Molly Ivins: Iran Badge Fabricator Goes to Washington

Truthdig - Reports - Molly Ivins: Iran Badge Fabricator Goes to Washington:

"AUSTIN, Texas: So, Haditha becomes another of the names at which we wince, along with Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and My Lai.

Tell you what: Let's not use the 'stress of combat' excuse this time. According to neighbors, the girls in the family of Younis Khafif, the one who kept pleading in English, 'I am a friend. I am good,' were 14, 10, 5, 3 and 1. What are they going to say? 'Under stress of combat, we thought the baby was 2'?

'We have a Haditha every day,' said Muhanned Jasim, an Iraqi merchant. 'Were [those killed in Haditha] the first Iraqis to be killed for no reason?' asked Ghasan Jayih, a pharmacist. Well no, but we Americans don't count collateral damage unless we're forced to. We prefer to ignore collateral damage, especially if they're under 5.

Someone else with a greater taste for the ironies of technology will have to explain why it's funny that this 'Haditha' was uncovered in part by a soldier taking photos with his cellphone.

Good work by Time magazine and Col. Gregory Watt.

Apologies are owed by any on the right to Rep. John Murtha, who warned of Haditha early, though none of us is holding a breath. The attacks on Murtha's patriotism were despicable. When will that tactic wear out?

Meanwhile, back at the full-force fun festival known as Washington, here's a moment to cherish. " (Read On ^)