Marines killed Iraqis ‘in cold blood’

From MSNBC courtesy of This Modern World:

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.

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It's just like Vietnam all over again, right down to the initial coverup. Murtha's got it completely right: the marines who did this were in all probablity not murderous when they first arrived in Iraq, but the insanity of a long and drawn out unwinnable quagmire is obviously taking it's toll; it's turning good soldiers into evil men. This is probably the issue that makes my heart hurt the most. It's terrible, of course, what's happened to Iraq, all the needless death and destruction brought on by American action--we really are responsible for all this. But the thought that young guys, boys really, who could have been me twenty years ago are being twisted by Bush's psychotic war into violent sick fuckers who will probably never recover just makes me sad.

As Colonel Kurtz said, "the horror..."

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