Predictably, the left wing press has run with the alleged massacre at Haditha. Editorials across the country are screaming about holding all of those involved accountable. People like Congressman John Murtha are already convicting the military and the Bush administration. How depressing is that?
Once again, the actions of a few will be used to demonize the entire country. As Investors Business Daily put it, "The press is salivating over the prospect of an Iraqi My Lai."
But why? Why do so many rejoice when bad things happen to the USA? That's the key question here.
And the answer is that some Americans, including many in the press, honestly feel that the Bush administration is evil and its policies have led to Abu Ghraib and now to Haditha.
You'll see this line of thinking all over the place in the coming weeks, but that's like saying if one child turns out to be a criminal, the entire family's bad.
Most honest people acknowledge that the U.S. military has performed heroically and humanely under extremely difficult circumstances in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since President Bush is the commander in chief and Donald Rumsfeld's in charge of military operations, don't the heroics of our service people reflect well on them?
If you blame Bush and Rumsfeld for the bad stuff, shouldn't you praise them for the good stuff? Wouldn't that be fair?
But come on, we're not talking about fairness here. We're talking about media people and politicians saying "I told you so" about Iraq. Every bad thing that happens there will be used by the left wing press and the John Murtha's of the world to hammer home their mantra: Bush is a fool, the war is wrong.
So let's get this straight once and for all. Abu Ghraib is not what America's all about. And neither is killing civilians. There are criminals in every country, in every organization.
If military people break the law or cover up crimes, they should be harshly punished. But there's no bigger picture here, at least not right now. And anyone who uses the crimes in Iraq to besmirch this country is wrong and should be called on it. And trust me, they will be on this broadcast.
And that's "The Memo."
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
The second stripper involved in the Duke lacrosse alleged rape case, 31-year-old Kim Roberts, was in court yesterday be in connection with an embezzling charge.
As Ms. Roberts spied the TV camera, she displayed her charm. Or whatever. The court wanted to know why she hadn't made restitutions to the party she allegedly took money from. We hoped she behaved better in front of the judge than she did in front of the camera.
Ridiculous? You make the call.
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