I'd say it's pretty clear that Murtha is trying to get political mileage out of this in the same way that some in Congress did My Lai and other events during Vietnam. I've been trying as much as possible to avoid watching his bit in the dog and pony show and keep focused on the real issue (at least to me): did something horrible happen at Haditha and (if so) who will be punished for it. It's a given that the enlisted Marines will go down if proven guilty, but I'm waiting to see if the higher chain of command will be held accountable if it is proven that (as with My Lai) there was a cover-up.

But that's just my slant on things. Dry rot and ticket-punching were just two of the things that damaged the Army's efforts in Vietnam. I'd really hate to see those kinds of things crop up again on the same scale. We've already seen command micro-managing (using the video conference instead of orbiting command helicopters), and it would be tragic to see those mistakes happen all over again.