The paper quickly corrected the caption and apologized. The Times of London is not part of the whacko European press and it is unfortunate that they received grief from a lot of American war supporters in excess of what was deserved.
So let me tilt the scales back and express my appreciation for this:
Al-Haditha, a town on the Euphrates northwest of Baghdad, is still a place where fighters blend into the populace and literally use civilians as cover. Coalition forces may shoot only when threatened, ground rules that call for exemplary discipline and courage in conditions where their observance increases the risk of injury or death.
That should be acknowledged in the context of what appears to have been an appalling collapse of US military discipline in al-Haditha, where 24 Iraqi civilians were allegedly murdered by a company of US Marines after a member of their patrol was killed and two were injured by a roadside bomb. America’s determination to demonstrate zero tolerance of such crimes should also be acknowledged; they in no way reflect US policy, or typify the conduct of American forces. Al-Haditha must not be made the subplot of a spurious morality play whose demon king is not terrorism, but the use and alleged abuse of US power.
America-bashing is in fashion as it has not been since Ronald Reagan accurately described the Soviet Union as an “evil empire”. Anti-Americanism is not confined to the usual radical chic suspects of the Left; in Britain, it infects the High Tory Establishment, “good Europeans” and little Eng-landers alike. So why are we all anti-Americans now?
The Times warns those who verbally attack us that they had best hope they do not get their apparent wish--an America that withdraws from the world to let the world defend itself from the real bad guys out there.
Punish the guilty. Support the rest. Win the war.
UPDATE: Mudville Gazette echoes my thoughts about the London Times. No friendly fire, boys--these guys are on Blue Force Tracker.
