Iraq: The Marine's tale: "I felt we were committing genocide'

[Ivo Skoric]

While president is talking about liberation, troops are aware of the 
genocide....

President wants to raze Abu Ghraib. To remove the bad memories that 
grim place left on Iraqi population under its previous and current 
governing authorities.

Those who dishonored our country and disregarded our values, of 
course, are 'the few.' Are they also 'the proud'?

Pentagon banned use of video capable cell phones to the troops in 
Iraq. Geee, I wonder why.

Both those decisions, however, come way too late to save president's 
face. And in 5 months we'll see whether they'll also remove his butt 
from the White House.

So, the transfer of power is the smartest way to go. President will 
leave 140k of US troops in Iraq to 'help', while transfering 
sovereignty to the Iraqis - kind of like it was done in Germany and 
Japan.

Only, Iraq is nothing like Germany or Japan. For beginners, the enemy 
in Iraq is obviously not defeated. Yet, the US will allow 80k of 
Iraqi men to get re-armed, hoping that the quisling army they are 
creating will deal with that enemy.

But there is no guarantee that the re-armed Iraqis will not turn 
against Americans themselves, is there? Of course, Bush promises that 
all of them will be "vetted" - in a month?! What are they going to 
do? Torture them and take those who break down first? Or last?

It looks like Bush is setting-up the situation in Iraq for a major 
conflict between Iraqis and Americans - one that Americans may win, 
but not withiut casualties.

Which makes Bush Jr. smarter than Bush Sr. - Bush Sr. won the war, 
but lost the elections. Bush Jr. will win the elections, because he 
is losing the war - and no country will change its leader in the 
middle of the war (Milosevic stayed in power like that in Serbia for 
12 years): he hopes that the Fall will produce some really good war 
footage so he can give some strong presidential statements like "we 
will not falter, we will not fail" to float him upwards in the polls. 
Hence the transition of power: he is creating his own enemies for the 
show that he needs to get re-elected. 

ivo

----Forwarded Message(s)----
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/24/politics/25PTEX-
FULL.html?pagewanted=all&position=

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=523992

The Marine's tale: 'We killed 30 civilians in six weeks. I felt we
were committing genocide'
 By Natasha Saulnier

23 May 2004

 During 12 years in the US Marines, including three years putting new
recruits through boot camp, Staff Sergeant Jimmy Massey hardly
questioned his role. But what he saw in Iraq changed that.

 "In a month and a half my platoon and I killed more than 30
 civilians," Mr
Massey said. He saw bodies being desecrated and robbed, and wounded
civilians being dumped by the roadside without medical treatment.
After he told his commanding officer that he felt "we were committing
genocide", he was called a "wimp".

 Mr Massey, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and
 depression,
left the Marines in November. Back home in the Smoky Mountains of
North Carolina, he says the cause of the uprising in Iraq is that "we
killed a lot of innocent people".

 His 7th Marine Weapons Company, armed with machine guns and 
missiles,
 was
one of the first into the country in March last year. "We would take
over villages and control checkpoints," he said. "My men and I would
fire warning shots at oncoming vehicles. But, if they didn't stop, we
didn't have any qualms about loading them up."

 The Marines were told that Iraqis were filling ambulances with
 explosives,
and that soldiers were dressed as civilians, but after pouring fire
into vehicles and hearing no explosions, they started to doubt the
truth of these claims.

 "Iraqi military compounds had nothing in them, except for dismantled
tanks, equipment that was barely functioning, and barracks that 
looked
like ghost towns," Mr Massey said.

 The incident that haunts him most took place early in April, near an
 Iraqi
military compound five miles from Baghdad's airport. "There were
approximately 10 demonstrators near a tank," he said. "We heard a 
shot
in the distance and we started shooting at them. They all died except
for one. We left the bodies there.

 "We noticed that there were some RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades]
 about
200 metres away from them - they might have come from the military
compound. The demonstrators had the ability to fire at us or at the
tank, but they didn't. The survivor was hiding behind a column about
150 metres away from us. I pointed at him and waved my weapon to tell
him to get away. Half of his foot had been cut off. He went away
dragging his foot. We were all laughing and cheering.

 "Then an 18-wheeler [truck] came speeding around. We shot at it. One
 of
the guys jumped out. He was on fire. The driver was dead. Then a
Toyota Corolla came. We killed the driver, the other guy came out 
with
his hands up. We shot him too.

 "A gunny from Lima Company came running and said to us: 'Hey, you
 just
shot that guy, but he had his hands up.' My unit, my commander and me
were relieved of our command for the rest of the day. Not more than
five minutes later, the Lima Company took up our position and shot a
car with one woman and two children. They all died."

 The next day the platoon guarded a checkpoint at Baghdad Stadium. "A
 red
Kia Spectra sped toward us at about 45mph. We fired a warning volley
above it but the car kept coming. Then we aimed at the car and fired
with full force. The Kia came to a stop right in front of me, three 
of
the four men shot dead, the fourth wounded and covered in blood. We
called the medics, but he died before they arrived. That day we 
killed
three more civilians in the same circumstances. I talked to my 
captain
afterwards and told him: 'It's a bad day.' He said: 'No, it's a good
day.'"

 Mr Massey watched as badly injured Iraqis were repeatedly "tossed on
 the
side of the road without calling medics". His reaction to the event
that triggered the recent siege of Fallujah - the sight of the
blackened, mutilated bodies of four American private security men -
was that "we did the same thing to them".

 Iraqis, he said, "would see us debase their dead all the time. We
 would be
messing around with charred bodies, kicking them out of the vehicles
and sticking cigarettes in their mouths. I also saw vehicles drive
over them. It was our job to look into the pockets of dead Iraqis to
gather intelligence. However, time and time again, I saw Marines 
steal
gold chains, watches and wallets full of money."

 Several members of his platoon expressed concern that so many
 civilians
were being killed, but Mr Massey says he told them: "We've got a job
to do." Finally, however, he voiced his own doubts to his commanding
officer. "I told him I felt like we were committing genocide in Iraq,
that we were doing harm to a culture. He said nothing and walked 
away.
I knew my career was over." Later, he says, his superior poured abuse
on him, saying, "You're a poor leader. You're faking it. You're a
conscientious objector, you're a wimp."

 After being sent back to the US, Mr Massey was offered a desk job. 
"I
 had
seven years until retirement from the Marine Corps, but I told them I
didn't want their money any more," he said. The Marines' slogan - "No
better friend, no worse enemy" - now embitters the former sergeant,
who says remorse keeps him awake at night.

 "One day we would go into a city and set up roadblocks where 
civilian
casualties would take place, and then the next morning we would
undertake a humanitarian mission," he said. "How do we expect people
who've seen their brothers and mothers killed to turn around and
welcome us with open arms?

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