Another side of Marine / Mosque story.

From MSNBC.

Kevin Sites, the reporter who shot the footage of the Marine incident, has taken a lot of heat.

He acquits himself well in his 'open letter' to the Marines.

My bottom line conclusion on this is that the Marine should walk. The troops should be told to be careful, but they should continue to err on the side of their own preservation.

The Marine appears to have shot someone he shouldn't have. He also appears not to have had a good reason, as seen by someone else in the room, to have made his decision.

BUT it is clear that the Marine DID believe he shot someone who was a danger. Part of the issue might simply have been exhaustion and stress. We won't ever fully know that, but we do know from what he said before he pulled the trigger: "He's f------ faking he's dead -- he's faking he's f------ dead." -- that he thought there was a good reason to pull the trigger.

And that is all that matters, legally.

You could also say that the fact these people were unlawful combatants and monsters shouldn't make a moral difference. I don't quite believe that. Although I hope our forces follow the rules, these guys don't. So I'm not interested in enforcing the rules on our troops unless the situation is unambiguous and clearly without justification.

This doesn't meet that test, either.