My Lai, Iraq?

In the past, I've written about how the military time and again spins stories instead of being truthful with the American people about the costs of war.

Last November, more than a dozen Iraqi civilians were killed in an incident involving the U.S. military. First, we were told the civilians died as the result of an insurgent's IED. Turns out, however, witnesses were able to confirm the dead had bullet wounds.

Story No. 2 then became the civilians were killed in the crossfire during a battle with insurgents.

Rep. John Murtha is now stating a report of an investigation into the deaths will show there was no firefight and that the civilians were killed in cold blood by over-reacting soldiers.

Is it just a matter of "bad things happen in war" or is it that these type of things occur due to war mismanagement --- undertraining, overextended troops worn down by pressure, etc.?

UPDATE: MSNBC has just posted a late night report on this tragedy. “This one is ugly," one official told NBC News.