The Marine's tale: 'We killed 30 civilians in six weeks. I felt we were

committing genocide'

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=523992

By Natasha Saulnier
23 May 2004

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During 12 years in the US Marines, including three years putting new recruits through boot camp, Staff Sergeant Jimmy Massey hardly questioned his role. But what he saw in Iraq changed that.

"In a month and a half my platoon and I killed more than 30 civilians," Mr Massey said. He saw bodies being desecrated and robbed, and wounded civilians being dumped by the roadside without medical treatment. After he told his commanding officer that he felt "we were committing genocide", he was called a "wimp".

<snip>
"A gunny from Lima Company came running and said to us: 'Hey, you just shot that guy, but he had his hands up.' My unit, my commander and me were relieved of our command for the rest of the day. Not more than five minutes later, the Lima Company took up our position and shot a car with one woman and two children. They all died."

The next day the platoon guarded a checkpoint at Baghdad Stadium. "A red Kia Spectra sped toward us at about 45mph. We fired a warning volley above it but the car kept coming. Then we aimed at the car and fired with full force. The Kia came to a stop right in front of me, three of the four men shot dead, the fourth wounded and covered in blood. We called the medics, but he died before they arrived. That day we killed three more civilians in the same circumstances. I talked to my captain afterwards and told him: 'It's a bad day.' He said: 'No, it's a good day.'"

Mr Massey watched as badly injured Iraqis were repeatedly "tossed on the side of the road without calling medics". His reaction to the event that triggered the recent siege of Fallujah - the sight of the blackened, mutilated bodies of four American private security men - was that "we did the same thing to them."

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Mods, tried to see if this was already posted, couldn't find it, even doing a search. If it's a dupe, please delete. If it's in the wrong forum, please move. I don't know what to do with this stuff anymore. It's all so depressing and distressing. Don't know if it's and editorial, general discussion, lateste breaking, whatever. It's just so damn ugly and heartbreaking.

an ongoing saga.


Arghhhhhhhhh.

you're feelings. Still, printed for friends and emailed to my reps here in CA...the first hand accounts are the most powerful.

(DU could have a "so damn ugly and heartbreaking" forum with the amount of shit that's being done in our name in Iraq...)

and it helps explain the higher rate of suicide among our troops.