Murtha spanked by fellow Marines who want to give their fellows the benefit of the doubt

There are several stories this weekend that really cut to the bone against John Murtha's recent disloyalty against members of the US Marine. Murtha wore the Marine uniform and served his country. For that I honor him. For his leap to believe allegations against Marines for purposefully killing innocent Iraqi civilians in Haditha before the evidence is clearly in, I could not have more disdain.

The first article from Reuters shows the approach to the allegations as they should be handled. The man handing Murtha an example on a platter is the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Peter Pace. Apparantly, this accusation of events from last November only reached the Pentagon on Feb 10 this year. Pace spent a fair amount of time explaining that they do not know why there was such a delay and that both the delay and accusations are under investigation. Pace honors the US Marines by pronouncing they are waiting until the investigation is complete to cast judgement AND to point out how honorable the service of the Marines in Iraq has been:

"I don't suspect anything," Pace said. "I want to wait for the investigation. We will find out what happened and we will make it public, but to speculate right now wouldn't do anyone any good."

Pace, the first Marine to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said "99.9 percent" of US soldiers in Iraq were conducting themselves with honor and courage.

Now that is a class act and an honor to those who have put their life on the line. Murtha seems to think that his former Marine service is a free ticket to dishonor the Corp. with unproven accusations from incomplete investigations.

The next Marine to step up to the plate is Sen. John Warner, a former Marine and the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Here is the NewsMax coverage of John Warner's take on the situation:

Asked about Murtha's claim that Marines executed residents of the village of Haditha "in cold blood," Sen. Warner told ABC's "This Week":

"At this time, particularly on Memorial Day . . . I think we should be calm and reassuring to the American people that the men and women of our armed forces are admirably and professionally conducting their heavy responsibilities."

The top Republican said: "I respect my friend, John Murtha. I also was privileged to wear the Marine uniform. But we've got to let the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the investigation system, proceed before we reach any conclusions on this matter."

Finally, a third Marine brings his own experiences of accusation to the table. The Washington Post brings us the exact words of U.S. Marine Illario Pantano, who was actually falsely charged with dishonorable actions on the battle field. In his piece Mr. Murtha's Rush to Judgement the entire piece is packed with a powerful perspective, so here are his words in their entirety:

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 ["Marine Officer Cleared in Killing of Two Iraqis," news story, May 27, 2005].

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 ["Death Toll Rises in Haditha Attack, GOP Leader Says," news story, May 20]. 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.

We have heard ad nauseum of Murtha's Marine service and this somehow disqualifies us from criticizing his irresponsible actions. I have presented the words of 3 Marines who have both served honorably and continue to honor their fellow Marines with the benefit of the doubt until the facts are in. I have repeatedly stated, this is not about whether the events of the accusations took place. If they are proven to have happened, the participants will and should be punished. The main point is that until that verdict is reached, a loyal American will back up our soldiers. If the charges end up being bogus as in Illario Pantano's case, these Marines should know that we stood behind them the whole time.

Of course if some are willing to spit on the service of the Marine Corp. as a whole to score cheap political points, then new lows have truly been sunk to. On this Memorial Day, the Logic Lifeline stands behind our soldiers.