Hank Kalet

U.S. Rep. Jack Murtha is confirming a report from Time magazine that American troops deliberately killed civilians in November.

From Salon:

In March, Time described an incident in the western Iraqi town of Haditha — the worst alleged case of U.S. troops deliberately killing civilians in Iraq. Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 20, was killed in the early morning of Nov. 19, 2005, by a roadside explosive device. In the hours that followed, Marines searched three houses, killing a total of 23 people. According to Time, the Marine Corps’ initial report claimed that 15 civilians had died in the same blast that killed Terrazas — and another eight insurgents were killed after a subsequent firefight with Marines.

But Murtha contended Wednesday that the military’s initial report was wrong. “There was no firefight,” he said. “There was no IED [improvised explosive device] that killed these people.”

Rep. Murtha contends that the soldiers overreacted due to stress and the pressures of a war that has gone on too long. He blames the Pentagon for “stretch(ing) soldiers too thin.”

“These guys are under tremendous strain — more strain than I can conceive of — and this strain has caused them to crack under situations like this,” Murtha said.

The psychological strain Murtha described has been well documented. Veterans describe the violence of war as having a numbing effect on soldiers, making it possible to carry out otherwise unthinkable acts. This is especially true when a
fellow soldier has been killed. “Once you reach that point, all sorts of restrictions you may place on yourself are removed,” says Rion Causey, a medic in the infamous Army platoon known as Tiger Force, which may have killed as many as several hundred unarmed civilians in the central highlands of South Vietnam in 1967. Causey did not participate in the atrocities.

Channel Surfing, The South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press

Restaurants in South Brunswick are saying that the smoking ban has had no effect on their business. Should we be surprised? It has seemed pretty clear to me that the vast majority of folks out there have given up on the tobacco, and most of those who have don’t want to breathe in second-hand smoke. This direct impact is why the libertarian argument — i.e., this is a free country and I’ll pollute my lungs if I want — fails on its face. Go ahead, pollute your lungs in the safety and comfort of your own home, but do not pollute my lungs.

And let’s clear the air at township parks, too. Here is our editorial from today’s paper.

Channel Surfing, The South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press

It is truly sad that school districts are forced to hold lockdown drills. But safety requires that the schools practice worst-case scenarios so that students and staff are ready in case something happens.

Channel Surfing, The South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press

The bad news continues.

From The Washington Post:

Four American soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter died Thursday when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle northwest of the capital, the U.S. military command announced. The names of the dead were not released.

The explosion was one of three deadly attacks launched around the country as Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki was preparing to unveil his new cabinet.

Channel Surfing, The South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press

Tomorrow’s South Brunswick Post will feature stories on:

• How students and coaches feel about a new state plan to test athletes for steroids
• A local Scout collecting books for the South Brunswick Family YMCA as part of an Eagle Scout project
• An update on lockdown drills at township schools
• The county and state farmland preservation programs
• A student’s call to ban smoking at township parks
• How local restaurants are fairing with the state ban on smoking in eateries
• How the two Democratic mayoral candidates feel about open space preservation and the township budget

And my Dispatches column, on gas prices and their impact on the average driver.

Channel Surfing, The South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press