Let’s All Step Back
Clarice Feldman has an article up at The American Thinker asking if Haditha was a hoax. I do not think this is a good line to take here while the investigation is still underway. Are there huge contradictions in the media coverage? Sure. But I think at best we can conclude is that drawing conclusions and passing judgment based on media reports is a really bad idea. I linked to Dan Riehl's disassembly of the media reports for just that reason.
Now, I've criticized John Murtha relentlessly for his continued - heck, nearly continuous - statements proving that he has already passed judgment on the events and the Marines.
I don't think it's a good idea to start going to the opposite extreme.
There is an investigation underway right now. It must be completed. Speculating about what really happened one way or the other is like standing on the edge of a precipice. One wrong step and you're over the edge of credibility.
Let's all step back from that particular edge. I won't be seen as the mirror image of Murtha.
UPDATE: Allah also urges caution here.
UPDATE: Others: SpiritBuilders, Ace of Spades and The Real Ugly American.
UPDATE: Here's the latest from Sweetness and Light attacking the coverage from Time. That is a completely legitimate target. If the media coverage is being falsified, twisted or sensationalized, journalists should be and must be held accountable. What I do not want to do is cross the line into drawing conclusions based on bad media coverage or the exposure of that bad coverage.
Blogosphere, War | Gaius June 9, 2006
