Tip of the Iceberg

Here we go again! Brace yourself because another blow to our nations credibility is just around the corner. Members of Congress have quietly been warned about the results of an ongoing military investigation into the mass murder of 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians and a broad attempt to distort the facts and cover-up these atrocities. Last week, senior Pentagon officials finally acknowledged that the preliminary results of an ongoing investigation supports the allegations that U.S. Marines killed 24 innocent Iraqis without provocation. It is believed the massacre took place on November 19, 2005 in the western Iraqi town of Haditha and involved a small number of U.S. Marines who went on a rampage after one of their own was killed by a roadside bomb. Initially, the military refused to acknowledge the possibility that the massacre took place, even ignoring eyewitness reports from Iraqi villagers and compelling evidence collected and presented by Time Magazine. The military was incredibly hostile said Time magazines Aparisim Ghosh. “They accused us of buying into enemy propaganda, sticking to their original story that a roadside bomb killed the Iraqis.”

If Congressman John Murtha is correct, the news of the massacre and its subsequent cover-up will be far more damaging to our war efforts in Iraq and that the political fallout will be much worse than was experienced after the Abu Ghraib scandal. Murtha quotes reports at the “highest level” confirming that the massacre took place without provocation and that there exists a military/government conspiracy to cover it up. Murtha alleges that the Iraqi government was aware of the killings because they made payments to the families for “accidental deaths”. Murtha went on to say that the military initially tried to pin the Iraqi deaths on an IED. Murtha said that a military team was immediately deployed on site to conduct an investigation, but that the preliminary results of the investigation were withheld. "Nobody hears about it. "They don’t tell anybody" Murtha said. "Until March when Time magazine broke the news, nobody realized or recognized what happened.”

Another cover-up. Another tragedy our leaders have tried to sweep under the carpet and hide under a veil of secrecy. How can this continue to happen and what else are we not being told? I speak about the power of a free press, a press that has unfettered access to the halls of power. In this instance, you can see how a free press represents a very real threat to this administration and its conduct of the war. We would not have known about the NSA wiretapping policy, the Abu Ghraib torture scandal or now the Haditha massacre if it were not for the free press. If not for the free press we wouldn't know about the attampted cover-up or that the Iraqi government authorized hush money payouts to families of the murdered Iraqis. You can be sure of one thing, if the Iraqi government was making "accidental death" payouts on behalf of the U.S. military, then people in our military and our government knew about it. They will tell you they didn’t, but I would bet the farm that they did. Published reports state that there are as many as eight Marines from Kilo company of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment who were directly involved, but that other units knew of what happened because they helped document the aftermath. How do you reconcile the fact that the military documents the massacre in November 2005 and then decided that they are not going to investigate further…that is until the Time article forced their hand. Ask yourself, who decided? Who approved the cover-up? Was it the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs? Think about it, if payouts were made by the Iraqi government to cover-up the actions of the U.S. military and that additional Marine units were brought in to investigate, document and clean up in the aftermath, do you really think that the head of the military would be completely unaware? Really? Do you really think that if the Chairman of the J.C.S had prior knowledge of a massacre that Secretary Rumsfeld was ignorant of the incident? Really?

The massacre of innocent Iraqi civilians is a tragedy. It is an extremely disturbing act and those who are responsible must be brought to justice. All indications point to a small group of Marines who snapped after having just lost a fellow soldier to an IED. It is an immense and inexcusable tragedy but hopefully it is an isolated one. What is potentially more disturbing is the fact that our government refuses to come clean. Though the President issued a statment on the Haditha tragedy, his administration does not feel compelled to address the specifics of issue or to discuss any aspects of the cove-up. This administration wants us to have faith in their actions and confidence in their decision-making. Yet these same officials continue to operate outside the boundaries of U.S. and international law. They condone murder, domestic espionage, torture and who knows what else under the guise of national security. Ultimately these acts are committed in our names. The blood of these innocent men, women and children are on our hands and we must ensure that those responsible are held accountable.

Over the next few months, as details of the massacre and the investigation become public, I caution you not to be lulled to sleep by government double speak and political deal making. Remain informed and do not become distracted, as continuing to allow our elected officials to operate with impunity will only encourage them to continue to do so with increasing frequency. Acts like this will severely hinder our efforts in Iraq and damage our prestige and credibility around the world. Make no mistake, victory in Iraq has to be a political victory, it cannot be won militarily. It will be hard to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, when the actions of a few taint the image of the whole. Just as the prestige of our military continues to suffer in Iraq because of the indignant actions of a handful of soldiers, so to does the prestige of the American people when its government acts with impunity and operates without conscience or restraint. I fear that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg, and if what we see is only the tip, I can only imagine what lurks just beneath the surface.

Think about it.

Memorial Day

“We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies”

“In Flowers Fields” - Moina Michaels 1915

Today is Memorial Day and I have spent the morning reflecting upon its meaning and about what the day truly means to me. Of course I know that the holiday is intended as a day of remembrance for those who died in the service of our country. I also know that as is the case with most holidays, their original meanings and traditions have rapidly faded from our collective National conscience. How profound is the power of reflection…to purposely ponder issues and ideas in an effort to understand the very reason for their existence.

Memorial Day was first called Decoration Day and it was intended to honor those who died in the service of our country. Many towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, though Waterloo, NY was officially given that distinction by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966. Though the origins of the day may remain in question, the intent of the day is not, to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms in the defense of our nation and its values. Proclaimed by National Commander of the Army, General John Logan in 1868, the first Memorial Day Holiday was celebrated on May 30th of the same year. In post Civil War America, Memorial Day was seen as an opportunity to eliminate divisions, to reconcile the North and the South, and to honor those on both sides of the conflict who gave their lives. However, it was not until immediately after World War I that Memorial Day changed from remembering those who died in the Civil War to honoring all Americans who died in any war. Congress inadvertently diminished the importance of the day when it passed the National Holiday Act of 1971, making all federal holidays such as Memorial Day a three-day weekend. In doing so the day became less about the remembrance of those who died for our freedoms, than it did about backyard barbeques, pool parties and the Indianapolis 500…in other words, it became just another three-day weekend. The government has tried on several occasions to re-educate and to remind Americans about the true meaning of the holiday with little or no success. If we are to remember and honor those who died in defense of this country, I think that we have an obligation to possess a cursory understanding of the history and the significance of the day. We have an obligation to remember those who sacrificed their lives for this country, regardless of political ideology or popular public opinion. For many, today is a day of remembrance and a time to honor those who served and died for this country. For others, the mothers who lost a son; the fathers who lost a daughter; the children who lost a parent, it is a time of profound loss and numbing grief.

We cannot assign blame or view one conflict as being morally superior to another, when honoring those who have defended this nation. Given the current political environment in this country and the growing lack of public support for the war in Iraq, it is easy to forget or to downplay the current sacrifices of our men and women in the armed forces. If you recall, our country turned its back on its veterans who fought in Vietnam, another political quagmire and a hugely unpopular war. Then as now, we hear eerily similar government propaganda in an effort to justify this country’s actions. We hear of a need to stem the tide of a dangerous ideology, then communism and now Islamic fundamentalism, in an attempt to prevent a “domino effect” from taking place. Today, the “domino effect” refers to the threat of Middle Eastern countries falling one after the other under the influence of Islamic fundamentalist. In Vietnam, the “domino effect” referred to the threat of third-world countries similarly falling under the influence of communist ideology. In both cases our government cited the benefits of fighting the enemy "over there" as opposed to on American soil…sound familiar? Ironically, then as now, we were told that we are winning the war and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The point is that during the Vietnam War, we at home found it difficult to separate the war from the warrior, as our soldiers…our kids…returned home only to be spit upon. We must guard against the same injustices from happening today. The Iraq War is in many ways as unpopular a War as was Vietnam. However, the Americans troops fighting in Iraq do so at the direction of a misguided politician. It is not for them to decide who our enemies are and are not. They do not decide which country is friend or foe. They are men and women who willingly place their lives on the line every day in service of this country and they deserve our support and our respect. Today many will remember with pride the sacrifices of those who perished in World War II & I and many will honor the dignity of those who died in Korea. They will do so because history has deemed them as morally just wars, clearly pitting good verses evil. However, we can never allow the unpopular politics of a specific war to taint the valor or minimize the sacrifice of the warrior. So today we must equally remember, respect and honor those who fought and died in wars such as Vietnam, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq even if we disdain the politics and the politicians who declared them.

I have never been forced to grieve the death of a family member lost on the field of battle. I have never faced the reality of a son or daughter heading off to war in a far away and foreign land. I realize that I have been shielded from this in great measure by the heroic sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. So today, I remember those who are responsible for the freedoms that I enjoy and I honor those who have died to protect them. I am grateful to those who fight for this country every day, even though I may not agree with the politics that place them in harms way. I do so today with a newfound understanding of what Memorial Day should mean not only to me but also to others. I do so with the hope that today, on this Memorial Day, you will choose to do the same.