Haditha

Well, what a horrific story to kick of the new look 'anarchy'. US troops have been accused of a massacre in Iraq, specifically in Haditha. The incident itself sounds pretty horrific to say the least. Civilians indiscriminately killed by a bunch of soldiers on the rampage, this has the potential to be immensely damaging to the US government. Some sources are comparing this to 'My Lai'. Top officials that have been briefed on this incident (politicians and military officials) are clearly worried about the expected findings of a report by the top commanders in Iraq. In fact, three officers in charge of troops in Haditha were stripped of their command. Coming on top of the Abu Ghraib abomination, the US army has a lot to answer for. But then when you read the kind of remarks that are posted on USS Neverdock (run by a Marc Landers who once served in US Naval Intelligence and has been surprisingly quiet thus far on the allegations) perhaps these kinds of actions are no surprise.

For further comment: BBC, The Guardian, The Times, Daily Telegraph and The Independent