As 2008 begins, Haditha hysteria still blights the lives of all the men who were implicated, not just the soldiers remaining in legal limbo. But what about the accusers who trumpeted the worst of the charges? Are they accountable for tarnished reputations? Terminated careers? Legal bills? Outrage? Night sweats?

Dream on. McGirk has moved on to a plummy new assignment as Time Jerusalem bureau chief, even as Time has moved away from signal points in the initial report. Via subsequent "corrections," Time asserted that the identity of a key source was grossly misrepresented, and admitted that allegations about a photograph reported as "one of the most damning pieces of evidence investigators have" was based on information from a source who later said "he had no firsthand knowledge" of it.

Murtha refuses to comment on the matter publicly or otherwise; as a defendant in a civil libel suit filed by Staff Sgt. Wuterich, he's appealing a federal court order to be interviewed by Staff Sgt. Wuterich's attorneys.

Hagee, whom Murtha has ID'ed as his source (Hagee denies this), has retired.

End of story? Not necessarily. The week before Christmas, the North County Times of San Diego reported that lawyers for Tatum have asked the military court to order Murtha to submit to interviews about his comments. They also "want to force an interview with retired Marine Corps Commandant Michael Hagee about what Hagee may have said to Murtha or others about the Haditha killings."

The judge has yet to rule on this matter, but I, for one, hope he orders up the interviews. What is said may reveal that the Iraq war has indeed produced its "defining atrocity" -- against our own Marines.