Soldiers Charged with Rape, Murder of Iraqi Girl
The US Military charged five soldiers on Monday in connection with the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and her family. Steven Green, accused rape and murder, pled “not guilty” on July 6 in Kentucky. While he was discharged from the military for a “personality disorder” several months ago, the remaining four accomplices are under arrest in Iraq in a military facility. First, here are these facts, according to Reuters News, who cited U.S. federal court documents, U.S. military statements, Iraqi official documents as its source.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military named five soldiers on Monday who are charged over the murder of an Iraqi family and the rape of a female victim.
Following are key elements in the case:
THE ACCUSED AND CHARGES
– Steven Green , 21, pleaded not guilty on July 6 in a U.S. federal court in Kentucky, home of his former unit the 502nd Infantry Regiment, to four counts of murder and one of rape over the deaths of four people near Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, "on or about" March 12. Green was a private first class for under a year before being discharged for a "personality disorder".
– Private First Class Bryan Howard : conspiracy to commit rape and pre-meditated murder (under Article 81 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), conspiracy to obstruct justice (Article 81), pre-meditated murder (118), rape (120).
– Specialist James Barker : conspiracy to commit rape and pre-meditated murder (under Article 81 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), conspiracy to obstruct justice (Article 81), pre-meditated murder (118), rape (120). and violation of a general order (92), arson (126), house breaking (130).
– Sergeant Paul Cortez : same as Barker
– Private First Class Jesse Spielman: same as Barker and Cortez plus indecent acts (134) and obstruction of justice
– Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi died of "gunshot wounds in the head, with burns", according to the death certificate. That and her identity card, which relatives showed Reuters, show she was a minor aged 14, and not 20 or 25 as stated in U.S. official documents which say she was raped.
– Her father Qasim Hamza Rasheed al-Janabi, 34, a laborer, his wife Fakhriya Taha Muheisin al-Janabi, 43, and their younger daughter Hadeel Qasim Hamza al-Janabi, 6, also all died from gunshot wounds; two sons, now aged 10 and 13, were absent.
– U.S. commanders say they became aware of the case on June 23, when a soldier spoke of it during counseling following the kidnap and killing of two men from the 502nd near Mahmudiya — an incident officers say has no clear connection to the rape.
THE PROSECUTION CASE
– Green and three others drank alcohol, in violation of a standing general order in Iraq, as they discussed raping Abeer on March 11. Shortly afterward at least two changed into dark civilian clothes, another violation, and the four went off armed leaving a fifth soldier manning the radio at their checkpoint…..
There are several things to keep in mind when discussing this story. When examining the accusation that Marines “killed in cold blood” 24 innocent Iraqis in Haditha, Iraq, last November, many red flags were raised from onset of the story. The presumption of innocence was not afforded those soldiers by the press and many liberal politicians. As it turns out, this was a tragic part of war and civilians were killed, but not “in cold blood” as asserted by anti-war nuts. The soldiers followed the standard operating procedures and as a reaction to insurgent gunfire, they followed the rules of engagement. While the consequence was tragic, blame for “cold blooded murder” cannot be placed at the feet of these Marines.
However, the situation with the five soldiers charged with rape and or murder is different. The probability of guilt is great enough that it’s relatively safe to not give them the benefit of the doubt, unless you are so inclinced. The account didn’t originate from Iraqis under suspicious circumstances; it originated from a soldier as part of grief counseling following the kidnapping and murder of two soldiers also stationed in the Iraqi town of Mahmudiya where the rape and murders occurred. Unlike Haditha, these soldiers have been charged with specific crimes by the US military. Unlike Haditha, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Gen. George W. Casey, the senior U.S. commander in Iraq, have both called the incident "absolutely inexcusable". Although time and a trial will ultimately tell, it appears that these accusations are true.
When murder and rape are committed by a soldier in a war zone, they are indeed war crimes. The sickening nature of these crimes is so horrible that the soldiers have become terrorists. Their actions have damaged US/Iraq relations and brought condemnation from the Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Two soldiers abducted and tortured in Iraq last month were from the 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, which is the same unit the soldiers, including Steven Green, served with at the time of the rape and murders. It is probable that the abductions and torture of the two soldiers were payback for the rape/murders, and this makes even more sense when details of the torture were made available. The GI’s were bound, had their penises cut off and shoved in their mouths while they were still alive, their hearts were "cut out" and their heads cut off. They were found a week later, their bodies rigged with explosives as a form of booby-trap. Steven Green and his accomplices most probably contributed to the horrible death of these soldiers.
The truth is that over 1 million U.S. soldiers have served in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001-2004 alone. It is clear that this rape and these murders are highly unusual and rare in the U.S. military. Good stories of charity and benevolence have been widely documented since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom in October of 2001.
While the military cannot take sole responsibility for the actions of individual soldiers, there are certainly things the Department of Defense and military recruitment can do. First, advertising to MTV and other unsavory markets needs to stop. The military does not need nor should it want the MTV generation serving in its ranks. Trouble, trouble, trouble. Military recruiting that focuses on offering college money or other perks as a primary reason to enlist results in soldiers using the military, not serving their country. The self-centered “what can I get out of the military” recruiting needs to stop. As we know from AWOL soldiers, when the going gets tough, the tough get going (usually to Canada).
If the military could ban liberals from joining the military, it should. When liberals serve, especially during wartime, they come home, get a discharge and summarily slam the military as an organization while praising their own personal service. Unpatriotic leeches don’t make for good testimonials. When liberals serve, they twist the truth about their service and the circumstances surrounding it for political or ideological reasons. There is Patrick Murphy who served with the 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq for a year, and is now running for a Congressional seat in Pennsylvania and is endorsed by John Murtha. He has made some very misleading comments about his service in Iraq (which will be outlined in an upcoming post). Several flunkies tour with Cindy Sheehan, like ex-Marine Jeff Key, who said that the "battle of Fallujah was an American excuse to kill people and look like we’re actually doing something in Iraq” and fraud Jimmy Massey, former U.S. Marine staff sergeant, who served in Iraq for 6 whole weeks before being sent home with “post traumatic stress disorder”, testified his unit killed at least 30 unarmed civilians in Iraq during the war in 2003 and that Marines routinely shot and killed wounded Iraqis.
The Seven Army Values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. These values contradict liberal values. When the MTV generation serves in the military, there will be trouble. It is a guarantee that church going, young Republicans are not the ones committing these acts. May Steven Green and his accomplices get the death penalty for their deeds.
Cross-posted at Amy’s Blog
July 11th, 2006 at 8:16 am
If you don’t get the “MTV Generation” to fight your war for you, who are you going to get? You think a lot of 30-42 year olds are really going to start enlisting now? Ehh, I doubt it, the only people in that age group who are for the war and aren’t currently serving are chickenhawks who do their part by putting ribbon stickers on their cars and writing witty blogs about treasonous moonbat liberals.
July 11th, 2006 at 11:58 am
I raqi Rpae and Murder case agains the US Soldiers
I have not been posting about this case, because I have been seeing alot of different information on what really happened and how it came to be known. It is looking more and more likely that these US soldiers committed