I was not in Haditha when these killings occurred and neither were most in the press who wrote stories about atrocities committed. Nor was a Congressman from my home state present in this town but he chose to label these Marines cold blooded killers before a full investigation had even begun.

An investigating officer recommended Thursday dismissing all charges against a Marine accused of murdering two girls in an assault that killed 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha.

Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum, 26, is charged with unpremeditated murder of two girls and negligent homicide on suspicion that he unlawfully killed two men, a woman and a boy. He is also accused of assaulting another boy and a girl.

Investigating officer Lt. Col. Paul Ware said the evidence was too weak for a court-martial. Tatum shot and killed civilians, but “he did so because of his training and the circumstances he was placed in, not to exact revenge and commit murder,” Ware wrote.

Many times over, I have said that if a member of the military deliberately takes the life of another, even in war, they deserve just punishment. Why is it though, that we are willing to grant civilians the right to be innocent until proven guilty but there are those who assume that the opposite should be true when it applies to our military.

Even if this Marine is eventually found not guilty of all charges as has been recommended, he will live the events of that day for the rest of his life just as someone would if they were in a civilian walk of life. War and tragedy are sometime synonymous, Haditha was one of those times.

HT: The Jawa Report