AP has reported that the evidence obtained on the 24 Iraqi deaths in Haditha indicates that the Marines deliberately shot the unarmed civilians, to include women and children. The commander of the accused Marines' unit bears the responsibility of deciding whether to press criminal charges. The current commander is, conveniently, being reassigned to the Pentagon. Taking his place is
Lt. Gen. James Mattis.
Mattis is the general who said in 2005:
"Actually it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up there with you. I like brawling. You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."
I look forward to General Mattis' decision regarding these four accused Marines. Since the Marines' actions lacked any manhood whatsoever, I'm expecting this General's decision to be just short of a firing squad, in the name of fairness and consistency.