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May 29, 2006
Ilario Pantano Speaks Out
Mr. Murtha's Rush to Judgment
Sunday, May 28, 2006
A year ago I was charged with two counts of premeditated murder and with other war crimes related to my service in Iraq. My wife and mother sat in a Camp Lejeune courtroom for five days while prosecutors painted me as a monster; then autopsy evidence blew their case out of the water, and the Marine Corps dropped all charges against me.
So I know something about rushing to judgment, which is why I am so disturbed by the remarks of Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) regarding the Haditha incident. Mr. Murtha said, "Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."
In the United States, we have a civil and military court system that relies on an investigatory and judicial process to make determinations based on evidence. The system is not served by such grand pronouncements of horror and guilt without the accuser even having read the investigative report.
Mr. Murtha's position is particularly suspect when he is quoted by news services as saying that the strain of deployment "has caused them [the Marines] to crack in situations like this." Not only is he certain of the Marines' guilt but he claims to know the cause, which he conveniently attributes to a policy he opposes.
Members of the U.S. military serving in Iraq need more than Mr. Murtha's pseudo-sympathy. They need leaders to stand with them even in the hardest of times. Let the courts decide if these Marines are guilty. They haven't even been charged with a crime yet, so it is premature to presume their guilt -- unless that presumption is tied to a political motive.
ILARIO PANTANO
Jacksonville, N.C.The writer served as a Marine enlisted man in the Persian Gulf War and most recently as a platoon commander in Iraq.
This is the only commentary I will post on this issue.
Previous posts about Ilario Pantano:
Defend the Defenders February 20, 2005
Marine Cleared of Wrongdoing! February 24, 2005
Drop The Charges! May 13, 2005
Justice at Last! May 26, 2005
Posted by LindaSoG at May 29, 2006 08:00 AM
Comments
It makes me sick that so many people in Washington, D.C. scramble to analyze, psychoanalyze and posture themselves for STRICTLY POLITICAL PURPOSES while they exploit the hardship endured by our men and women in uniform. Enlisted or drafted, male or female, conservative or liberal in personal ideology, one thing remains inviolate: they are over there in a place none of us would ever wish to be, at the bidding of our federal government and at the behest of a country that has had a madman at the helm for 30 years. They are serving their country and the people of a foreign country, risking their lives, often forfeiting their lives, in our name. People like Murtha and the mainstream media that sucks its sustenance like a vampire off the ignorance of its viewers are a disgrace to anything we could hold to be honorable. It is a black day for this country when its "leaders" act like dysfunctional trailer trash off the Jerry Springer Show!
Posted by: Kevin M at May 29, 2006 02:59 PM
Thank you Kevin. I really needed to see a response like that.
This will be the only post I make on this subject.
I support our troops. I won't condemn them on heresay, innuendo and rumors.
Murtha used to be a Marine. That was then, this is now. And now Murtha is a traitor to this Country and to the Corps.
Posted by: LindaSoG at May 30, 2006 10:39 PM