Military Expected to Report Marines Killed Iraqi Civilians - New York Times: "Evidence indicates that the civilians were killed during a sustained sweep by a small group of marines that lasted three to five hours and included shootings of five men standing near a taxi at a checkpoint, and killings inside at least two homes that included women and children, officials said.Nobody wants to be associated with this story. As if Abu Ghraib and Gitmo weren't bad enough. This is ridiculous. What happened to honor? This isn't a videogame where you hunt down victims for points. These were real people with families that loved them. This sounds like pure revenge killing and that is beneath everything that the Marines and this country supposedly stand for.
That evidence, described by Congressional, Pentagon and military officials briefed on the inquiry, suggested to one Congressional official that the killings were 'methodical in nature.'
Congressional and military officials say the Naval Criminal Investigative Service inquiry is focusing on the actions of a Marine Corps staff sergeant serving as squad leader at the time, but that Marine officials have told members of Congress that up to a dozen other marines in the unit are also under investigation. Officials briefed on the inquiry said that most of the bullets that killed the civilians were now thought to have been 'fired by a couple of rifles,' as one of them put it.
The killings were first reported by Time magazine in March, based on accounts from survivors and human rights groups, and members of Congress have spoken publicly about the episode in recent days. But the new accounts from Congressional, military and Pentagon officials added significant new details to the picture. All of those who discussed the case had to be granted anonymity before they would talk about the findings emerging from the investigation."
I'm beginning to wonder about our national ethics. What are they really?
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