Marines may face death penalty.

That's going a little overboard, isnt it? A stiff prison sentence would do.

I guess that depends on your position on the death penalty in general.

I used to be 100% opposed to it, but that's changed as I've grown older.

As it is now, I tend to support it, for mass murderers, serial killers, and those that kill children.. as this is two out of the three, I'd tend to support it in this case.

Originally posted by dgtempe


That's going a little overboard, isnt it? A stiff prison sentence would do.

I am against what they did but not to punish them with death.

I disagree.

Live by the sword, die by the sword. Justice in the realm of the military is a different world from its civilian counterpart. if these men are guilty of their crimes, they should face nothing less than death. That is only fair.

I only hope, that if there were much higher ranking officers involved in this, that they will be punished accordingly. I have seen too much crap in this war where the higher ranks have basically allowed the lower enlisted to serve as sacrifical lambs and covered their own asses, often getting off scot free.

Its no wonder the U.S. armed forces have little to no respect or faith in the higher command.

Originally posted by skippytjc
do I detect an agenda?

hehehehehe, anyone else find this ironic?

Deny ignorance buddy, don’t breed it.

Please speak for yourself while we do that as well.

Originally posted by CX
…actually seeing it being a possibility in an actual case that lets face it, does'nt look great for the marines at the moment, well it just opens your eyes a bit.

Does it? There have been two servicemen given the death penalty in 2005 and looking good is relative to the situation; based upon very limited knowledge. IF found guilty give the culprits the full letter and be done.

Originally posted by CX
As for the falsified reports being a seperate issue, i was merely posting ONE report which includes BOTH issues. Anyone with any sense can see i'm referring to the marines that allegedly carried out the shooting being given the death penalty!

What you posted and the way you presented the article you can not say the two different subjects are not implied to reflect each other. Furthermore, there is no distinction between the two items made by you whatsoever…so save your emoticons.

Your own statements mention “Marines” in the plural with no difference give to the two separate issues…and this quote preceding your external source:

Originally posted by CX
US marines involved in the Haditha incident may face the death penalty if found guilty.

Does this not imply ALL included in the Haditha incident in your original post, or was I to read you mind to make that determination?... because it surely is not clear ergo the distinction.



mg

damn...why shld the marines be handed the death penalty...geez...its wartime...and # happens...and thats the sad truth

try signing up and watch your mates get blown up from ieds and whatever...its so easy to sit in front of the pc with our moral high ground...

if found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt...just friggin discharge them...

The thinking, Sfly, is that murder is still murder, even during wartime. It would be the same if an enemy threw down his weapon and surrendered. If the marine shoots him in the head it's murder. Murder is illegal no matter what the event taking place whether it's BBQ at your aunt Mary's or an illegal occupation of a sovereign nation.

ok...but wht if the marines shot them thinking one or more of them had explosives strapped on ready to sacrifice himself and his entire family?

therefore no weapons but lets say the marines might have seen a detonator...shot and killed them to protect themselves...murder still?

add:-

if man/woman/child with no weapons = shot dead = murder charge = death penalty = big serious problems for us troops

remember the iran-iraq war...iran recruited masses of men/women/children and sent them onto the battle field weaponless to swarm their enemy in human wave attacks...the basij iirc...

so if the iraqi insurgents use this tactic on a smaller scale and if us troops are forced to defend themselves and kill them...are they liable for murder when they kill unarmed iraqis?



[edit on 3/6/06 by SpanishFly]

Originally posted by SpanishFly
ok...but wht if the marines shot them thinking one or more of them had explosives strapped on ready to sacrifice himself and his entire family?

therefore no weapons but lets say the marines might have seen a detonator...shot and killed them to protect themselves...murder still

This will never, ever matter nor be fully understood by those that want to see US and coalition forces as criminals at every corner…nor will the rest of your post content for that matter.

mg

if man/woman/child with no weapons = shot dead = murder charge = death penalty = big serious problems for us troops

There has been no claim by the military, or anyone in a position to know, that these Marines thought they were defending themselves. These were families, in their own houses. One was an old blind man, several were small children in their pajamas. You're really stretching here.

And as far as the impact of a harsh sentence for these guys, if found guilty, it's not an optional thing if the US intends to do anything but totally discredit itself. For those who actually commited the murders it's going to be either a) life imprisonment or b) capital punishment. I expect for those that merely participated in the coverup, there will be significantly lighter sentences.

If we want to differentiate ourselves from people like al-Zarqawi and OBL, who make no bones about targeting noncombatant civilians for slaughter, we have to make it clear that if our forces commit such acts, they will face justice. If we want our country to retain any honor at all, there is no choice.

[edit on 6/3/06 by xmotex]

Originally posted by xmotex
There has been no claim by the military, or anyone in a position to know, that these Marines thought they were defending themselves...

agreed...there has also not been any claim that they were in fact acting in self defense...lets see what transpires...