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March 20, 2006
More Like Jenin
First, if this happened as reported, then the involved Marines must be prosecuted for murder and war crimes.
Second, it's unlikely that the events happened as described. Note, for example, the witnesses: the most quoted is "Khaled Ahmed Rsayef" ... "who didn't witness the events but whose 15-year-old niece says she did" (but note that she is not quoted); "Imad Jawad Hamza, who spoke with hospital officials and residents".
So we are confronted with the statements of two people, neither of whom claims to have witnessed the acts. Further, their statements are vastly at odds with observed behavior of the US military under these and worse conditions over the years, though that is hardly conclusive. Google wasn't helpful about Rsayef or Hamza. I found this on an enemy website: different both in quoted witnesses and in the details of what happened. Nothing else much of note, though since the story is new and would make the US look bad if true, there will undoubtedly be more stuff available quite quickly, most of it smarmy, screaming or stuffed with schadenfreude.
Given that the claims are extraordinarily unlikely, and the evidence quite thin, my evaluation is that this is not worth paying attention to until and unless more facts — well-sourced facts — come out. Sadly, I'm becoming quite proficient at picking apart news reports for indications of false reporting. Sad, because it is necessary to utterly distrust news sources due to their long history of outright lies, fabulous distortions and the like.
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