Still Clintonized After All These Years

The long arm of the Clinton legacy apparently lives on in a Pentagon that can open endless cans of whup-ass on anyone except enemy fifth-columnists with a fax machine and a penchant for greivance mongering:

[Last week] the Council on American Islamic Relations sent out one of their infamous email alerts about an amateur music video of a song about a Marine lured into an ambush by a “Hadji girl.” At this point there’s no verification that the singer is a Marine, although it looks authentic.

And now, right on cue, mainstream media is parroting the completely bogus claims of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

The Associated Press version: Video on Marine killing Iraqis draws ire.

The BBC version: ‘Kill Iraqis marine song’ probe.

Both of these accounts repeat CAIR’s blatant falsehood, that the song in the video tells a story about a Marine killing Iraqi civilians.

It does not....the lyrics refer to killings of children by Iraqi insurgents. Not by Marines. Both the BBC and the AP seem to have missed this minor detail. Imagine that.

CAIR, recognizing an open door when they see one, is demanding an investigation and congressional hearings and probably the beheadings of whoever wrote and performed this song. And, as if on que, the Marine Corps issued the following toadying statement:

"The Marine Corps has recently been made aware of a video posted to a website that purports to show a Marine singing an insensitive song about Iraqis. The video has subsequently been removed from the website. The video that was posted anonymously is clearly inappropriate and contrary to the high standards expected of all Marines. The video is not reflective of the tremendous sacrifices and dedication demonstrated, on a daily basis, by tens of thousands of Marines who have assisted the Iraqi people in gaining their freedom. We agree with the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations that the inappropriate actions of a few individuals should not tarnish the reputation of all American military personnel."

Look, I don't expect the Marine Corps to publicly tell CAIR to go gang-hump a camel, but why do they have to say anything? If they feel compelled to be killjoys, can't they handle it internally without falling on their faces toward Mecca for bad measure? What's it going to get them except more demands from CAIR and more seditious smearleading from the Extreme Media?

And what of the Camp Pendleton 8?

Did you know there are seven young Marines and a Navy corpsman sitting in a military brig right now in leg and wrist shackles - despite the fact that they've not been charged with any crime?

The men are in solitary confinement, locked in 8'x8' cells at San Diego's Camp Pendleton, as investigators probe an April 26 incident involving the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, 1st Marine Division. They are behind bars twenty-three hours a day; family members can only see them through inch-thick Plexiglas. Military blabbermouths have told the press that the service members are suspected of kidnapping and shooting a man in the Iraqi town of Hamdaniya. The Iraqi man's family reportedly came forward seeking payment for his death as media hysteria set in over the separate alleged atrocity in Haditha.

These men - our men - may be innocent. They may be guilty. Charges may or may not be filed this week. But this much is certain: The media leaks and the Murtha-fication of the case are already taking a heavy toll on the troops and their families. The headlines have already convicted them: "Iraqi's Slaying Planned By Marines, Official Says." "Marines Planned to Kill Iraqi Civilian, Then Planted Evidence."

Due process? Innocent until proven guilty? It would seem not. It would also seem that these Marines are being treated substantially harsher than are the jihadi scum being housed in comparative opulence at Gitmo. And yet is this bending-over-backwards to appease the howling Ameriphobic hordes buying the Corps any Extreme Media goodwill? Or is it just whetting their appetite for more and bigger smears?

It is astounding that a country that has developed such deadly prowess on the battlefield is so utterly helpless when it comes to fighting the propaganda side of war. I'd suggest that the Bush Administration produce a contemporary version of the old Why We Fight newsreel, only I fear that they'd outsource the project to CAIR.