A few days ago we cited a good post from The Torch on “The Battelfield Between Our Ears.” (Update here, BTW.) Well now, in an article in Newsmax this week, a Marine investigating officer has recommended that charges be dropped against one of the Marines in the Haditha incident. He says, “To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, and sets a dangerous precedent that, in my opinion, may encourage others to bear false witness against Marines as a tactic to erode public support of the Marine Corps and mission in Iraq.”
Exactly. Use our open press, and our system of justice, against us. It’s a very clever tactic and it has far-reaching operational and strategic effects. This is the information war, the fight for the gray matter. It’s not one we are doing particularly well in, and a defeat there can negate all of the enormous effort we have expended on the ground. We can, and must, do better on that “field” of battle.
Another factor in this, it seems to me, has been a few overzealous NCIS agents and JAG officers who are looking to further their careers at the expense of combat Marines.
A sad and unfortunate incident for all involved. From the way those Marines have been treated throughout this, I would not be shocked if they didn’t stay in the Corps.
And, yes, this is yet another ding in our IO campaign which, I agree, is not going well.
The link for the original article should be:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2007/07/battlefield-between-our-ears.html
The investigating officer’s remarks were right on the money here — he gets the big picture, and protects this and future cases from political abuse by politicians and exploitation by the media. His cold-eyed look at the merits of the evidence gave rise to this decision, and I hope similiar recommendations follow for others in involved in this incident.