We’re on the side of good in the battle against evil, aren’t we?

I wonder how much more will come out regarding the alleged massacre by US marines of 20 plus unarmed Iraqi civilians in Haditha last November. The details of what happened last November 19 are still murky. What is known is that a bomb rocked a military convoy and left one Marine dead. Marines then shot and killed unarmed civilians in a taxi at the scene and went into two homes and shot other people. The Marine Corps had initially attributed 15 civilian deaths to the car bombing and a firefight with insurgents, eight of whom the Marines reported had been killed.

According to CNN, some Congress members have been told to brace for the fallout from potential charges of murder and cover-up following a military investigation into what happened. Military investigators strongly suspect that what happened was a rampage by a small number of Marines who snapped after one of their own was killed by a roadside bomb.

It seems the incident wasn’t taken seriously by commanders until Time magazine published a story in March and a video taken by a local resident surfaced. As well as the investigation of the murders, officials are also investigating senior Marine officers concerning covering up the incident. 3 Marine officers have been relieved of their commands over this. Now it seems to be taken very seriously, with some heads likely to roll - just how high up the command chain will be the interesting question? The immediate investigation into the massacre itself seems to be focussed on a marine sergeant and corporal, with 3 other marines also possibly implicated.

The murder charges are a capital offence so some of those involved could face execution. I have a feeling that a couple of marines may (deservedly, if the reports of what they did are correct) be sacrificed to salve public opinion in the US and particularly the Arab world. What will be more interesting is how much interest the US authorities have in pursuing and dealing with those further up the food chain who learned of the massacre and either took no action, turned a blind eye to it, or actively participated in a cover-up.

What would lend the US more credibility in its efforts to clean up war crimes committed by its soldiers would be submitting them to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court rather than handling it via internal investigations. I can’t understand why the US doesn’t ratify the ICC and submit its military personnel to its jurisdiction. What have they got to be afraid of?

There is much barbarism in Iraq, mostly committed by the insurgency. But that does not justify the murder of innocent civilians. The US, and by association, Australia, are the good guys. We should never stoop to the level of the terrorists, and if anybody does, they need to be rooted out and punished ruthlessly, to clearly demonstrate our abhorrence of war crimes.

Technorati Tags: Haditha, massacre, murder, Marines, Iraq, International Criminal Court