Atrocities. In the eyes of the American media, American troops could do no wrong in the early months of the war in Iraq. It just wasn't possible. Everyone who died under American fire had to be bad, be they a wedding party or a family. The press didn't ask many questions. The military, which was permitted to make up its own rules of engagement, wrote rules that forgave them for shooting just about anyone: when tragedy struck, they'd note that the outcome was sad, but the military was playing by it's own rules, so everything was fine.

That era is over. Official: Iraq Civilian Deaths Unjustified. (washingtonpost.com, 5/26/06) describes an ongoing investigation into an incident where, for once, the military's story didn't stick. Two dozen dead Iraqi civilians, supposedly killed in a roadside skirmish with insurgents, are now considered to be the victims of an actual war crime.

Video released by the foreign media are contributing to the sense that this incident must be investigated.

In the Haditha case, videotape aired by an Arab television station showed images purportedly taken in the aftermath of the encounter: a bloody bedroom floor, walls with bullet holes and bodies of women and children. An Iraqi human rights group called for an investigation of what it described as a deadly mistake that had harmed civilians.

On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a former Marine, said Corps officials told him the toll in the Haditha attack was far worse than originally reported and that U.S. troops killed innocent women and children "in cold blood." He said that nearly twice as many people were killed as first reported and maintained that U.S. forces were "overstretched and overstressed" by the war in Iraq.

Once one atrocity is presented by the U.S. media, others are likely to follow.