BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said that the blanket immunity enjoyed so far by foreign troops must be reviewed following allegations of rape and murder by US soldiers in Iraq.
"We have to review the immunity enjoyed by members of these forces or look for ways in which Iraqis can participate in the investigation," he said.
"A lot of mistakes have been committed before Mahmudiyah that have caused grief and anger in the Iraqi people who cannot tolerate these brutal crimes for very long."
The Justice Department has said that Steven Green, 21, could face the death penalty if convicted over the latest of a string of alleged atrocities committed by US soldiers against Iraqis.
Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi called Thursday for severe punishment for the US soldiers responsible for the crimes and said the US government must make amends with the conservative tribes of Mahmudiyah.
This came after demands by some MPs for an independent Iraqi investigation into the incident and calls by Justice Minister Hashem al-Shibli for the United Nations to be involved in the case.
Shanna Sissom City Editor Midland Reporter-Telegram
07/06/2006
Lawyer says former soldier's father is 'shocked' at allegations.
The father of a former Midland soldier accused in the rape and murder of an Iraqi woman and her family is "shocked" by allegations against his son, his attorney said Wednesday.
Midland attorney Hal Brockett was retained by John Green, father of Army Pfc. Steven Dale Green, to act as a spokesman in wake of massive publicity about his son's case.
"The last time I talked to him, he was naturally shocked at the allegations made. I don't think he knows anything about it," Brockett said.
Charges brought against 21-year-old Steven Green by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Louisville, Ky., allege that on March 12 while stationed in Mahmudiayh, Iraq, with the 101st Airborne Division, Green and three other soldiers went to a home near Traffic Control Point 1, near Mahmudiayh, to rape one of the women living there.
Using an AK-47, Green allegedly shot and killed an adult male, an adult female and a female child present in the house. The charges also allege after participating in the rape of the second adult female, Green shot and killed her.
Brockett said he has been acquainted with John Green since they attended Lee High School together. The attorney said John Green contacted him, anticipating media inquiries. Brockett said he himself has been contacted by the Washington Post, Good Morning America and many other media outlets.
Green attended school in Midland from 1990 to 2002, completing 10th grade at Coleman High School, Midland Independent School District Communications Director Melissa Hendrix-Beach said.
Green, who previously had been honorably discharged due to a personality disorder, was stationed in Fort Campbell, Ky., with the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, according to the arrest affidavit.
Speaking in general terms, Veterans Outreach Counseling Center team leader Kent Knight said 15 to 20 percent of Midland veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom have received counseling at his agency.
Knight, who has a master's degree in social work, said a person with a personality disorder might not know he had a problem. Those with antisocial personality disorders might have a hard time in social environments and might have hostility.
When a personality disorder is recognized in service members, they are discharged from the military, Knight said.
Knight said 15 to 20 percent of veterans returning from the war are having problems adjusting to life after the war. "The remaining 85 percent may be having it but don't want anyone to know about it. If they admit to their family they are having a problem, that's pretty much the end of it," he said.
Repeated attempts to reach the U.S. Attorney's Office in Louisville for a status report on the case were unsuccessful.