Are We Being Haditha?

Let me start by saying this: I don't know what happened in Haditha last November and neither do you.

But.

I find it very interesting that Time magazine is already backing away from some of its original assertions. Sweetness & Light has it covered and Kim Priestrap over at Wizbang has more.

As I say, I dunno what happened. Maybe some Marines really went ballistic and massacred a bunch of unarmed civilians. In which case, they should be appropriately tried and punished. Then again, this whole thing may turn out to be a massive hoax swallowed hook, line and sinker by the Copperhead Fedayeen of the MSM. We shall see.

UPDATE: Via Hugh, here's the American Thinker on the subject.

Let me make clear again that I am not jumping on the "hoax" bandwagon. Yet. However, at the very least this information suggests some troubling questions about the original sources for the story. In the end, they may have been perfectly accurate. But it strikes me that the MSM would have been better off clearing these questions up before hanging, drawing and quartering the Marines, not after doing so.

Assuming that getting to the Truth was the primary goal, that is. And for the anti-war folks busily printing "Keep Your Haditha Off My Lai" bumperstickers, none of this really matters, of course.

UPDATE DEUX: The Marines are telling a different story, courtesy of the WaPo. Go and read. Allah discusses this latest information as does Chris at Home.

It seems to me that most of the questions raised about how the civilians actually died can be answered by having a look at their bodies as well as the rooms in which they were killed. I assume the investigators packed their shovels.

UPDATE TROIS: A must-read from The Mudville Gazette.