Posted on 07/09/2006 4:24:33 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Four more U.S. soldiers have been charged with rape and murder and a fifth 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 five 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 five 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.
The names of the four soldiers were not released.
The March 12 attack on the family was among the worst in a series of cases of U.S. troops accused of killing and abusing Iraqi civilians. U.S. officials are concerned that the alleged rape-slaying will strain relations with the new U.S.-backed government and increase calls for changes in the agreement that exempts American soldiers from prosecution in Iraqi courts.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has demanded an independent investigation into the case, which followed a series of allegations that U.S. troops killed and mistreated Iraqi civilians.
According to an FBI affidavit filed in Green's case, Green and at least two others targeted the teenager and her family for a week before the attack, which was not revealed until witnesses came forward in late June.
The soldiers drank alcohol, abandoned their checkpoint, changed clothes to avoid detection and headed to the victims' house, about 200 yards from a U.S. military checkpoint in the so-called "Triangle of Death," a Sunni Arab area south of Baghdad known for its violence, the affidavit said.
The affidavit estimated the rape victim was about 25. But a doctor at the Mahmoudiya hospital gave her age as 14. He refused to be identified for fear of reprisals.
Green is accused of raping the woman and killing her and three relatives - an adult male and female and a girl estimated to be 5 years old. An official familiar with the investigation said he set fire to the rape victim's body in an apparent cover-up attempt.
Iraqi authorities identified the rape victim as Abeer Qassim Hamza. The other victims were her father, Qassim Hamza; her mother, Fikhriya Taha; and her sister, Hadeel Qassim Hamza.
Complaint on Green lists others (But not Named):U.S. v. Steven D. Green
This development is no surprise, these charges were coming. I believe Green is the ringleader, like Spc. Charles Graner was in Abu Ghraib, but it doesn't excuse the others.
what's the general FR "vibe" on this case. It seems very different then the Haditha case, I don't know how to read this one.
I'm letting this one play out quite a bit more before coming to conclusions.
FR hasn't got too worked up on it yet, but as the eveidence comes out during the Art. 32 hearing I believe that the case for the prosecution could well collapse like a house of cards.
It doesn't look good. Generally speaking, most people aren't charged for "nothing".
When I was in the army and we were getting mobilized for Desert Storm, one of our squad leaders commented to me that I should be thrilled becuase "war is free murder".
I am a vet, but not everyone in the armed forces is an angel.
Or not. Two of these soldiers have implicated themselves.
to what degree, what have they said?
Greene implicated himself, but he's got a mental problem. He also pled not guilty. We'll see how high quality all the other statements are.
The TV news has found them guilty.
I call bullshit. What we don't know is who told the investigators this story. It's gonna go away.
But the Drive-By Media has what they wanted anyway - the headline...
OK ... let me see if I have this right ... the soldiers had alcohol at their checkpoint, which I find highly unlikely ... they had a convenient change of clothing available, again, highly unlikely. Not saying this could have happened, only that it's highly improbable it played out in that fashion.
Bottom line, in order to impress the Iraqi's and the world in general what upfront people we are ... sell out a few lower ranking enlisted types to prove the point. Not that it was right ... scenarios similar to this in WWII played out in combat zones frequently on both sides ... with few, if any, repercussions. In todays ever so politically correct world, if you're on our side, don't f*** up ... if you do, your butt is grass and the liberal media is the lawn mower. If you're a terrorist, no problem ... as evidenced by the murder and mutilation of two Army soldiers a couple of weeks ago. The NY Times gave that story front page coverage for one day and dropped it ... yet a year earlier the abu Garib prison incident, in the first sixty days garnered 140 individual separate stories ... 120 of which appeared on the NY Times front page ... all extremely critical of our military.
I thought he confessed...?
There is nothing that can be done psychologically or psychiatry-wise to "cure" any personality disorder. This is the worst one of all of them, obviously. One has to simply keep track of these individuals to try and prevent crimes and harm. They lie as easily as breathe, and laws and rules mean nothing to them. They may lean on some people but they could never actually be a true friend.
Count in a misdiagnosis as a distinct possibility.
Greene wouldn't be the first mentally ill soldier thought to be just an incorrigible trouble-maker.
BTW, concerning the Peterson guy, I thought he was a socio-path, and that's not classed with "personality disorders" is it?
Agreed. Statistically, it is inevitable crimes like this occur in times of war. The hallmark of a good army is that they investigate and punish these scum.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.