I wonder why they gave you that order, sarge?
Posted on 12/08/2004 9:41:26 PM PST by Former Military Chick
TORONTO (AP) -- A former U.S. Marine in Iraq, testifying Wednesday at a hearing for an American military deserter seeking asylum in Canada, said several men in his unit were "psychopaths" who enjoyed killing unarmed Iraqi civilians who posed no threat.
Jimmy Massey, a staff sergeant who was in the Marines for 12 years and served three months in Iraq before being honorably discharged with post-traumatic stress syndrome, made the allegations before Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board on the final day of an asylum hearing for Army Pfc. Jeremy Hinzman, 26.
Hinzman fled Fort Bragg, N.C., to Canada weeks before his 82nd Airborne Division was due to be deployed to Iraq. He had served three years in the Army but applied for conscientious objector status before his unit was sent to Afghanistan in 2002.
He is asking for refugee status for himself, his wife and 2-year-old son, claiming he would face persecution if forced to return to the United States. Hinzman's lawyer, Jeffry House, said he would be the first American soldier granted political asylum in Canada if his petition succeeds.
Massey, who did not know Hinzman before the hearing, said Hinzman likely would have been forced to commit atrocities that violated the Geneva Conventions if he went to Iraq.
Massey, 33, of Waynesville, N.C., said his 7th Marines weapons company killed more than 30 civilians during a 48-hour period in April while stationed at a checkpoint in the southern Baghdad district of Rashid. The victims included unarmed demonstrators and a man who drove up in a car and raised his hands above his head in the universal symbol of surrender.
"I know in my heart that these vehicles that came up, that they were civilians," he said. "But I had to act on my orders. It's a struggle within my heart."
The orders, he said, were to shoot at anyone who drove into what is known as the "red zone" surrounding the checkpoint because they could be suicide bombers.
Massey told the tribunal he got caught up in the frenzy and shot at civilians as well.
"I take full responsibility for my actions," he said. "We deliberately gunned down people who were civilians. I became so concerned because I felt that Marines were honestly enjoying it. I saw plenty of Marines become psychopaths. They enjoyed the killing."
The Marine Corps denied Massey's allegations.
"We're not saying he's lying, but his perception of what the situation was in relation to the rules of engagement, and what was justified, is different than ours," said Maj. Douglas Powell, a spokesman for the Marine Corps at the Pentagon. "It was investigated and any acts of wrongdoing, in regards to violations of the laws of war, the laws of armed conflict, were unsubstantiated."
Hinzman's case comes just as Ottawa attempts to improve relations with Washington, which soured dramatically after Canada refused to send troops to Iraq.
Hinzman argued that the war in Iraq was illegal and fighting in it would make him a war criminal. He also said he would be persecuted if forced to return to the United States, noting that he now receives threatening e-mail.
A typical term in a U.S. military prison for Army desertion is a year.
"After I would be released from jail, the chances of my getting a job would be slim and there would be social persecution," he told reporters after his hearing.
Hinzman is one of three American military deserters seeking refugee status in Canada. Hearings for Brandon Hughey of the Army's 1st Cavalry and David Sanders of the Navy will be heard by the refugee board in January.
House, an American lawyer who first came to Canada as a draft dodger during the Vietnam War, is representing the three Americans. He said 30,000-50,000 Americans who fled to Canada during Vietnam were allowed to settle there.
The tribunal is expected to make its decision early next year.
Not one soldier would want these guys covering their six.
"Massey, 33, of Waynesville, N.C., said his 7th Marines weapons company killed more than 30 civilians during a 48-hour period in April while stationed at a checkpoint in the southern Baghdad district of Rashid. The victims included unarmed demonstrators and a man who drove up in a car and raised his hands above his head in the universal symbol of surrender."
Don't get me started on this propoganda machine. I'm surprised this didn't come out during the election. They're getting started for 2008 already.
Why do you constantly post this crap? It's getting old.
Looks like he's got his sights set on a billionairess wife and a run at the White House in 25-30 years.
I wonder why they gave you that order, sarge?
It's coming from the AP. You have to know what's going on in the world, good and bad. If you want to just hear the party line listen to Rush all day. Besides this is complete BS. Any NCO worth his salt wouldn't let this occur. I say let Canada have him, he'll have plenty of pinko sissies up there to keep him company, good riddance.
I take considerable pleasure in noting how extremely rare this sort of thing is these days. Even in peacetime you get nutjobs and misfits who go AWOL, blaming everything under the sun except for themselves in the process. It's normal to see them running around acting the fool, but we should be encouraged at how few fools are appearing.
The Canadians will LOVE this guy...
last time i checked, the military usually posts signs in multiple languages to tell people not to go any further or they will be shot. what do they think we are, liberal parents?
"dont go any further or you're getting a time out mister"
if you're too stupid do obey a sign threatening death, you are stupid enough for natural selection to apply
Thanks for the advice.
Oh, come on lets get you started. You know I read about all the wonderful things our soldiers do and not for one thank you. Although we give that freely.
I have little memory of what the folks did during Vietnam, but, certainly some ran somewhere to avoid war.
It never occured to me years later that it would start all over again. It is just frustrating to know that there are those who will sign a contract and then run when the skillet gets hot.
Massey's been reading John Kerry's writings perhaps ?
Ha ha! Nicely put. The idea drifted across my mind too.
This trash talk about his fellow soldiers is despicable.
Massey has now done a LOT more than just go AWOL. He is now actively demeaning, smearing, and villifying all the troops over there, and the troops that have been killed, none of whom will have a seat at the table to defend their honor.
IMHO, Massey should be returned to the US and shot, not given assylum so that MY tax dollars will pay for his treasonous ass to sit around and do nothing. It makes me sick just thinking about it.
Massey is the REAL f'ing atrocity.
It makes me sick to think that any newspaper in America would just print the AP commie screed without at least offering an alternative view.
No wonder many papers are losing circulation.
Any paper that carries the AP is either leftist or lazy.
Either way, undeserving of a discerning readership.
It wasn't always stupidity...it was sometimes the fact that their families were being held hostage by the bad guys. These civilians were forced, under the threat of death to their loved ones, to advance on the checkpoints specifically to draw their fire. The fedayeen got to see whether the GI's would actually fire if encroached upon, what weapons would be used, and as a bonus they got a chance to smear the US for shooting down "unarmed" civilians. Makes me sick to remember it.
Death's too good for some people.
Thanks guys... today it took 6 whole comments before you remembered that all us Canadians are pinko commie sissies. I feel so loved! :)
They're a lot more open about it now. They know the press will give them all the coverage they want. So, these scum bags go to a lawyer, he calls the press, and FMC is posting it on FR to the dismay of the readers.
And I still like you, even if you're a liberal propoganda machine. :) Hehehe! I'm just kidding!
It appears you're correct. We're becoming butchers again.
"Massey has now done a LOT more than just go AWOL."
Sorry to tell you this, but Massey is NOT the guy who went AWOL, Massey was honorably discharged, who is responsible for that error we'll probably never know.
One thing to realize, it's the future now and things happen more quickly. What took years in the Vietnam war might take months now.
One thing that hasn't changed, the left wants the destruction of America, the destruction of our freedom and the MSM wants to help this come about (as my kid would say).
Why aren't they worried about the preservation of freedom? Because 1. they are lap-dogs to begin with and 2.they figure that like their counterparts in the soviet nomenklatura their lives of privilege will not be threatened. They are wrong, of course, the Islamofacists want to kill them too. Unfortunately they've forgotten 9/11 and the truth of my last statement.
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