Five Soldiers Charged in Iraqi Rape, Murder Case (The unvarnished truth so, far. No Spin)

American Forces Press Service ^

[SandRat]

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.)

[SandRat]

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.

[Go Army.com]

I hope they didnt do it. And the media needs to remember that they ARE innocent until proven otherwise.

[pierrem15]

Having failed in every other method of lying to inflict defeat on the United States, and knowing the high regard in which the American people hold the US military, the media and the left will now commence a Vietnam-like attempt to slander the military as a whole and the front-line troops in particular.

Remember the point of the Abu Ghraib circle-jerk was to blame Bush for the abuse via the expanded interrogation guidelines issued at the beginning of the WOT.

The point now (as in Vietnam) will be to portray all American servicemen and women as beasts: look at the Op Ed in the WaPo today alleging the 'complicity' of military medical personnel in 'torture'-- a not so subtle warning that medical personnel in the miltary will be blackballed after discharge by leftists in the medical profession because of their 'participation in torture and an immoral war'.

[processing please hold]

What is your opinion on this subject, SandRat?

I was all over the Haditha threads, but this one, I lurk on them but rarely post.

[SandRat]

I have reservations on the matter. Knowing the workings of the UCMJ and the thoroughness of the proceedings of an Art. 32 hearing, if the charges can not be supported under the rules of evidence, all charges will be dismissed.

Now that they've been read charges they must appear before the court for the start of the process with in 45 days. That's in the UCMJ.

[processing please hold]

Thank you. I have reservations as well.

if the charges can not be supported under the rules of evidence, all charges will be dismissed.

Would that possible evidence be the digging up the woman's body in Iraq and preforming an autopsy? That evidence?

[CyberAnt]

Well .. it's a well-known fact that young Muslim or Arabic women who have sex outside of marriage are brutally killed and sometimes burned; especially so if the relationship is with an infidel.

Knowing that .. this charge of killing this young woman and burning her are just foreign to me. And .. I just cannot reconcile that our young people could do this.

However .. I do know the stress of war can SOMETIMES cause people to make irrational decisions in the blink of an eye; decisions they would normally never make otherwise.

This is speculation on my part .. but I keep wondering if the young woman was carrying on with one of the soldiers .. her family found out about it and killed her [one of those "honor" killings] - and when her young soldier found out what they had done to the love of his life - he went temporarily out of his mind and exacted revenge for her death. I don't know why, but this scenario keeps running around in my head.

[monkeywrench]

"knowing the high regard in which the American people hold the US military, the media and the left will now commence a Vietnam-like attempt to slander the military as a whole and the front-line troops in particular."

In a manner reminiscent of jinjis kahn.

[operation clinton cleanup]

Since he is now a civilian (Army Pfc. Steven D. Green), isn't he being charged in civilian court?

[SandRat]

• Diagrams of the houses and the objects between them
  
• Diagrams of where the dead were laying when they were first discovered and how they lay
  
• The exact condition of the bodies at discovery
  
• Identifying and modeling the angles of alleged viewings on both the X and Y axis
  
• Autopsies
  
• Depositions of persons having first hand knowledge or forensic knowledge of the matter
  
• Cross Examination of persons having first hand knowledge or forensic knowledge of the matter
  
• Establishment of Character of all parties appear before the court to give testimony (good or bad)

Potentially, becuase much of the alledged crime seen was severly contaminated by "good-intentioned citizens," reasonable doubt will weigh heavy on the hearing board members.

[TexKat]

First Group Of 101st Soldiers Returns From Duty In Iraq

[SandRat]

You could be completely right but I suspect that the first part is true and the end result was AQ using this romance as a pretext to do a crime and frame the US.

[processing please hold]

Cyber Ant, what I find disturbing about this group of Marine threads are there aren't differing stories like on the Haditha Marines. Almost as soon as the Haditha story was brought out, there was contradicting eye witnesses reports, even from some reporters. I haven't seen that on these Marines.

Is that about it on my thinking?

[SandRat]

Yep, but he will have to appear in Military Court to give testimony. The Mil court will most likely be over before his and the dismissal of charges by the Courts Martial could aid his civilian case which will grind much longer.

[processing please hold]

Potentially, becuase much of the alledged crime seen was severly contaminated by "good-intentioned citizens," reasonable doubt will weigh heavy on the hearing board members.

They could set free by a technicality? If that's how this plays out, their reputations will forever be in question.

[TexKat]

U.S. asks to exhume remains of Iraqi girl

[SandRat]

The Defense will tear away at every shed of evidence for the prosecution and at every prosecution witness to build on an overwhelming case before the hearing board the the case is with out merit.

Unlike civilian Grand Jury Hearings, Military Art. 32 hearings afford rights under Art. 31 (Miranda to Civilians) and for Defense to cross examine all prosecution witnesses as well as present exculpatory evidence before the board. In other words military rights are better protected than civilian rights.

[CyberAnt]

It's just more of the democrat whining about "bring the troops home now" garbage .. and the terrorists are only too willing to assists the democrats in forcing us out of Iraq early so they can take over.

[CyberAnt]

Well .. you may be right about that .. but since sexual crimes are not spoken of .. a lot of these people who may have known or witnessed anything, may not be willing to speak up for fear of ending up the same way.