Predictably, the allegations surrounding the deaths of civilians in Haditha has become a media circus.

What disturbed me the most about this was one "expert" on the news, who basically said that he expected that the "guilty parties" would be tried and if convicted, punished harshly.
Guilty parties???

Here we are, no charges filed, no one convicted, and they're already "guilty parties." Silly me, I thought they were innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until summarily convicted, at which point they're what - more guilty?

I don't know whether those Marines commited a crime or not. And until they're convicted, neither does anyone else. What I do know is that it reminded me of another incident, in another unpopular war. And not because of the outcome of a trial, but because of the sensationalism.

My Lai has always profoundly disturbed me - but not, maybe, for the same reasons it disturbed other people. What disturbs me the most about My Lai was the guilty-until-proven-more-guilty attitude displayed by this country in that incident.

From the get-go, the troops involved in My Lai were a convenient target - an easy way to say - see, the war isn't bad - THESE GUYS are what's bad. They may have committed a crime. But I always felt that in the public eye, My Lai was less about some troops who may have crossed the line, and more about a convenient direction to vent anger about the war. And that's not right.

Apparently, we haven't learned a lot.

My worry is that with Haditha, people on both sides of the war debate are using these Marines as convenient deflection and justification. The anti-war crowd says "See, this is what we've been talking about." And some of those who support the war say, "See, it isn't everyone - these guys are the problem, and we'll show you how we're going to deal with it and prove we're not what you say we are."

Even Abu Ghraib, with lots of t.v. scandal-candy, didn't get quite this much of a visceral reaction.

Media talking heads, "experts," and even military personnel are lining up to take their shot.

And it's still not right.

Those Marines have a story, too. Admittedly, what's coming out in the news looks bad. But doesn't it always??? No charges have been filed yet - they may indeed be, but they haven't been yet. No court martial has been conducted. No one has been convicted. But man, it plays good on TV, doesn't it? Let's face it - the news is all about bullets and body counts. "Massacre" gets higher ratings than "inquiry."

There's one more element that's being obscured in this - the context.

As my husband said (paraphrased): "You know, these aren't guys who woke up one day in a normal setting, and just decided, 'hey, let's go out and kill people.'"

These are Marines at war - in an area known for iffy civilian loyalties, enemies who killed a friend that day, and insurgents that don't wear signs saying 'hi, I'm an insurgent.' Grey area - lots of it.

My biggest concern here is that the incident be fairly investigated. If charges are filed, these Marines deserve to be tried by those who know, who have seen combat, and know what is and is not reasonable given a set of circumstances many of us (and, in fact, some in the military) have never seen.

The anti-war crowd loves Vietnam comparisons. So here's one:
In My Lai, you were talking about a war where children carried bombs, where women shot troops. Where Viet Cong moved through "noncombatant" villages.

In Iraq, you are talking about terrorists who regularly murder people to claim it was our troops. "Noncombatants" who intentionally drive civilian vehicles at checkpoints to get our troops to fire at them, thereby inflaming anti-American sentiment. Terrorists who push women and children in front of them on a bridge, so that the Americans have to shoot through them to get at the terrorists. You have female suicide bombers. You have children used as pawns. You have "noncombatants" that aren't.

I'm not claiming that Haditha was a set-up. But I am saying that we don't know the whole story, and until then, maybe we should hold off on condeming our troops. Maybe our loyalty should lie with them first.