Always faithful?

Iraq | With alleged massacres of civilians as the backdrop, the Marine Corps tries to expand the reach of programs that deal with combat stress | Jamie Dean

Nine-year-old Eman Waleed was in her pajamas when her family gathered in the living room of their small home in Haditha, Iraq, for the last time. The 11 members of her family had awakened to the thunderous blast of an improvised explosive device (IED) in the post-dawn hours of Nov. 19, 2005. Less than 150 yards away, U.S. Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, 20, lay dead near his shredded humvee, fallen to an insurgent attack that wounded two more Marines from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment.

What happened next is hazy, but horrifying: In the blurry aftermath of the explosion and Marine response, as many as 24 Iraqi men, women, and children died, including nine members of Eman's family. Nearly seven months later, the U.S. military is investigating chilling reports that Marines killed Haditha civilians in cold blood, not in crossfire with enemy combatants.