Our own My-Lai

What happened in Haditha, Iraq last November has been bouncing about the blogosphere for a while, but thanks to pressure from John Murtha, the press is now noticing.

From the beginning, Iraqis in the town of Haditha said U.S. Marines deliberately killed 15 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including seven women and three children...

...Murtha, a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, said at a news conference Wednesday that sources within the military have told him that an internal investigation will show that "there was no firefight, there was no IED (improvised explosive device) that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."

Military officials say Marine Corp photos taken immediately after the incident show many of the victims were shot at close range, in the head and chest, execution-style. One photo shows a mother and young child bent over on the floor as if in prayer, shot dead, said the officials, who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity because the investigation hasn't been completed.

One military official says it appears the civilians were deliberately killed by the Marines, who were outraged at the death of their fellow Marine.

“This one is ugly," one official told NBC News.

Three Marine officers — commanders in Haditha — have been relieved of duty, and at least 12 Marines in all are under investigation for what would be the worst single incident involving the deliberate killing of civilians by U.S. military in Iraq.

This one is, as Murtha stated, indefensible but no doubt exacerbated by the stresses that American troops are under in Iraq.

Ultimately the responsibility the deaths of these innocent civilians lies mostly in the hands of the perpetrators, but some of it goes all the way up the chain of command to the man who fancies himself a Leader, George W. Bush.

This is a sickening story, of a sickening war. Started by sick men.