i also think its about time for rumsfeld to step away...
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
June 01, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - An Islamic civil rights group is calling for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld amid reports -- still under investigation -- that U.S. Marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians last November in the city of Haditha.
"Throughout history, leaders of military forces have accepted ultimate responsibility for the actions of those under their command. Given the seemingly unending stream of blunders, abuses and unjustified killings on Secretary Rumsfeld's watch, it is time for him to demonstrate in concrete terms that with power, comes accountability," the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement.
CAIR indicated that its concerns with Rumsfeld go beyond what happened in Haditha: "From the unrestrained post-invasion looting of Iraq, to the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal and the allegations of killings and torture at military detention facilities, Secretary Rumsfeld's flawed policies and lack of judgment have harmed our nation's image worldwide," CAIR said.
According to press reports based on survivors' accounts, American troops killed Iraqi men, women and children - unarmed civilians, reports claimed -- after a fellow Marine was killed by an improvised explosive device in Haditha.
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), a former Marine, has been quoted as saying that U.S. troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood."
Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin noted in her Wednesday column that Murtha and other anti-Bush war critics -- by blasting U.S. troops before the investigations are finished -- are "giving suspected foreign terrorists more benefit of the doubt than our own men and women in uniform."
Time magazine first reported in March that the U.S. military was investigating a group of U.S. Marines for possible war crimes stemming from the shootings in Haditha.
President Bush, making his first public comment on the case Wednesday, said any U.S. troops "who violated the law, if they did, will be punished." Bush added that he is "troubled by the initial news stories. I am mindful that there is a thorough investigation going on."
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Tony Snow said the president is "allowing the chain of command to do what it's supposed to do...which is to complete an investigation. The Marines are taking an active and aggressive role in this."
The White House said the results of the various investigations will be made public once they are completed.
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
June 01, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - An Islamic civil rights group is calling for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld amid reports -- still under investigation -- that U.S. Marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians last November in the city of Haditha.
"Throughout history, leaders of military forces have accepted ultimate responsibility for the actions of those under their command. Given the seemingly unending stream of blunders, abuses and unjustified killings on Secretary Rumsfeld's watch, it is time for him to demonstrate in concrete terms that with power, comes accountability," the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement.
CAIR indicated that its concerns with Rumsfeld go beyond what happened in Haditha: "From the unrestrained post-invasion looting of Iraq, to the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal and the allegations of killings and torture at military detention facilities, Secretary Rumsfeld's flawed policies and lack of judgment have harmed our nation's image worldwide," CAIR said.
According to press reports based on survivors' accounts, American troops killed Iraqi men, women and children - unarmed civilians, reports claimed -- after a fellow Marine was killed by an improvised explosive device in Haditha.
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), a former Marine, has been quoted as saying that U.S. troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood."
Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin noted in her Wednesday column that Murtha and other anti-Bush war critics -- by blasting U.S. troops before the investigations are finished -- are "giving suspected foreign terrorists more benefit of the doubt than our own men and women in uniform."
Time magazine first reported in March that the U.S. military was investigating a group of U.S. Marines for possible war crimes stemming from the shootings in Haditha.
President Bush, making his first public comment on the case Wednesday, said any U.S. troops "who violated the law, if they did, will be punished." Bush added that he is "troubled by the initial news stories. I am mindful that there is a thorough investigation going on."
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Tony Snow said the president is "allowing the chain of command to do what it's supposed to do...which is to complete an investigation. The Marines are taking an active and aggressive role in this."
The White House said the results of the various investigations will be made public once they are completed.
