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Loren said that Los Angeles felt that this was symptomatic of failed American policy and of one party rule in the US out of control. He said that most Americans did not suppport US policy but would have to wait for elections in November to change the government. He offered up an apology on behalf of the American people of what is going on. He believes that if Democrats were in power in Congress that impreachment proceedings would have already begun.

Murat in Belgium asked why Americans did not overthrow the government. He did not believe that President Bush would bring justice to those soldiers if they are found guilty.

Jeremy Mason in Atlanta said that he wanted all of the facts of the official investigation to come out before judging the outcome. He said:

I don't think there has been any cover up. The investigation is ongoing. Whatever the Iraqi press is saying or the Iraqi government cannot be accepted as the final truth.

He said that in the fog of war many things happen. He said that Iraqis should be respected but not necessarily trusted. He said he wanted to wait for the report. And he thought the war brought has brought out a lot of anti-American sentiment, some which he said was over the top.

Anna has a son who has been in the Air Force for 11 years. He just came back from Iraq last year. She said that she was embarassed by the incident.:

This is probably a group of young men who panicked. Most of these troops are 18 to 25 years old. It's ridiculous for our children, my son, to be trained to kill people and then expect them never to have a mishap. These are young people.
They are not the leaders of the country like Saddam Hussein was, who rationally made the decision to kill thousands of people. But if these kids did this, they will pay for this for the rest of their livers.

She said it was admirable that the investigation was taking place in the open. She resented the assertion in an e-mail that said that Americans are warmongerers.

But Beryl Shannon, a British Canadian agreed with the e-mail. She said she has watched as Americans go around the world supposedly spreading freedom and democracy "under the pretext of being a saviour". She said the killing in Haditha was simply an atrocity. She said that women and children were killed. She said that President Bush should be held responsible.

Anna countered that Americans felt like we were damned if we do and damned if we don't. She pointed to the late entry of the US into World War II.

Pat called from Missouri. Her husband served in the Air Force for 23 years and saw many attempts to cover things up. She said that she didn't expect the full truth to come out. Pat said that there was a massive denial in the United States. She said, "Any justice for the Iraqi people is being driven by the media. It's not being driven by US policy."

Many of our callers and commenters were worried that troops would take the blame and that their superiors would go unpunished.

We also received this text message from Kelly in Mozambique:

When a terrorist's bomb kills the marines it results in no outrage. Critics should try and put themselves in the shoes and empathise with the marines in their circumstance.

Knife Violence in the UK

Jeff Edwards, the Chief Crime Correspondent for Mirror and Bin that Knife amnesty, joined us and told us why his newspaper started this campaign. He said that boys are being stopped two or three times with a blade, but he said that the first time that they see the inside of a jail is only after they stab someone.

They have the power to do stop and search. They can stop young men who they think are likely to have knives. We don't have enough jail space. ... I cannot see an end in sight. I think we are stuck with it in this society.

Paul Walmsley, of Lincolnshire, lost his son Luke in 2003.

Luke was coming out of his classroom in November 2003. A boy plunged a knife into his chest. It penetrated his heart.

He said that something positive needed to be done. And rather than campaigns in newspapers, he called for random searches of people on the streets to see if they are carrying weapons. He also said that there should be mandatory sentences for people found guilty of knife crimes.

He said that he found stabbing worse than shooting. "You have to get right up close and personal when you stab someone," he said.

Lesley, from Welling in Kent, called for a zero tolerance campaign. She said:

There are too many do-gooders in this country who don't live on councils and aren't afraid to go out. ... I work for the council. I'm so fed up. What are their parents doing? They're going out.

She said that she was in New York 25 years ago and there were horrible problems with crime. But now, New York is safe, and London has the problem.

Chris from Wishaw admitted that he has stabbed people and been stabbed by people.

I'd rather have it on me and not need it than not have it on me.

He said that it would never stop. He said that you can ban knives but you can you can't ban screwdrivers. However, he admitted that he was troubled by .

He said that most stabbing incidents happened when people were drunk. "When you're drunk, you're more likely to get into scrapes," Chris said.

Simon from London said that he has carried a pen knife for years, and he didn't want to be penalised for the criminal acts of others.

Nik from Hong Kong sent this text message:

How can collecting knifes make a difference? People can just go to the shop and buy some more. The police need to jail the criminals for a signifant difference.

East Timor

The ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Phil Mercer recorded some interviews for us in Dili in East Timor. We've had real trouble with phone lines into East Timor.

One man said he was saddened by the violence which killed many people. The situation is getting bad, but he said the arrival of Australian troops had given people hope.

Lola said she supported the President Xanana Gusmao. Troops needed to step up their patrols, she said. She said people were still scared by the violence with people going around killing each other with machetes. She said that she hoped that the violence would end in a few days, but a return to peace also depended on the East Timorese people.

And Bruce in Hobart sent us this text message:

When Australian troops first entered East Timor in 1999 in response to popular demand here, their roles there were celebrated by the US and others. Now they are back again and have been welcomed back, but many people wonder how often we will have to re enter failing states, eg Afghanistan.