Troops cleared over Iraqi police deaths

[hussar]

The US military has cleared its troops of any wrongdoing in a friendly fire incident in Falluja in which eight Iraqi policemen were killed.

An investigation into the firefight earlier this month - in which a Jordanian hospital guard was also killed - concluded that the troops had acted "within the construct of the military's rules of engagement".

"The initial reports were clear. There was initial fire and it was a 30-second engagement. At the end of it, the policemen were dead," the US commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3139176.stm

[ixion]

1. military rules of engagement: shoot anything that moves, kill 'em all

that seems to be pretty close to the truth. Gee, wouldn't it be interesting if every institution was allowed to police itself? I'm sure the courts would be much less crowded.

"After looking into the allegations that we defrauded the American people, we find that we acted in accordance with our rules for doing business." :wtf:

[saigon68]

9. KILL EM ALL

let God sort them out.

Saying from (MACV SOG) Viet-Nam 1967

[indepat]

2. Shocking: I though civilized people wuld be held accountable for their

actions. <sarcasm off>

[jamesinca]

3. You may be cleared by your courts

but that does not mean the people affected will clear you. Do you remeber the movie "Thinner" based on the Steven King novel. Sure the court cleared the guy of any wrong doing when he ran over the Gypsy woman. But the husband did not forget. Do you remember the line he used when he took the curse off of the guy? He said "die clean" He took the curse off and he told him to make right his past wrongs, die clean. A military court absolving American military of any wrong doing holds no weight with me. There have been instances where soldiers have raped the Japaneese women and the military court did not convict them. There was such an outcry that they were turned over to the Japaneese authorities. I think this happened in Okanawa in the last five years. Clinton was still in office when it happened.

[Barrett808]

4. Hmm, I remember Fisk reporting a half-hour to an hour and a half

"engagement" with the police begging, by radio, for the attack to stop.

[LeftistGorilla]

5. Case closed....

It's not like those people had families to feed or children to raise... :grr:

[underpants]

6. Once again we have investigated ourselves and it turns out.....

we found no evidence of our wrong doing.

Case closed indeed.

[gratuitous]

7. Whew! That's a relief!

The military cleared its own soldiers of any wrongdoing. Had all the gut-tightening tension over the outcome of a Roadrunner cartoon.

[underpants]

8. Beepbeep shbang!

LOL

Yes we were all on the edge of our seats.

[mike_c]

10. this is why dumbya's replacement MUST ENDORSE THE ICC...

and accept its jurisdiction over U.S. citizens.