I just happened to see this story at memeorandum and started reading the related posts. The more I read the more outrage I feel.

Apparently, the Times magazine story about the ‘cold-blooded killing’ perpetrated by US Marines in Haditha is falling apart.

A contradictory story published by Reuters at the time of the incident has been uncovered by a commenter at Free Republic.

It is highly disturbing that the left would use accusations against our military to undermine our war effort, destroy the careers of Marines who have put their very lives in danger for the good of the country, all to further their own political agendas.

The primary agenda being that they hate Bush and will do anything to leave the public impression that he has bungled his presidency.

It seems that Times magazine is backpeddling on it’s reporting the story of Haditha. Time is posting a series of corrections. They say they got some of their facts wrong in the original story and they ‘regret the errors’.

They regret the errors. They regret their errors, but the corrections are not getting nearly the attention the accusations got.

The corrections to their story are available to their online subscribers at the bottom of the online archive.

Who will read it? Who will know that Time magazine ‘regrets the errors’ of misreporting the story about Haditha?

People will remember the name Haditha as a scandal for our Marines. They will continue to believe that our Marines did something terrible there. The story is out there, it’s been supported by a Congressman who touts himself as a ‘war hero’.

The story is already urban legion regardless of whatever retractions and/or corrections made by Time magazine.

I hope that the investigations and reporting of the blogging world can help to change the public perception of this incident AND of the reporting of the MSM.

Sweetness & Light has a series of posts on the ‘Paper of Treason’ the New York Times. She is looking at the story in detail. Following her links and reading her reporting is very enlightening.

For instance, here is part of the Reuters report in November, immediately after the incident.

US details Haditha shoot-out

Last Update: Sunday, November 20, 2005. 9:15pm

A roadside bomb that killed a US Marine in the restive town of Haditha on Saturday also killed 15 Iraqi civilians and led to intense clashes with insurgents.

The powerful bomb detonated as a US military convoy was passing through the town, which is 220 kilometres north-west of Baghdad.

The US military says immediately after the blast, gunmen opened fire on the convoy.

US and Iraqi soldiers returned fire, killing eight insurgents and wounding another in a firefight.

A cameraman working for Reuters in Haditha says bodies had been left lying in the street for hours after the attack.

He says the town has been virtually shut down for the past two days as US and Iraqi forces try to impose order.

[Reuters story, November 20, 2005]

Dr. Sanity is also disturbed by the left and the left-wing media rush to believe anything that could in any way facilitate the failure of the war, our military, the president or our country.

In other words, is this just another “fake, but accurate” media event, designed to manipulate people into the “correct” mindset about the U.S. military? We all know that the left wants us to believe that our military are no better–and even much worse– than the terrorists we fight.

The American Thinker gives a summary of the exhaustive work offered by Sweetness & Light.

There is a discussion at Free Republic.

Reuters camerman, Reuters Story, and no mention of Massacre. Maybe reuters has blind cameramen?? Do they really expect us to believe that Reuters withheld a story like this for 8 months when they has a cameraman right there during the supposed massacre?

The media really has no shame.

SBD

The Strata-Sphere has uncovered much more. Could Al-Quada have used Haditha for propaganda snuff films? He also has MSM reports of Haditha as a hot-bed of Al-Quada activity prior to the November 2005 incident that has been sensationalized for the press.

Flopping Aces has a great round-up of articles and posts. He writes:

What!  The most damaging piece of evidence is this photo which no one can produce.  Human Rights Watch just HEARD there is a picture.

But Time runs this story making it seem like the photo is already booked into evidence.

Amazing!

You think maybe Time may issue a retractions saying “In fact the accusations against the Marines in Haditha have been proven false and we’re actually the work of Al-Qaeda, TIME regrets the error.”

We will see.

Riehl World does a very thorough job of examining conflicting stories about Haditha.

Twenty-seven and a half million Google hits for Haditha - and not one of them the truth thanks to a MSM that can’t wait to tell a horrible story we don’t yet know is true.

But due to the contradictions in their own reporting, we can be sure the AP and some in the MSM can’t possibly be accurate.

UPDATE: Euphoric Reality reports that our Marines are being held in shackles while we treat the terrorists at Gitmo are being treated with kid gloves.

This is INFURIATING. Our Marines haven’t been charged with anything. Where is the presumption of innocence? This kind of treatment undermines EVERYTHING our country stands for.

Our values are seriously upside down when our enemy is treated better than our own Marines! Why are we afraid to call an enemy and enemy and why would the pentagon cow-tow to the MSM when it comes to the well-being of our military and our country?

Go to Euphoric Reality to get info on what you can do to help FREE OUR MARINES!

A Soldier’s Perspective says SPREAD THE WORD and give the Marines back their dignity!

Mudville Gazette has an excellent analysis of the story.

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Others keeping up with this story: Real Ugly American, Spirit Builders, Wizbang, Confederate Yankee, Hot Air, Small Town Veteran, Right on the Right, Bear Creek Ledger, Life ~ Florida ~ Whatever, Iowa Voice, Sister Toldjah, A Blog for All, Mark in Mexico, Blue Crab Boulevard, Gay Patriot, The Counter Terrorism Blog

cartoon by Mike Shelton