Amerika, zemlja velika

[Indy]

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Photos of the Haditha Massасre (Iraq) were finally leaked after 19 years

 

US marines executed 24 Iraqi civilians including entire families with infants

 

(Slike neću da kačim, ali su vrlo slične palestinskom tajmlajnu).

[zorglub]

 

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Mexico freezes relations with US, Canada embassies

 

The decision comes in the wake of criticism over a sweeping judicial reform proposal in Mexico.

 

[Weenie Pooh]

Jedan blast from the past povodom nedavno objavljenih fotografija masakra u Iraku 2005. (CW: streljana deca)

 

WHY WE SHOULD BE GLAD THE HADITHA MASSACRE MARINE GOT NO JAIL TIME

By James Joyner
January 25, 2012
The staff sergeant's light sentence for his role in a terrible 2005 incident may be disappointing, especially to the victims' families, but the integrity of our justice system won out

 

Spoiler

When Marine Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich was handed a suspended sentence of three months on Wednesday for his role as squad leader of a group that massacred 24 unarmed Iraqis in Haditha six years ago, it naturally sparked an outrage. To many here in the U.S., in Iraq, and in the Muslim world writ large, this will likely be seen as the U.S. military excusing a heinous crime. But we should instead look at this, even if it is difficult to do so, as the price we pay for a justice system that prioritizes the rights of the accused over a desire to punish criminals.

Wuterich was the last remaining Haditha Marine still in criminal jeopardy and thus the last hope for Iraqis and others seeking justice for the victims. Khalid Salma, a Haditha city councilor and lawyer for the victims declared the light sentence "an assault on the blood of Iraqis." Reasonably, he said he believes that a three month sentence might be appropriate for "small crimes." But killing 24 innocent people, and only receiving a punishment of three months? This is an assault on humanity."

Though he was sentenced to three months confinement -- along with reduction in rank to private -- Wuterich will actually serve no jail time at all as part of his arrangement. He pled guilty only to dereliction of duty and has issued a public statement apologizing to the victims' families for their loss but denying that he ever fired a shot or intended for any civilians to be killed.

The November 19, 2005, incident sparked bitter controversy here in the United States. Early media reports and a preliminary military investigation portrayed the incident as a premeditated murder spree in retribution for the death of Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, who was killed by an IED. Democratic Representative Frank Murtha, himself a retired Marine Reserve colonel, called the incident "cold-blooded murder" and accused military brass of and "covering up" the incident.

Eight marines were charged in December 2006 for the incident but a formal Article 32 investigation -- a hearing to determine whether a court martial is appropriate -- found that there was no grand plan to murder innocents or for execution-style killings. Rather, a group of angry, exhausted, and frightened Marines simply did not care whether the people they were killing were combatants. Charges were eventually dropped against six defendants. A seventh, First Lieutenant Andrew Grayson, who was charged with covering up the incident after the fact, was acquitted. That left only Wunderich, the immediate leader of the men who killed the victims, who was charged with negligent homicide.

A December 2011 New York Times investigation, based on some 400 pages of interrogations -- many classified and which had for some reason been left behind in an Iraqi junkyard when American troops departed the country -- only added fuel to the outrage. They portrayed a culture where the killing of civilians became routine, described as "a cost of doing business" by Marine Major General Steve Johnson, the commander of American forces in Anbar Province at the time. So much so that the initial reports of 24 civilians killed by his Marines was considered neither surprising nor cause for investigation by higher-ups in -heater, who shrugged it off as another day in the war.

Brian Rooney, the attorney for Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, the highest-ranking Marine charged in the case declared before his charges were dropped, "If it's a grey area, fog-of-war, you can't put yourself in a Marine's situation where he's legitimately trying to do the best he can." It's a popular view in this country and long has been; the same sentiments were prevalent during the war in Vietnam, when many back home viewed incidents like the My Lai massacre as terrible but understandable.

The Iraq War, even more so than Vietnam, pitted American forces against unconventional combatants who at times gladly used civilians -- including women and children -- to carry out attacks. James Mattis, now the four-star head of Central Command and then the two-star commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force, noted in dismissing the charges against two of the accused that the country was "fighting a shadowy enemy who hides among the innocent people, does not comply with any aspect of the law of war, and routinely targets and intentionally draws fire toward civilians."

Even so, it's hard to write off the killing of a 76-year-old man in a wheelchair or the calm execution of six children huddled in a room as "the fog of war." No, it was a war crime, pure and simple.

But this wasn't ultimately a case of Marines protecting their own and disregarding the lives of slain Iraqis. While some commanders in Iraq were indeed callous about the attack early in the investigation, there was eventually a real investigation and the filing of formal charges against eight of the leaders and perpetrators.

Even though we now have a pretty good idea what happened that day, it's incredibly hard to prove it in court without the active cooperation of reliable witnesses. Alas, as the Associated Press reports, "The prosecution was also hampered by squad mates who acknowledged they had lied to investigators initially and later testified in exchange for having their cases dropped, bringing into question their credibility." And the few Iraqi survivors declined to testify, fearing for their safety.

While Wuterich admits to telling his men to "shoot first and ask questions later," he claims "the intent wasn't that they would shoot civilians, it was that they would not hesitate in the face of the enemy." While that strains credulity, it opens room for reasonable doubt.

Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz testified that Wuterich shot people at close range and told him, "if anyone asks, the Iraqis were running away from the car and the Iraqi army shot them." But, again, the fact that Cruz himself admitted to taking part in the killings -- and urinated on the skull of one of the dead Iraqis -- but was given immunity in exchange for his testimony could surely have diminished his credibility.

In the end, then, prosecutors apparently reckoned that a plea bargain to a relatively minor crime, but one that would end Wuterich's Marine career in disgrace, was the best they could do.

Awis Fahmi Hussein, who survived the attacks, lamented, "I was expecting that the American judiciary would sentence this person to life in prison and that he would appear and confess in front of the whole world that he committed this crime, so that America could show itself as democratic and fair."

Unsatisfying as it seems, a democratic outcome is exactly what we got. In an authoritarian society -- probably even in today's post-Saddam Iraq -- governments will happily sentence citizens to jail to slake the public thirst for justice. In a liberal democracy, however, we put a very high burden on the state in taking away the liberty of a citizen accused of a crime.

Wuterich and several of his squad mates are almost certainly guilty of war crimes. That he got such a light sentence and the others got off Scot free will doubtless rub salt in the wounds of families who sought justice, And this outcome may well harm America's image in a part of the world where it is already poor. But, ultimately, preserving the fairness and impartiality of the American legal system is more important, and we should be glad that it won out. That's a painful and difficult compromise to make, but the fact that it's difficult and it happened anyway is exactly why we should be glad we live in a liberal democracy. If we were to lower the bar to make it easier to convict those we "know" are guilty, we would also make it easier to unjustly imprison the innocent.

From O.J. Simpson to Casey Anthony to the hundreds of cases that don't garner national attention, the America court system routinely exonerates people that "everyone knows" are guilty of murder. Even more frequently, people accused of major crimes are allowed to plea down to lesser ones when prosecutors fear they won't be able to convict or otherwise don't want to risk going to trial.

That's not satisfying. It's probably not even justice. But it beats the alternative.

 

About the Author
James Joyner is an associate professor of security studies at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council.

 

Pas mater.

 

[Shan Jan]

I posle "mrze nas zbog nasih demokratskih vrednosti".

[Eleniko]

Super bi bilo da se otvori glasanje da vidimo ko bi pobedio na PPP

[Weenie Pooh]

1 minute ago, Eleniko said:

Super bi bilo da se otvori glasanje da vidimo ko bi pobedio na PPP

 

Da li je moguće da izborni PBP topić već nema poll? Ne zalazim tamo često pa ne znam.

[Eleniko]

3 minutes ago, Weenie Pooh said:

 

Da li je moguće da izborni PBP topić već nema poll? Ne zalazim tamo često pa ne znam.

 

Promenio se kandidat, nije više validno

 

Edit - vidim da je Kanala, datum pola je svež, vozi 

Edited August 30 by Eleniko

[Weenie Pooh]

2 minutes ago, Eleniko said:

Promenio se kandidat, nije više validno

 

Kako bre, otvorio tek nedavno Braca da podeli šesnaest hiljada anketa o Harris, plus edukativni linkovi o elektorskom koledžu.

 

Proverio, ima poll, vodi Kamala 23-5 (uz 19 neutralnih džedaja).

 

Edited August 30 by Weenie Pooh

[Eleniko]

Jest ispravio sam se

 

 Nijesi glasovao?  

[Weenie Pooh]

2 hours ago, Eleniko said:

Jest ispravio sam se

 

 Nijesi glasovao?  

 

Jesam, kako nijesam:

 

 

[Roger Sanchez]

Oh...no 

[Engineer]

Kakva zemlja!? Osude te na smrt, shvate da možda i nisi kriv, al' ko će sad da se bakće sa dokazima i nepouzdanim svedocima

 

Marcellus Williams, a Missouri man facing death row despite provable innocence. His execution date is September 24th, and despite both defense and prosecutors believing his innocence, attempts to move for clemency have been blocked.

Edited September 4 by Engineer

[braca]

Ludilo. 
 

Meni je takodje neshvatljiv ceo sistem privatnih zatvora. Ma šta neshvatljiv, totalno skandalozan i van pameti. Moderno robovlasništvo. 

 

 

[Peter Fan]

16 hours ago, ObiW said:

Uzmi u obzir da zakone piše Kongres. 6 godina republikanska većina, 6 godina opstrukcije. Obama je uglavnom vladao ukazima jer zakoni nisu mogli da prodju kroz Kongres. 

 

Da, sjecam se toga.

 

Ali prije nego se vratim na tvoj prvi posta, jedan disclaimer: glasao sam za Obamu i pored Indijanapolisa 2002., najsrecniji moment u mom americkom bivstvovanju (ne uzimajuci obzir licne i profesionalne stvari) je njegov govor u Grant Parku nakon sto je McCain priznao poraz na izborima 2008.

 

Druga stvar, umjesto sto sam pausalno zveknuo po Obami, preciznije bi bilo da sam rekao D elita, iako je apsolutno tacno da je GOP vec od samog starta krenuo na njega djonom, nikad nije ni imao nimalo konstruktivnu opoziciju, a od 2010 midtermsa ni apsolutnu vecinu. 

 

Ono sto sam ja mislio reci je da nisu internet i FOX "upropastili Ameriku", vec da je za to propadanje prije svega kriv americki establishment cije je D konsitutivni dio (ako ne i vecinski),  i da je Trump posljedica, a ne uzrok propadanja. On tom procesu propadanja daje "nemjerljiv doprinos", ali ga nije on otpoceo. Sam fenomen Obama je bio rezultat toga da su sirotinja i gubitnici globalizacije odbacili ono sto im mainstrem establishment nudi. A kad je Obama uspjesno kooptiran u D establishment (Larry Summers kao paragon, recimo ) i on je postao dio problema, sto je sirotinjski elektorat prepoznao i glasao za Sandersa (koga je D establishment takodje minirao i sirotinji ponudio Hillary) ili Trumpa. Oba kandidata su bili rezultat toga sto politicki mainstream nije imao odgovor na izazove vremena, prije svega katastrofalnog uticaja globalizacije na radnicku klasu i posljedicni rezentiman koji je iz toga proizisao.

 

I tu mi je Obama posluzio kao punching bag jer je 8 godina bio na vlasti i jer sam ja licno vise ocekivao od njega (sto je moj problem).

 

Osim što su izglasali ACA koji je bukvy spasao živote mnogima za vreme Kovida. To se tiče i tebe iako nemaš ACA osigiranje, jer je jedna od provizija ACA da ni privatno osigiranje ne sme da te odbije ako imaš pre-existing conditions.  // Ovo jeste velika stvar. Taman da ja samo ostalo na pre-existing condition, a nije, bila bi velika stvar. Obamacare je legacy building stuff i neprevedno sam to preskocio. Ali, na drugu stranu, to nista nije sistemski promijenilo jer nije napalo uzroke za disparitet rasta zarada i troskova osiguranja i lijecenja. No, za one koji nisu imali nista prije ACA, to je noc i dan iskorak. 

 

Za 8 godina njegove administracije je kreirano 11 miliona novih radnih mesta, a nezaposlenost je pala sa  10% na 4.7%. // ovo je faktualno tacno, ali je A) kvalitativno nedostatno i B) rezultat ekonomskog osciliranja i koje bi doslo i samo od sebe. Pod A mislim da da poslovi prije i poslije GFC nisu bili istog nivoa i da je odonda i poceo masovni gig-economy rast, te  prekarijatska narav tih poslova kao i part-time poslovi. Pod B) Obamin mandat je poceo nakon sto je GFC eksplodirao i prirodno je poslije tako velike kontrakcije dolazi postepena ekpasnizija. Takodje, treba uzeti rast populacije kad se mjeri job creation. Stoga bi daleko bolje mjerilo stanja stvari bili labor participation rate (prije i poslije), te real hourly earnigs & hours worked. Ovako napamet bih rekao da su obje mjere gotovo iste, prije i poslije. Pri tome je i ostavio W-ov tax cuts da traju dvije godine po isteku regularnog termina, ako se dobro sjecam.

 

No, najveci problem u ovom domenu je to sto nije uradio nista znacajnu da se saniraju katastofalne posljedice globalizacije. A nije, jer niti je imao vizju, a i da ju je imao, nebi je imao ko da sprovede jer je tu i dalje imao vaznu ulogu vec spomenuti Summers (i njegovi idejni sljedbenici po administracji) koji je svemu tome i kumovao jos za Clintonovog vakta.

To je ujedno i razlog zato je ACA manje bitan nego sto na prvi pogled izgleda. Kad nemas dobar posao i ACA ti je vjerovatno preskup. Dobar posao je osnova svega, bukvalno. A tih dobrih je veoma malo bilo stvoreno.

 

Dodds-Frank Consumer Protection Act. // Odlican zakon, ali iz ugla sirotinje bez opipljivog uticaja. Cak je donekle i problematicno jer sirotinji poskupljuje kredite i otezava kupovinu nekretnina usljed tightned landing standards. Predatori landing je vise buzzword i daje slagvort prilozima na NPR nego stvaran problem vecinskog dijela sirotinje.

Spasao GM i Chrysler od bankrota što je kreiralo 100 hiljada radnih mesta u auto industriji. // ovako iz glave se sjecam da je Chrysler je bio slucaj of throwing good money after bad, ali plus za GM, iako su ta radna mjesta do sad vec isparila. No, da nije bilo GM-a i FCA neko drugi bi dosao umjesto njih, a da ne govorimo da su to dva mastodonta nekonkurentna da opstanu u 21 stoljecu (Tesla, Rivian i Lucid imaju zajedno vise radnika od GM, doduse i oni mogu propasti kad i GM). Dugorocno bi vjerovatno bilo bolje da je creative destruction odradio svoje.

 

Ali da ne cjepidlacim, to je tad bio dobar potez, sprijecio je da recesija ne bude dublja i jeste kratkorocno pomogao ocuvanju srednje klase u trenutku kad je to bilo vazno. Definitivno plus, i taj sam dio takodje nepravdno zaboravio.

 

Ovo dolje je sve pozitivno, ali je saniranje posljedicea, a ne uzroka i ultimately small potatoes in the big scheme of things.

 

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Žene imaju pravo da tuže poslodavca ako su plaćene manje za isti posao nego muškarci. 

$8 milijardi dolara za izgradju broadband interneta u siromašnim delovima Amerike. 

Children Healthcare Authorization. $4 miliona dece iz siromašnih porosica koje nije imalo osiguranje ga je po prvi put dobilo. 

$4.6 milijardi dolara da se plati odšteta zemljoradnicima (ali samo crncima i Indijancima) kojima je američka administracija nanela štetu u prošlosti.

Fair sentencing act. Smanjivanje ohavezne kazne za crack cocain usere, koji su sirotinja.

--- 
Da rezimiram(TM): uradio je par velikih i vaznih stvari, par vaznih sitnijih stvari, ali sustinski nista nije promijenjeno.

 

Iza sebe ostavio gorak ukus i complacecny koji im je i izgubio sledece izbore od najgoreg kandidata u istoriji.  I zato im nije kriv ni internet, niti FOX.

[braca]

Drugi dan škole, opet masovna ubistva, postalo toliko banalno da se skoro niko više i ne osvrće