On the June 5 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, host Rush Limbaugh predicted that the response to the alleged murders at Haditha from Democrats, the left, and the media would be a “gang rape ... to finally take us out in the war against Iraq.” Limbaugh stated: “This Haditha story ... this is it, folks. This is the final big push on behalf of the Democratic Party, the American left, and the drive-by media to destroy our effort to win the war in Iraq.” Limbaugh added: "[L]et me just put it in graphic terms. It is going to be a gang rape. There is going to be a gang rape by the Democratic Party, the American left, and the drive-by media to finally take us out in the war against Iraq. Make no bones about it."

As Media Matters for America has noted, other conservative media figures have echoed Limbaugh's comment that the media is “gleeful[]” about the Haditha incident. On the May 31 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly asserted that the “left-wing press” and others are “rejoic[ing]” over Haditha. Additionally on Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson, right wing pundit Michelle Malkin blasted the media coverage of the alleged massacre in Haditha, claiming that there are “puddles of drool in the offices of the L.A. Times and The New York Times.” Washington Times editorial page editor Tony Blankley complained that the “gleeful media” was “over-reporting” the Haditha incident.

Limbaugh gave his definition of “drive-by media” on the April 12 broadcast (Rush 24/7 subscription required) of his show: “They [the media] are exactly like drive-by shooters. They pull up to a congested area, they spray a hail of bullets into the crowd. It causes mass hysteria, confusion, mistakes, and misinterpretation, sometimes people and their careers actually die, and then the drive-by media smirks and they ride away, unnoticed in the excitement. They're never blamed, they're never held accountable.”

From the June 6 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: This Haditha story, this Haditha instance -- incident, whatever -- this is it, folks. This is the final big push on behalf of the Democratic Party, the American left, and the drive-by media to destroy our effort to win the war in Iraq. That's what Haditha represents -- and they are going about it gleefully. They are ecstatic about it, and this is a time where we all need to come together and stand up for the U.S. military, the men and women who serve, who volunteer. Because I told you last week, the officials that know whatever in the process of this investigation cannot say a word for fear of having any conviction or any verdict thrown out because they've been involved in shaping opinion about it. So it's going to be a one-sided story. The critics are going to have a field day, and the critics are going to be able to make things up. The critics are going to be able to go out there and tell you things happened that they don't know happened. They're going to be able to use all these anonymous sources, and it's going to be -- folks, let me just put it in graphic terms. It is going to be a gang rape. There is going to be a gang rape by the Democratic Party, the American left, and the drive-by media to finally take us out in the war against Iraq. Make no bones about it.

[...]

LIMBAUGH [reading from June 3 Associated Press article]: “A military investigation into allegations that American troops intentionally killed civilians in Ishaqi, a village north of Baghdad, has cleared them of misconduct, the U.S. said Friday, even though it acknowledged the deaths of up to 13 Iraqis in the March raid. Meanwhile, a lawyer representing families of some of the two dozen unarmed Iraqi civilians allegedly killed by Marines in Haditha said three or four Marines carried out the shootings while 20 more waited outside the homes. He also said victims' relatives turned down a request by U.S. investigators to exhume the victims' bodies for forensic tests.

”The investigation of the March 15 attack in Ishaqi concluded that the U.S. troops followed normal procedures in raising the level of force as they came under attack upon approaching a building where they believed an Al Qaida terrorist was hiding. Caldwell, the U.S military spokesman -- William Caldwell, major general -- also acknowledged there were 'possibly up to nine collateral deaths' in addition to the four Iraqi deaths that the military announced at the time of the raid. The results of the investigation were released after questions were raised about the original U.S. report as television stations aired AP Television News footage of a row of dead children in the aftermath of the raid."

Now, I remind you of this simply because nobody yet knows what happened in Haditha. All there are, are the horror stories right now, and if there are charges, there will be a defense. And I just -- I can't -- I cannot emphasize enough, ladies and gentlemen, the efforts that are under way and will be continuing, to use this Haditha story as the absolute final drill to destroy our effort to achieve victory in Iraq altogether. You can just -- you can see it; you can hear it.