. Leo Pusateri  |  June 20th, 2008 at 1:22 pm

  I see that you continue to ignore facts.

  I see that you are unwilling to drop the 60s maggot-infested dope-smoking meme that all soldiers are baby killers.

  I see that you are unwilling to extend the Constitutional right to presumption of innocence to those who defend that same Constitution that you and your maggot-infested friends enjoy.

  Gawwd.. you are one self-absorbed, pathetic individual.

• 3. Chuckasaurus  |  June 20th, 2008 at 1:27 pm

  Good response, liberal.

  However, I do think the Marines deserve the benefit of the doubt.

  And not because (they are marines so of course they are good by definition!), but because they have been sent to a (Expletive deleted) area to fight a (Expletive deleted)war against some (Expletive deleted)people (insurgents) who use (Expletive deleted)tacticts.

  The truth of the matter is that these insurgents are habitual liars, who kill indiscriminately, and blame it on Americans. And any time one of their fighters gets killed, they swear he was an innocent bystander. And when they get innocent people killed by attacking Americans while they stand in the midst of a crowd, they blame the Americans for mercilessly slaughtering civilians.

  Keeping that in mind, I truly believe they should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Any murder, rapist, or child molesterer in this country is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Our Marines deserve at least the same presumption of innocence as a child molesterer.

  That’s what was so disgusting about Jack Murtha proclaiming them guilty of cold blooded murder.

• 4. liberalDream  |  June 20th, 2008 at 1:33 pm

  leo - i am not saying anything about the marines. They are innocent until proven guilty. I never said that they were baby killer . Of course I support their constitutional rights.

  All I am saying is that you have already decided that they are innocent without looking at the evidence.

  Chuck - these are not insurgents that are telling these stories. They are iraqi women and children who witnessed the result - just as you cannot presume that the soliders are guilty you cannot presume that they are liars…

• 5. Leo Pusateri  |  June 20th, 2008 at 1:36 pm

  All I am saying is that you have already decided that they are innocent without looking at the evidence.

  (Expletive deleted)!@!

  I have looked at official documents on the matter. I am schooled in this case perhaps better than 99.5 percent of Americans are.

  I know from whence I speak.

  YOU, on the other hand, who rely solely on talking points from KOS, DU or CNN, DON’T.

• 6. Chris  |  June 20th, 2008 at 2:21 pm

  Deleted - off topic, obscenity; commenter to be banned.

• 7. Jonathan  |  June 20th, 2008 at 2:57 pm

  I see that you are unwilling to drop the 60s maggot-infested dope-smoking meme that all soldiers are baby killers.

  I see that you are unwilling to extend the Constitutional right to presumption of innocence to those who defend that same Constitution that you and your maggot-infested friends enjoy.

  And apparently, Leo, you don’t know how to read in context.

  Look - I don’t know what happened and neither do you. However,
  your blind patriotism is equivalent to a dog that begs at the feet of the master who regularly beats him.

  Anything about accusing the Marines of any wrongdoing or presumption that they’re guilty?

  I didn’t think so.

  Read, my friend.

• 8. hermie  |  June 20th, 2008 at 3:48 pm

  Murtha will continue to press for a conviction, any conviction so as to prevent him from losing a civil court. judgement. Of course, he can’t use his influence in Congress without Pelosi’s blessing, so it’s not just Murtha but the entire House Leadership behind the persecution. Also, don’t forget Obama’s pledge to the Left to turn over those who have been accused of ‘war crimes’. The Dems have to back this up, even if it means destroying these Marines.

• 9. Aztec  |  June 20th, 2008 at 4:34 pm

  So, the charges being dropped is a miscarraige of justice? What are you trying to say Leo?

• 10. JustAnotherTaxpayer  |  June 20th, 2008 at 4:43 pm

  I wonder now that these men are done have seen justice well served, what they are going to do now in this wonderful economy that Bush has left to them. I wonder how they feel about Iraqis not lifting a finger to help them, or the country that sacrficed so much for them.
  I wonder how these marines will remember their difficulties in the years to come after they return home. Will this fade from memory quickly after trying to readjust to life back here.
  Even if Murtha is run out of office, how will that help these marines who were pursued not at the behest of Murtha, but at the request of invetigators looking into what happened at Haditha.
  What part did Murtha play in getting charges prefered against these marines in the first place?

• 11. Chuckasaurus  |  June 20th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

  Murtha claimed that the Marines were guilty of cold blooded murder.

  He didn’t say that secretly, he made it a public statement.

  Coming from a former Marine and high ranking politician, that could very well sway the judgement of anyone who is involved in the persecution…….errr……prosecution…….of the Marines.

  Additionally, the insurgents could use the fact that a former Marine and high ranking politician is accusing the Americans of cold blooded murder of innocent Iraqi civilians, to recruit insurgents to fight the murderous Americans.

  You don’t hear politicians proclaiming people guilty of a crime before there has even been a trial. That’s because in America, you are innocent until proven guilty.

  Jack Murtha’s declaration that the Marines were guilty of cold blooded murder was just political grandstanding. he threw those Marines under the bus to advance his political career.

  In my opinion, what Jack Murtha did was no different than the D.A. in the Duke Lacrosse case declaring the Duke students guilty before there was even a trial. And it turns out, that they were innocent………Just like the Marines.

  Didn’t the D.A. in the Duke Lacrosse case get fired for doing that to those kids? Should Murtha get off any easier? They were both trying to advance their political career by publicly declaring innocent young men guilty of crimes they didn’t commit.

• 12. Mark Noonan  |  June 20th, 2008 at 5:21 pm

  Aztec,

  The miscarriage of justice was Jack Murtha calling the Haditha Marines cold blooded murderers before even a full investigation was complete. The miscarriage of justice is, also, the way military lawyers are always willing to go overboard in prosecuting our soldiers for fighting a war.

  In war, bad things happen, and before any soldier, sailor, airman or Marine should be brought up on charges, it should be completely clear that the evidence is overwhelming against him. Presumed innocent until proven guilty AND presumed that a war is going on before we try and second-guess Marines who have to make split second decisions upon which their lives and the lives of their buddies depend.

• 13. JustAnotherTaxpayer  |  June 20th, 2008 at 6:48 pm

  Mr. Noonan,

  So, Murtha did not prefer charges against these Marines. If not, what can you go after him for?
  You can certainly bring this up against him during a campaign, but theres nothing actionable here.
  Where did the people who prefered charges against these marines get the evidence they used in their indictments? Who are these people? I’m sure more is needed from them than statements from pubic officials.
  What standard is needed to move a trial forward in a case like this one? What is the standard needed for conviction and dismissal of charges?

• 14. HarkeysBar  |  June 20th, 2008 at 7:10 pm

  “The miscarriage of justice was Jack Murtha calling the Haditha Marines cold blooded murderers before even a full investigation was complete.The miscarriage of justice is, also, the way military lawyers are always willing to go overboard in prosecuting our soldiers for fighting a war.”

  Regarding Murtha: I agree but you call people, mainly Democrats of course, guilty before a full investigation or verdict.
  Kind of hypocritical. I am with you on this one though. As a Congressman, Murtha shouldn’t have said what he said. He should apologize. He should be voted out. If he isn’t voted out you deal with it. I see no reason why he should resign because of it.

• 15. Leo Pusateri  |  June 20th, 2008 at 7:53 pm

  Actually, after charges were dropped against Chessani, the military court filed an appeal against dropping the charges.

  So, no, the miscarriage of justice continues.

• 16. Kahn  |  June 20th, 2008 at 8:44 pm

  Thanks Liberal Dream. Explains why so few military claim to be Democrats. Fewer would if they got to know you.

• 17. The New Conservative  |  June 20th, 2008 at 11:16 pm

  At least the marines have been freed. I thank God that the right decision has been made in these cases. One more to go and they will all be free.
  http://thenewconservatives.blogspot.com/

• 18. Mortimer  |  June 21st, 2008 at 1:01 am

  Let me see, the JAG filed charges, they are part of the Navy and the Navy is part of the DoD which is an executive branch cabinet level department, which means that the chain of command goes from Bush to Gates to the Pentagon, but it’s all a Senator’s fault? There were trials like this in all our wars.
  Trouble is you keyboard video game warmongers is that you think it’s all some clean movie like duel. Trouble it it aint. And though they aren’t all our fault, over a half million Iraqis are dead or seriously wounded since we attacked. But you live in safe neighborhoods where you don’t have to worry every nioght about terrorists shooting your family or a stray bomb turning you into collateral damage. But I guess we invaded cause you Bushbots cared so much about the people in Iraq?

• 19. Kahn  |  June 21st, 2008 at 2:10 am

  Mortimer - Senator Murtha? You don’t really pay attention do you?

• 20. kjstrouble  |  June 21st, 2008 at 2:33 am

  To the lib who claimed that the Iraqi people who are making these claims are not insurgents - you have proof of that, or just their word? I would tend to believe a Marine over an Iraqi who may or may not be an insurgent in hiding.