On Nov. 19, 24 Iraqi civilians were killed in the western town of Haditha. The day after the deaths, a Marines spokesman said that a "US Marine and 15 civilians were killed ... from the blast of a roadiside bomb ... Immediately following the bombing, gunmen attacked the convoy with small arms fire. iraqi army soldiers and marines returned fire, killing eight insurgents and wounding another."

But after interviewing residents of the town, Time magazine reported an entirely different story -- a disturbing account of hate and murderous revenge. It depicted a group of Marines who, enraged by the death of a comrade, stormed homes in the town and enacted a series of revenge killings -- shooting anyone in their path, men, women and children at close range and in cold blood. The claims made by Haditha residents are currently being investigated by two US military inquiries and if the allegations prove true, they would amount to war crimes.

The consensus in German papers is that Haditha threatens to eclipse the US prison scandal Abu Ghraib in tarnishing America's image abroad.

If reports about the massacre at Haditha are confirmed by the current official investigation, then this is a case of the "worst possible war crimes -- even more serious than the torture at Abu Ghraib that President George W. Bush recently described as the worst mistake made in Iraq," writes the Financial Times Deutschland. "The moral damage that looms can only be contained by the US if it clears up the case energetically and transparently." The killings appear to be the result of excesses on the part of a small group and blame cannot be extrapolated onto the entire US military force in Iraq. Besides, the paper writes, "if the US were to withdraw from Iraq, the civil war style killings happening in the country now would just get worse." "Nevertheless, Washington needs to take a good hard look and see if it has truly taken the necessary lessons from Abu Ghraib." No army in the world can prevent the crimes of individuals within its ranks, the editorial concludes, but a country that follows the rule of lawmust take care to ensure that it has selected the right soldiers.

The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung -- generally friendlier in its handling of the United States on its editorial page -- strongly condemns the matter, saying Haditha will have "devastating" consequences. Even before the official report has been released, the editorialist writes, one can already speak of a "massacre." Did the Marines flip out after a comrade was killed by a bomb? Did they succumb to the constant pressure of the occupation and terror? Possibly. But the fact is this: "They took out their murderous hatred on innocent people," the paper opines. "This breakdown of control and discipline, as local and limited as it was, is devastating." The fact that a senior military officer in Iraq tried to cover up the event just makes matter worse. The paper then goes on to predict a major political setback. "Haditha will be more detrimental to America's image than the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib -- and the shockwaves that set off were gigantic." The paper also acknowledges the comparisons being made between Habitha and the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. "That may be an exaggeration," it concludes. "But the massacre in Iraq will weaken support for Bush's Iraq policies in the US."

Cutting straight to the chase, the center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung headlines its editorial "Memories of My Lai." The paper claims that the political and moral collateral damage the massacre might cause in Iraq and the Islamic world could be immense. Then the paper backs away from its headline for a moment, writing: "But the events at Haditha are still being investigated and comparisons with My Lai, in which an entire village was decimated, are premature and inappropriate given the dimensions." (Twenty four were killed in Haditha vs. hundreds at My Lai.) "Nevertheless, the way the events were dealt with is startlingly familiar. There were attempts to cover up the murder at My Lai and it was only investigated after it was reported by a newspaper. As happened then, this time people also tried to conceal the events -- at least that's what they did until Time magazine ran a story about it." Public awareness of Haditha is still limited in the United States, but in the same way that the daily reports of American deaths have chipped away at it, this will just further erode public support for Bush's "unpopular Iraq war." Even people who have supported operation "Iraqi Freedom" will have trouble finding "moral justification for the war if it turns out that rather than delivering justice and democratic values to Iraq, America's soldiers have turned into murderers worn down by the pressure of a war that refuses to end. That indeed does evoke memories of Vietnam," the paper concludes.

-- Daryl Lindsey, 3:30 p.m. CET

US Offers Iran  Talks

In a change of strategy, the United States has offered to talk with Iran about its controversial nuclear program in collaboration with Washington's partners in Europe. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday that Washington was prepared to drop its long-standing refusal to hold direct talks with Teheran in an attempt to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. The announcement was made right before the meeting of the United States with the EU -3, China and Russia.

This offer marks a turn in American politics towards Iran, which the United States has not had foreign relations with for over 25 years. Rice offered a package of economic incentives to encourage Iran to negotiate, which could be Teheran's last chance to avoid sanctions from the UN Security Council. But the Iranians have rejected setting any preconditions to talks and will not give up uranium enrichment.

German newspapers on Thursday are approving of the new diplomatic push from the United States.

Germany's center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung notes in an editorial that in recent history, the Bush administration has made it part of their politics to "not cultivate relationships with regimes of doubtful provenance in order to not award them a diplomatic pariah status." And since this strategy did not work out, America's moral superiority has diminished since Bush came into power. But in light of this new development, opening up to a nation classified as belonging to the axis of evil is daring in terms of domestic politics, according to the paper. "The inglorious history of American-Iranian politics" is starting to change. In light of the imminent threat of Iranian nuclear politics, the United States has made a wise choice. This offer forces the Islamic Republic to act now, since "Iran won't find many more excuses to withdraw from a rational dialogue over its aggressive policies."

The editorial featured in Germany's center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung agrees that this was a prudent move by the United States. "For the Bush administration, this is a huge step, since so far it had pursued the politics of regime change. One won't overthrow people who one wants to negotiate with - so this is about a change of politics in Teheran. Washington probably realized that the incentives offered by Europeans in the end are not enough to leave an impression on an administration that feels so strong at this point." The paper goes on to argue that the United States was smart to limit their offer to Iran taking part in negotiations with the EU and to include certain conditions. For as of today, "Iranians still must show proof that they can be trusted."

The Financial Times Deutschland's editorial agrees with the importance placed on this strategy. It calls this offer the "most important concession the US has made in a conflict that has been smouldering for years." When looking at the very realistic minimum claim the US has made, it won't be easy for Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad to refuse the offer. The added coalition with the Europeans is a success and "heightens the chances to bring some movement into a deadlocked conflict." It is now up to Iran to take a step forward towards the West, and if it chooses not to, may have to face economic sanctions by the UN Security Council.

The Swiss Neue Züricher Zeitung, on the other hand, calls this offer "not the breathtaking turnaround it is now sold as, but rather a small move in a game of chess that will last much longer." To the paper it is obvious that this move is meant to increase political pressure on Teheran, "which leads to the question whether the Bush administration has received something in return." Especially Russia and China may take this as a motive to abandon their opposition to Iran sanctions of the UN Security Council. This would increase pressure on the Teheran and give them the feeling of growing isolation.