HADITHA

Haditha. It is the coinage of war. It makes us consider deeply and with an unswerving gaze what we really believe. Haditha does not cause us to shrink back from the stench of it all. But it commands us to step across the line as a Corps and reaffirm our traditions. War is a just cause in the defense of our nation. But when a miniscule percentage stains our name with injustice, we do well to remember what it means to wear the uniform. For the United States Marine has not lost true north on the moral compass. It is time to reflect on the truth of the training which is provided for all its’ warriors. This training remains self-evident in the actions and demeanor of the majority of Marines serving today, across the globe. Haditha reflects not our traditions. It reflects treachery against the oath which binds more strongly than blood. And just as a coin is etched on both sides, just as easily as it can be flipped from “heads to tails”, the astute military officer is always cognizant that in a moment of time honor can bow its head to dishonor and ruin. The greatness of a man can be reduced to rubble. And the culmination of rash human response which defies our traditions will be met with the verdict of restrained men, unafraid to mete out punishment. These men will stand by the veracity of our creed and our call. And we call to account the actions of our own for two-pronged purpose: to honor those who have served before us and to guide those whose boots will follow into the field of battle long after we have retired.

We believe that it is in the fiber of man to follow the rules of engagement on the battlefield, no matter how fierce the fight or how weary the warrior.

We believe that every single Marine is capable of following a lawful order and disavowing and reporting an unlawful occurrence within the chain of command.

We believe each Marine has received superior training to assume their role in the theater of operation under orders which they have received. It is demanded that they serve with honor, courage and commitment.

We believe that accountability exists as an unbroken continuum across the chain of command. The Marine will accept the immediate responsibility for his action. His chain of command will bear the ultimate responsibility for the action. We do not flinch from the seeming harshness of the process because in it resides both penalty and redemption. Our chain of command contains a code of ethics which far surpasses the accountability of the civilian man. We recognize the need for its existence for the rigors of our discipline.

We believe that the UCMJ has served us well as the codified legal arm to confirm rules of conduct which scrutinize our actions. We embrace both the provision of its precedence and also future jurisprudence to manage our affairs when so required.


We believe that it is not the superiority of force that makes a Marine but the strength of character. It is not the weapon carried in his hands but the training instilled in his mind that governs his actions. The pressure on the trigger is determined by analysis of threat assessment as viewed through the crosshairs of the scope, not the vendetta of the heart. We believe that righteousness prevails and evil is held back when disciplined armed forces engage the battle at hand.

But most of all we hold fast to honor. And it is in each generation, that honor is the clarion call to the warrior. This call is clear and uncompromising in the face of difficulty. It resonates in the heat of battle. It beckons in the still of night, when thoughts turn toward family and home. Honor is the strength of the Marine Corps. It will remain: unabated, stalwart and held in steady hands, beyond Haditha and into the future. It can be no other way.

With Deep Respect,

LCDR Tammy Swofford, USNR, NC

The Monster in the Bottle

Today the military board of directors to which I belong spent several hours together. One of our tasks was to visit the Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth. Although the exhibit alone is worth the trip, it was the documentary movie presentation which riveted my attention the most.

Picture after picture showed the dead combatants. Brother against brother, hand against hand, ideal against ideal. Brilliant generals and leaders led the Confederate troops. Towns and military installations in Texas now bear their names: Cleburne, Granbury, Fort Hood. But what was incredibly sad for me was to be drawn again to the memory of our own civil war in which honorable men on both sides gave their lives. Blood of the dead mingled with the tears of the living. Sorrow upon sorrow. And it took many years for our nation to recover.

Iraq faces the same choice of civil war today. We effectively removed Saddam Hussein from power. But we also uncorked the monster in the bottle. The years of oppression by the Sunni-dominated Baathist party may be over. But the rise of the Shi'ite majority can now allow for revenge to be served at its best temperature: dead cold.

Reading the June issue of Marine Corps Gazette there is an article entitled "Embedded Training Teams". Please consider the following statement of the author, Scott A. Cuomo:

"While it is encouraging to see Iraqis more assertive in taking ownership for their country, we must also realize that the vast majority of Iraqi security forces are
Shi'ite Arabs from central and southern Iraq and Kurdish citizens from northern Iraq. Employing an army whose soldiers are primarily Shi'ite and Kurdish to defeat an insurgency concentrated in the "Sunni Triangle" poses many challenges and could further contribute to a potential civil war. For many Shi'ite and Kurdish Iraqis, joining the army brings the opportunity to take revenge on Sunni Iraqis for the injustices they experienced under Saddam Hussein's regime. While operating in Babil, Karbala, and Najaf Provinces, I commonly received questions from Shi'ite Iraqis asking about when the United States was going to burn Fallujah, Ramadi, and all the Sunni Iraqis in these towns to the ground." (p. 65)

Throw in the fact that the Sunni minority is not content to cut their losses and pull back a bit to allow a stabilization process in the nation, continues their campaign of bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and beheadings, and the picture can look a bit ugly.

Many of the provinces are gaining a measure of peace and stability and it is the "hot spots" that make the news. But the bigger news will be that if one day, just possibly, the Sunni and Shi'a communities can walk shoulder to shoulder, instead of sword against sword.

Tammy Swofford

tammyswofford@yahoo.com