Was Murtha Briefed on a Completed Report Before He Spouted Off About Haditha?
I have sent this e-mail to Jamie Gold, the L.A. Times Readers’ Rep:
Jamie,
A recent L.A. Times story on the alleged Haditha massacre (Probe Finds Marines Killed Unarmed Iraqi Civilians, May 26), says that Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) was briefed by Marine Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee before Murtha went to the press to denounce the killings:
Hagee briefed key congressional leaders on the upcoming report. One of those, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), a retired Marine colonel, said later that Marines “killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”
Are you sure about this?
Murtha made his comments on May 18. Hagee briefed the Senate Armed Services Committee two days ago, on May 25. If Hagee briefed Murtha before May 18, I can’t find any evidence of it.
Can you check to make sure the assertion in the article is correct?
Thanks.
Patrick Frey
As I have already said, the truth of the allegations is paramount — and if they are true, someone needs to be executed. But it’s still a valid (if minor) question whether Murtha spouted off before the report was completed. The L.A. Times makes it sound as though it’s clear that the report was done, and Murtha was fully briefed, before he said a word. Maybe he just got ahead of the news cycle, in other words.
It’s possible, I guess. But I’m not so sure.
I’m interested to see if there is anything factual to bear this out, or whether the paper simply made (yet another) mistake.
I’ll let you know.
I respectfully disagree with our host whether Murtha’s spouting off is a minor question. He should not have spouted off at all, not just until the investigation was completed but until the court martial had rendered verdict. There are boys’ lives at stake here. (Not necessarily death sentences but possibly long prison sentences and then the very interesting career of an old man who learned to “turn big ones into little ones” at Leavenworth.)
In some states, prosecutors get disciplined very harshly for making inflammatory and prejudicial statements such as Murtha’s, extrajudicially, about monsters that have only been charged but not yet convicted even when there is overwhelming prima facie evidence. If anybody should be offended about Murtha’s statements it should be every liberal who snivels about granting killers and rapists due process. Murtha is a jerk, whether you are a liberal or a conservative or just don’t like being charged, tried and convicted by some f-word politician in the media.
nk (d7a872) — 5/28/2006 @ 10:40 am[…] I’ve already said I don’t want to beat up on Murtha lest it take the focus off the atrocities that were allegedly committed. But I also don’t want to see Pantano redux. Rick Moran notes a recent example of trumped-up charges against the Marines and urges caution. Dan Riehl has questions about the consistency of some of the facts that have been reported. And Patterico wants to know just how fully had been briefed before he went on TV and pronounced these guys guilty. […]
Hot Air » Blog Archive » Ilario Pantano slams Murtha for rushing to judgment on Haditha (d4224a) — 5/28/2006 @ 11:16 amMurtha should be stricken from the HONORROLL of proud Marines. He’s made a mockery of all who served with his traitorous prattle.
jainphx (4a661c) — 5/28/2006 @ 12:14 pmPride And Prejudice
Obviously, the latest developments in the military investigation are fueled by chilling echoes of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, used to discredit our sacrifices in Vietnam. The anti-war mongers are perversely excited at the prospect of hitting anothe…
All Things Beautiful (72c8fd) — 5/29/2006 @ 10:56 amAs one who remembers that Saddam stored dead babies to be scattered around bomb hits, the possibility that this is a setup can not be dismissed. If a unit has been attacked they have an obligation to return fire even when civilians might be killed. If they do not, the enemy will make civilian shields a standard tactic. My Marine grandson is there now. I sincerely hope this will not cause him to hesitate to protect him and his buddies.
Walter E. Wallis (7ea451) — 5/29/2006 @ 11:23 amOngoing Investigations Into Haditha Incident
If the facts and evidence bears out the need to harshly punish those involved, then that must be done. At the same time, we should not let members of Congress with an agenda push this issue further and faster than the facts and evidence allows or dic…
A Blog For All (59ce3a) — 5/30/2006 @ 6:47 pmPatterico- It looks today like you were really on to something. Great job!
[Thanks. What makes it more amazing is that I specifically contacted the Readers’ Rep about the story and she claimed it was accurate. I’ll post about that tomorrow. Looks like I have a few more questions for her. — P]
Jim Hoft (980dc3) — 8/4/2006 @ 11:12 am