It looks like they lied in order to make this seem a "heroic" death the day Bush was giving his "victory" speech. Pathetic
NEW YORKWhy did the U.S. military mislead
the media and the families of ten Marines killed near the Iraqi city of
Falluja while "on patrol" last week about how they were killed? The
military announced on Tuesday that it actually happened at a
"promotion" ceremony and they were not on foot patrol as initially
reported.
Families of the victims immediately raised questions
about the incident and it was unclear whether the site had been
properly swept for explosive devices.
The Marines were in a disused flour mill on the
outskirts of the city to celebrate the promotion of three soldiers, a
military statement said on Tuesday.
As the ceremony ended, the Marines dispersed and one
of them is thought to have stepped on a buried pressure plate linked to
explosives that caused the devastating blast.
But CNN, for example, reported four days ago, based on
military reports, that the dead Marines "were conducting a nighttime
foot patrol when a roadside bomb fashioned with large artillery shells
detonated."
Misreporting up the chain of command led to the incorrect reporting of the location to the media, Marine officials said.
The death toll was the largest suffered by U.S. soldiers in Iraq in a single incident since August.
Last Friday the Marine Corps had announced that the 10
Marines were on foot patrol and hit in an ambush on Thursday by a
roadside bomb, an improvised explosive device, or IED, "made from
several large artillery shells," the Marines said, according to the
Associated Press dispatch. Eleven Marines were wounded in the
explosion.
The attack came was just a day after President George
W. Bush had given a speech outlining his strategy for Iraq and saying
he would settle for "nothing less than complete victory."
Do they ever tell the truth? They lied about Jessica Lynch and all her
buds, they're still lying about it. They lied about Pat Tillman. Who
knows how many other stories of soldiers and Marines they've
fabricated, lied about? Who knows?
For what it is worth, I saw one of those military analysts on CNN or
MSNBC, not sure which, who said that that type of ceremony would never
be held anywhere except a secure military base. And certainly not in an
abandoned flour mill.
I don't buy the "promotion ceremony" thing either. It's just wrong.
They were not there for a "ceremony" in hostile territory. It's still
BS.
Families of the victims immediately raised questions
about the incident and it was unclear whether the site had been
properly swept for explosive devices. 
