Embedded CNN reporter Arwa Damon witnessed the restraint of the Marines in Haditha many times: A reporter’s shock at the Haditha allegations.

The Guardian’s “news blog,” meanwhile, in the course of an article that assumes the allegations to be true, smears LGF with a ridiculous mischaracterization of my first post about the Haditha incident: Massacres and morality.

The culture wars in the US blogosphere have no doubt contributed to this more callous attitude. Everything can now be grist for the mill of with-us-or-against-us ranters, such as rightwing blogger Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs who suspects the Haditha story is a plot by the liberal media to desecrate the solemnities of the US’s Memorial Day. “Why pick this particular weekend to splash the story everywhere?” he asks.

Of course, the real point I made is much more … uh … nuanced than the Guardian’s cartoonish description:

I’ll just point out that once again, as with Abu Ghraib, there has been no official cover-up, no attempt to shift blame, and no excuses. On the contrary, the military has already been investigating the allegations, and if crimes did take place, those responsible will be brought to justice—as with Abu Ghraib.

Here’s another interesting detail:

Another congressional official said lawmakers were told it would be about 30 days before a report would be issued by the investigating agency, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

So it will be 30 days before the official report is released. At present we have nothing to go on but rumors and leaks. Why pick this particular weekend to splash the story everywhere?