As with similar cases being investigated in Iraq, Sergeant Lemus’s narrative has raised questions about the rules under which American troops operate and the possible culpability of commanders. Four soldiers have been charged with premeditated murder in the case. Lawyers for two of them, who dispute Sergeant Lemus’s account, say the soldiers were given an order by a decorated colonel on the day in question to “kill all military-age men” they encountered.” (New York Times )
In last month’s “Medlogs controversy” here, the anonymous commenter contrasted my printing of lengthy excerpts from the New York Times with his/her ‘true’ journalism. Apart from the fact that (a) commentary is not journalism; and (b) the commenter betrayed her/his lack of understanding that excerpting and logging is one of the original traditional forms of weblogging, a news story like this one illustrates potently how some stand on their own without need for fatuous pseudo-punditry and that I have served the purpose I intend merely by pointing you to them.
My point for a long time with regard to the atrocities committed by US forces in Iraq has been that the influences, if not the direct orders, shaping them emanate from the top, by intention, despite insidious efforts from the right to portray each of the burgeoning number of such events as attributable to some ‘rogue’ soldiers who snapped, or who were sociopaths to begin with. Draw your own conclusions. And, please, by all means, shoot the messenger once you have done so!
