Posted on 07/05/2006 3:33:11 PM PDT by pissant
First off, the information in the Affidavit and the MSM regarding this incident in Muhmudiyah does not look good for Steven Green or his alleged conspirators. If he or they are guilty of this crime, then I pray that the Military comes down on them like a ton bricks. The description of what happened is beyond disgusting and evil.
Having said that, I will continue to give the benefit of the doubt to Steven Green and the others, until they confess in a military court or are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
So in the interim, I will try to do my best, like on the Haditha case, to poke holes in allegations, and to publicize the work of others doing the same thing.
In regards to the affidavit (AD) used to charge Steven Green, I have a couple of questions/observations. You can click on the URL above to see the affidavit.
Questions:
In Item #5 in the AD, the CID investigation states that 3 men approached checkpoint 1 (TCP#1) on 3/12/2006 at 5:30 PM and reported that a family had been killed in their house and that it was believed to have been done by Anti Iraq forces or "others".
In Item #12, SOI5 (source of information) says that on 3/11/2006 an Iraqi approached him and told him the house had been burned. The Iraqi said four were dead and one had been raped. An HOUR later, Iraqi army personnel and four US soldiers, including SOI5, went to the scene and presumably took the photos.
So did the event happen on 3/11 or 3/12? If SOI5 is correct, then the bodies would have been in the morgue by 3/12 and a 3/11 report would have been discovered by the CID.
Item #6 says that during a combat stress debriefing on 6/20/06 it was determined that these members of the 4th Infantry division commited this crime. Yet all the previous reports say that two guys were debriefed, neither an eyewitness. One said that he overheard guys talking about it, and another said that he heard that the guys burned their clothes. And it was not until 6/24/06 that the invistigation from CIS started. Therefore Item 6 is factually wrong to say it was "determined" on 6/20/06 that our men did this.
In Item #8, SOI1 says SOI2 and KP1 (known participant) changed clothes before heading to the house. Then he says that SOI2, SOI3, SG and KP1 all burned their clothes when they got back. First, SOI3 supposedly stayed guard at the door fo the house, so why would he burn his clothes? And if he was in uniform, would he really burn his uniform at a checkpoint and stand there in his skivvies? 2nd, was SOI1 really dumb enough to man the checkpoint by himself while these guys went raping and pillaging, especially since one of the M4s they took belonged to SOI1?
In Item #10, SOI2 states "Green went into the bedroom to keep the rest of the family there" and that "KP1 threw a woman to the floor". After Green killed the family, SOI2 states that he witnessed "Green and KP1 rape the woamn that SOI3 had thrown to the floor". So who threw the rape victim to the floor?? SOI3 was supposedly standing guard outside the house.
In Item #11, SOI3 says that SOI2 ordered him to toss the AK-47 used by Green into the canal. SOI2 does not mention (items #9 and #10) that he asked SOI3 to get rid of AK-47.
Item #13 is the photo evidence. If this photo evidence was taken 3/11/06 by the Iraqi and US soldiers that went to investigate per item #12 (SOI5's version) then something is terribly amiss about the timing of this story.
"military camp in Baghdad for questioning, Wright said. He would not say if those soldiers had been arrested, but another U.S. official said Saturday that several more soldiers would soon be charged."
Bump for later.
Good old Ryan Lenz. Dirtball
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three U.S. soldiers have been charged with rape and murder and a fourth with dereliction of duty in the alleged rape-slaying of a young Iraqi woman and the killings of her relatives in Mahmoudiya, the military said Sunday.
The four were accused Saturday following an investigation into allegations that American soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division raped the teenager and killed her and three relatives at her home south of Baghdad.
Ex-soldier Steven D. Green was arrested last week in North Carolina and has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and four counts of murder.
The U.S. statement said the four soldiers still on active duty will face an Article 32 investigation, similar to a grand jury hearing in civilian law. The Article 32 proceeding will determine whether there is enough evidence to place them on trial.
Looks like Green will have a civilian trial and the others will have UCMJ.
Thanks for update pings, TK.
Sad situation. I pray and hope that this is not why Thomas Tucker and Kristian Menchaca had to pay so dearly.
4 More Soldiers Charged In Iraq Rape-Slaying Case
CBS News) BAGHDAD Three U.S. soldiers have been charged with rape and murder and a fourth with dereliction of duty in the alleged rape-slaying of a young Iraqi woman and the killings of her relatives in Mahmoudiya, the military said Sunday.
The four were accused Saturday following an investigation into allegations that American soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division raped the teenager and killed her and three relatives at her home south of Baghdad.
Ex-soldier Steven D. Green was arrested last week in North Carolina and has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and four counts of murder.
The U.S. statement said the four soldiers still on active duty will face an Article 32 investigation, similar to a grand jury hearing in civilian law. The Article 32 proceeding will determine whether there is enough evidence to place them on trial.
One of the soldiers was charged with failing to report the attack but is not believed to have participated in it directly, the statement said.
Names of the accused were not released.
Based on interviews and records, the U.S. military now believes the woman who allegedly was raped and then killed was between the ages of 14 and 20, Army spokesman Paul Boyce said Friday. While the military initially said she was 20, Boyce said he has seen documents that indicate she could have been about 14.
Last Thursday, Green entered his plea through his public defenders.
Green also waived a detention hearing and a preliminary hearing, and agreed that his case would be prosecuted in the Western District of Kentucky.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James Moyer set an arraignment date of Aug. 8 in Paducah, Ky., for Green, who was arrested by FBI agents in Marion, N.C. Green appeared in baggy shorts and flip-flops, and was wearing the same Johnny Cash T-shirt he wore to a hearing Monday in Charlotte, N.C.
Green answered Moyer's questions about his inability to pay for an attorney, saying he has about $6,000 in a checking account and owns a 1995 Lincoln Town Car.
"I don't have anything else," he told the judge.
Green, who served 11 months with the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Ky., received an honorable discharge and left the army in mid-May. He was discharged because of an "anti-social personality disorder," according to military officials and court documents.
http://wcco.com/topstories/topstories_story_190091358.html
I know.....
From a defense attorney's perspective an Article 32 proceeding is far and away superior to a grand jury. The accused soldier has a right to be present with counsel and is allowed not only to cross examine prosecution witnesses but to offer evidence in his own behalf.
You can expect the Justice Department to delay Green's trial until the Army has completed action on its four accuseds beginning with the least culpable (the dereliction charge). If the evidence is there you can expect the other three to at least offer to plead guilty to lesser charges.
Green's best hope is that the four other soldiers spend enormous energy trying to minimize their involvement and end up compromising their own credibility and undermining the consistent narrative that forms the heart of the prosecution's case before the AUSA can get Green's trial underway.
If the prosecution already has admissions and confessions from some or all of the accuseds that are internally consistent and point to Green--and the reports suggest that this is indeed the case--then Green's attorneys will have considerably less room to maneuver in.
The criminal justice system appears to be working exactly as it should. The prosecution will have its feet held to the fire by defense counsel working tirelessly within the rules to represent the best interests of their clients. Unfortunately, this matter will likely take many months to bring to a conclusion which means it will become a seemingly permanent weapon dragged out by the MSM on an hourly basis and used in its continuing assault on the administration's operations in Iraq .
Looks like this.
SOI1 - Dereliction of duty
SOI2 - Rape and Murder
SOI3 - Rape and Murder
SOI4 - Failing to report
SG - Rape and Murder
KP1 - Rape and Murder
No clash at all when you read the entire quote.
"Judging by the fact idiots like Wesley Clark were ever promoted to high positions, there is bound to be more than a few retards in the officer corps that think leaking to the NY Times is a good thing. Uhg. "
7 posted on 07/08/2006 8:30:18 AM PDT by pissant
Since you didn't put up the post it clashes with, you post is worthless.
Five Soldiers Charged in Iraqi Rape, Murder Case
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 9, 2006 – Charges have been preferred against four U.S. soldiers accused of rape and murder in connection with the deaths of four Iraqi civilians in March. A fifth soldier has been accused of dereliction of duty for failing to report the offenses, U.S. officials announced today.
The five soldiers were charged yesterday in connection with their alleged participation in the rape and murder of a young Iraqi woman and the murders of three members of her family. The fifth soldier was charged with dereliction of duty for his failure to report the rape and murder of these Iraqi civilians, but is not alleged to have been a direct participant in the rape and killings, officials said in a statement.
All are charged with conspiring with former Army Pfc. Steven D. Green to commit these crimes. Green, 21, a former 101st Airborne Division soldier, was arrested June 30 in connection with the incident, according to a July 3 announcement by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Kentucky.
Green was deployed from September 2005 to April 2006 and was discharged from the Army May 16. Army officials declined to disclose the circumstances of his discharge, citing privacy protections under the Health Information Privacy Protection Act.
The preferral of court-marital charges is merely an accusation, according to today's statement. "Those accused are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," officials stated.
The next step in the legal process will be an investigation pursuant to Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Article 32 investigations are similar to grand jury hearings in civilian courts.
(From a Multinational Corps Iraq news release.)
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060709_5614.html
I can't stop smiling...I was at Ft Campbell for the first homecoming for our SE's...it's unforgettable:)
Welcome Home to the first group of Eagles!!
Welcome home Troops!
Welcome home to the Screaming Eagles!!!
Hooah!
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