Murtha and Haditha

Right wingnuts were ecstatic this week when Congressman John Murtha was named as a defendant in a defamation suit filed by one of the Marines accused of being involved in the massacre 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha last November. However an official investigation has concluded there is enough evidence of the massacre to refer it for prosecution. CNN says it has seen photographs which support the reports that this Marine and others committed this war crime:

Pentagon sources say the 30 images of men, women and children are some of the strongest evidence that, in some cases, the victims were shot inside their homes and at close range -- not killed by shrapnel from a roadside bomb or by stray bullets from a distant firefight, as Marines had claimed.

Senior Pentagon officials have said a probe into the November deaths tends to support allegations that Marines carried out an unprovoked massacre after one of their comrades was killed by a roadside bomb. The military is investigating both the deaths and a possible cover-up.

These and other atrocities have happened because of a lack of moral leadership in Washington. When the President and his top advisors allow torture, extraordinary rendition, secret gulags, and other failures these attitudes filter down through the ranks. When there is no accountability for those at the highest levels everyone begins to feel they shouldn't be held accountable for their decisions and actions.