Shakers, Are You Sitting Down?

Because I have some shocking news for you. The military lied about the circumstances surrounding the largest death toll 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.

But then …

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.

You don’t think this has anything to do with it, do you?

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."

Let’s recap. Suggesting bringing our soldiers home from a war we cannot win, may very well be doing more harm than good at this point for the people we’re ostensibly helping, and is clearly being mismanaged, is both unpatriotic and indicative of not supporting the troops. Misrepresenting the deaths of 10 marines to avoid admitting they may be due to said mismanagement and because the truth might undermine a political speech is, instead, demonstrative of supporting of the troops.

Got it.