Fw: Fw: Haditha

["Don Greenlaw" <dgreenlaw@cox.net>]

Forwarded.

Semper fi,
Don Greenlaw
----- Original Message ----- 
From: cmartin@afcia.us
To: Don Greenlaw
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 3:06 PM
Subject: RE: Fw: Haditha


Don,


I served with Major Jeffrey Dinsmore, USMC when he was still a young 
enlisted pup.  He was an awesome intelligence Marine then and he worked and 
earned his way up the ranks and he remains an awesome intelligence Marine 
now.  I would be the first to tell you that if Major Dinsmore told me what 
the threat was, I would take it as unwavering "fact".  "Final Words from a 
Haditha Marine" is wonderfully written.  He is truly an Officer of Marines 
that I respect.



My prayers are still for SSgt (and yes, he will always be a SSgt to me) 
Wuterich and his family.


Semper Fi; Never Say Die!



Carolyn Martin
Military Criminal Defense & Federal Contract Investigator
President of the AFCIA








 -------- Original Message --------
 Subject: Fw: Haditha
 From: "Don Greenlaw" <dgreenlaw@cox.net>
 Date: Fri, January 27, 2012 12:50 pm
 To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>

 Forwarded.

 Semper fi,
 Don Greenlaw
 ----- Original Message ----- 
 From: sandy damitz
 To: clodagh2911@yahoo.com
 Cc: dgreenlaw@cox.net
 Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 11:20 AM
 Subject: RE: Haditha


 Clo, Don,

 Just in case you haven't seen this.

 Sandy




 January 27, 2012

 Haditha Was Exploited
 Increasing Danger to the U.S., U.S. Troops, and to Noncombatants

 Bruce Kesler

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 Comments (2)



 The killings at Haditha in November 2005 were blown up by opponents of the
 US in Iraq into an indictment of the US and its troops. This onslaught
 sapped the will of many Americans. The following rules of engagement and 
the
 drawn out prosecution of the Marines involved have undermined the morale 
and
 endangered the lives of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 Take the premise that at Haditha both the Marines and those who were 
killed
 in houses 1 and 2 were correct in their own view. The long term losers are
 both US troops and noncombatants.
 Both Marines and US troops generally are at increased risk due to perhaps
 understandable rules of engagement that in practice are often excessive 
and
 dangerous. Noncombatants are at increased risk of oppression, or more
 impersonal death from US technology, in countries where thuggish foes seek
 domination and can serve as refuges for further attacks on the West.
 Haditha was a decidedly treacherous town overrun with Al Qaeda led foes 
who
 blew up Marines in the convoy and fired on the survivors from the nearby
 houses. What else could the Marines do but attack and eliminate the threat
 from the houses? Walking in, exposing themself to harm, would have been
 suicidal. Those inside lived in fear of the insurgents, who had already
 executed the local police force, and were aware that an IED was to be
 exploded. What else could they do but huddle inside? Warning the Marines
 beforehand would have exposed themselves to extermination. Walking 
outside,
 hands up, after the attack on the Marines, may have been a good move, but
 they knew gunmen were nearby and they didnât want to be in the middle of a
 shootout.
 It all starts with the US undermanning its armed forces and, in any event,
 sending too few troops to clear and hold or to stay living among the 
people
 to create security. This is the root and unpardonable error in the US
 conduct of Iraq and Afghanistan. The US eliminated immediate strategic
 threats. But, due to inadequate forces the US has spent hundreds of 
billions
 of dollars and thousands of our finest youngâs lives to be mired in at 
best
 tenuous nation-building and more likely unstable and hostile countries.
 Out of this, the will among Americans to armed interventions abroad has
 waned. Our state and nonstate foes have been emboldened by US weakening of
 resolve and by US divisions between those who would turn away from, deny 
or
 be feckless about real dangers and those who realize and argue for 
continued
 and determined US focus upon and confrontation with avowed and deadly
 enemies.

 Frank Wuterich.
 Major Jeffrey Dinsmore, the intelligence officer for the Marines at 
Haditha,
 has worked diligently to support the defense of the Marines persecuted.
 Today he wrote "Final Words From A Haditha Marine". He is critical of 
Frank
 Wuterich for taking the plea deal that ended the court martial.
 For six years, the officers and men of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines firmly
 believed that no unlawful action took place on November 19th. We believed
 this based on the available intelligence before, during, and after 
November
 19th, based on the enemy's stated objective of a propaganda victory that
 would erode our combat effectiveness, and based on our detailed knowledge 
of
 the context of November 19th's day-long, high-intensity combat. We 
accepted
 challenges to our integrity, accusations of a unit cover-up, and
 institutional condemnation by our Corps. Men like LtCol Chessani and 1stLt
 Grayson refused numerous plea offers from the government, including 
letters
 of reprimand with no punishment whatsoever. With SSgt Wuterich's admission
 of guilt, however, we must accept that a cover-up took place, even if
 unwittingly. With his admission of guilt, we must accept that some 
unlawful
 action was committed by a member of SSgt Wuterich's squad.
 Today the judge handed down the maximum possible sentence. While a portion
 of that sentence was restricted by the terms of the plea agreement, it is
 right and just that Frank Wuterich no longer be a Staff Non-commissioned
 Officer in the Marine Corps. I wish Frank the best in his future 
endeavors,
 and empathize with his difficult personal decision to accept 
responsibility
 for the unlawful actions committed by one or more members of his squad. 
But
 any Marine who is guilty of negligence and dereliction with results on the
 scale of November 19th, 2005 cannot lead Marines. Ever again.
 Dinsmoreâs view is certainly in line with the hoped for stand for Marine
 Corps honor that many hoped Wuterich would take to the bell. However, his
 need to support and care for his three young daughters apparently weighed 
in
 heavily. This epitomizes the tension that our troops live under between 
duty
 and family, sacrifices too little appreciated by most Americans and looked
 down upon by our internal enemies from the left.
 Dinsmore continues with the central point of what the defense of the 
Haditha
 Marines has meant:
 Unfortunately, the long Haditha case, and its result, have awarded the 
enemy
 one of their greatest campaign victories. The country's and Corps'
 leadership that expressed outrage at the "Haditha Massacre" have been
 vindicated. The "rush to judgment" has been proven correct. Al Qaeda in 
Iraq
 achieved their stated objective of eroding our will to fight. They
 successfully used the American media to infiltrate American public 
opinion,
 create outrage that reached the halls of Congress, erode our leadership's
 resolve, and change the way we fight. Al Qaeda effected more changes in 
our
 combat training and Rules of Engagement than if they had been on the staff
 at Marine Corps Combat Development Command. Sadly, they may have also
 produced young warfighters who hesitate at the point of decision, for fear
 their leadership will immediately condemn their actions in the public
 square.
 Despite this result, I know that you who have supported these Marines will
 continue to do so. As we continue to send young Marines to the battlefield
 and expect increasingly superhuman powers of restraint and judgment, it is
 more critical than ever that they have vigilant defenders here at home.
 The weakened US position has all been made worse by the rush to the exits
 prematurely and by, instead of rebuilding our forces, cutting them
 drastically in order to fund reckless domestic spending.
 Sure, it wasnât all Haditha. But it stands as a key and real demonstration
 of what happens with too few troops and of the lethal recriminations
 encouraged by the left against US forces as the result.
 Democrats and Republicans squandered the so-called âpeace dividendâ from 
the
 demise of the Soviet Union, cut our forces dramatically, then went to war 
in
 Iraq largely keeping the numbers inadequate. Today, Democrats are doing 
the
 same self-disarmament. Although Republicans disagree and promise to do
 better, it hasnât been a main focus. Thereâs no doubt the economy would be
 better off without the shackles placed upon it by Democrats, and that
 Republicans must drive that home in this election year. But, at the same
 time Republican leadership, for our future and that of countless millions
 around the world, must increase the emphasis upon national defense, the
 prime federal requirement.
 If we are to have Marines worthy of us, we must have Americans worthy of
 Marines.

 FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Bruce Kesler served in USMC
 Intelligence in Vietnam and was a researcher at the Foreign Policy 
Research
 Institute. He worked as a financial and business operations exec for 
Fortune
 100 and small companies, and for the past two decades as an independent
 certified health and benefits consultant and broker. His columns have
 appeared in many major newspapers and also online. He currently blogs at
 Maggieâs Farm.