Today, Congressman Michael C. Burgess dispensed a letter to U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld concerning the ongoing Haditha investigation. Please click on the link to the right to read the formatted version of the letter.

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld:

With the recent troubling news regarding the case involving a Marine patrol in Haditha,

Iraq and alleged civilian murders, I request that the Department hold a briefing for

Members of Congress about the details involved in this case and how your staff and

investigators have handled these assertions. I believe a briefing would give Members the

opportunity to discuss this issue first hand instead of pulling together details from news

accounts that mayor may not be entirely accurate. Having concrete facts on hand as

opposed to speculation in the press or statements uttered with base political purposes in

mind would improve the quality of dialogue Members of Congress will inevitably have

with their constituents or the media on this matter.

When I have had the chance to meet with troops when visiting Iraq and Afghanistan, I am

always impressed with their professional demeanor and commitment to the mission, their

country, and their fellow soldier or marine. We train these young men and women with

the full expectation that they will treat civilians in a humane manner while completing

their mission. However, when acts like the ones alleged in this case happen, I also place

a high degree of trust in our system of military justice to discover the truth and punish

any bad actors.

I respectfully urge you to consider this request at your earliest convenience. As

American and coalition troops continue to fight terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan it is

imperative that Members of Congress provide them with the support they need to win. I

believe a briefing on this topic would help put this alleged incident in its appropriate

context. Thank you for your consideration of this request.