Frontline's "Rules of Engagement" - I Give it a C+

I sat down and watched Frontline's "Rules of Engagement" about the Haditha incident. All things considered, I give it a C+. It was a more accurate presentation of the facts than anything else I've watched. At least it gave the Marines' side of the story. But anything that features interviews with Tim (lying crapweasel) McGirk and Abdul Rahman al-Mashhandi of the Hammurabi Human Rights org automatically loses points in my book.

A couple of things left out of the show that do carry significant weight to the veracity of the claims of McGirk and Hammurabi...

1. The bodies were sent to the morgue by the Marines the day of the incident. The video was made at least 24 hours after the shootings. The bodies were removed from the morgue (and the body bags) and placed back into the homes for maximum propaganda value.

2. McGirk refused to testify at any of the Article 32 hearings about what he reported but willingly sat down for an interview with Frontline?

3. McGirk claimed to have worked with Hammurabi prior to Haditha. Then he should have know that there were only two men in the organization - Abdul Rahman al-Mashhandi and Thaer al Thabit al-Hadithi. Why did Hammurabi wait almost 4 months and then only after McGirk questioned them - to provide the video? And let's not forget that AQI was already using the video for recruiting and propaganda purposes PRIOR to McGirk's viewing. OR that al-Hadithi shopped the video around numerous mainstream media orgs before McGirk took the bait.

4. The attorney and family member, Rysaef (spelling?) gave conflicting accounts of events that day, finally admitting that he was not there but only related what his niece told him.

5. Can't forget about the Reuters connection to Hammurabi and al-Mashhandi either.

Like I said previously - I commend Frontline for putting together a fact based piece about Haditha, even with the ommissions I listed above. The best part was that Murtha came across as the lying tool of pinkness that he truly is.

Pop over to PBS.org and click on the link to "Rules of Engagement". There are additional interviews and documents about Haditha at the link. There is a discussion forum where you can voice your opinions, too. Best of all was a little quiz on the ROE for the Marines. Gives you a newfound respect for the split second decisions our heroes in the Military and Marines go through every single day.