Posted on 08/06/2006 2:21:29 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi army medic on Sunday told a U.S. military hearing of the horrific scene that confronted him in a tiny home south of Baghdad where he found the naked and burned body of a 14-year-old girl allegedly raped and murdered by American soldiers.
The medic testified on the opening day of a hearing to determine whether five U.S. soldiers must stand trial in the March 12 rape-slaying of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and the killing of her parents and sister in the town of Mahmoudiya.
It is among the worst in a series of cases of alleged killings of civilians and other abuses by U.S. soldiers that have tarnished the American military.
The medic, whose name was withheld for security reasons, testified that he was the first responder to enter the house, arriving between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on the day of the killings.
The girl was sprawled naked in the house, her torso and head burned by flames, and she had a single bullet wound under her left eye, he said.
He said he found Abeer's 5-year-old sister, Hadeel, in an adjacent room dead from a bullet wound in the head. The children's father, Qassim, and mother, Fikhriya, suffered similar deaths, he said. The mother's abdomen and chest were riddled with bullets, he added.
"I was feeling very bad," he said. "I was sick for almost two weeks."
He told the hearing that because Mahmoudiya's hospital did not have enough space to store the bodies, they were kept in an air-conditioned ambulance overnight, then buried the following day.
Four soldiers — Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Spc. James P. Barker, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard — have been accused of rape and murder and could face the death penalty if the case is passed for a court-martial. A fifth, Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, is accused of failing to report the attack but is not alleged to have been a direct participant.
A former private, Steven D. Green, was arrested in North Carolina in June on rape and murder charges in the case. Green, who was discharged from the Army for a "personality disorder," has pleaded not guilty in federal court and is being held without bond.
The commander of the soldiers' battalion in the 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Lt. Col. Thomas Kunk, testified Sunday that he recalled hearing Green say "all Iraqis are bad people."
"I told him that that wasn't true and that 90 to 95 percent of the Iraqi people are good people, and they want the same thing that we have in the United States," Kunk said.
Sunday's proceeding is referred to as an Article 32 hearing and is the military equivalent of a grand jury session. It is expected to last several days, and parts will be held in secret.
During cross-examination, Kunk said Green, Cortez and Spielman were "wallowing in self-pity" amid the violence and loss of comrades in the Mahmoudiya area, known in Iraq as the "Triangle of Death." They sought help for combat stress, Kunk said.
Much of Sunday's testimony focused on whether the accused soldiers were suffering from combat stress and whether such emotional trauma might have led them to commit the crimes.
Kunk estimated that about a quarter of the soldiers in his battalion suffered from some form of combat stress, including sleepless nights, nightmares, perpetual nervousness and chronic nausea.
However, "the majority of the platoon, in my opinion, were able to accept the loss of their brothers in arms," Kunk told defense lawyer Capt. Jimmie Culp. "I believe every soldier wakes up every morning wanting to do the right thing. I don't believe any soldier wakes up thinking 'I want to be screwed up.'"
The medic was among three Iraqi witnesses to testify Sunday. Reporters were not permitted to hear the first two but were allowed back in the hearing room when the medic took the stand.
The military prosecutor, Capt. William Fischbach, showed him several photographs of the bloody crime scene to confirm the bodies were as he found them when he entered the room. All of the accused watched expressionless as the photos were shown to attorneys.
Defense lawyers contended the bodies were staged for the pictures. They also questioned whether the victims were shot to death, suggesting they may have already been dead when bullets were fired into their bodies.
The medic acknowledged after questioning he could only assume the family was shot to death.
Since the case became public last month, U.S. officials have said they were concerned it could strain relations with Iraq's new government if Iraqis perceive that the soldiers receive lenient treatment.
They have offered assurances that the case will be pursued vigorously and that the soldiers will be punished if convicted.
The case already has increased demands for changes in an agreement that exempts U.S. soldiers from prosecution in Iraqi courts. And Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has demanded an independent investigation.
Kunk said he was told on June 19 about possible American involvement in the alleged murders and rape. He said he questioned Barker and Howard the next day, and both denied any coalition soldiers were involved.
The battalion commander described Baker as "very flippant, very confident, and more than willing to answer the questions I had."
U.S. soldiers' conduct has come under the spotlight over a string of similar cases.
Four soldiers from another regiment in the 101st Airborne have been accused of killing three Iraqi detainees in Samarra three months ago. The Article 32 hearing in that case ended Friday in Tikrit but no decision on a trial was announced.
In another case, the Marine Corps and Navy prosecutors are reviewing evidence to determine whether to recommend criminal charges against Marines accused of killing 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in November.
Mahmoudiya pinglist--if you want on or off, please let me know via freepmail.
I will however point out that they are not trained as coroners.
L
Since when are TWO other cases described as a string??
maybe he means 3 others, they left out Hamandiya
I wonder if the "Iraqi Medic" was one of the neighbors who claimed to be the first on the scene? His story sounds an awful lot like the neighbor who gave interviews to the WaPo and al-Basrah. Amazing that they won't publish his name for "security reasons" but the media has no problem spreading the soldiers' names all over the place.
How were they set up when three of the soldiers admitted they were involved?
Defense lawyers contended the bodies were staged for the pictures. They also questioned whether the victims were shot to death, suggesting they may have already been dead when bullets were fired into their bodies.
The medic acknowledged after questioning he could only assume the family was shot to death.
Since the case became public last month, U.S. officials have said they were concerned it could strain relations with Iraq's new government if Iraqis perceive that the soldiers receive lenient treatment.
1. There are questions regarding the possibility of staged photos.
2. No one can determine if indeed they were shot to death.
3. US officials are willing to sentence our troops to death so as not to offend the new Iraqi government.
Is that it in a nutshell? I'm going to be sick.
I think this is a lose/lose situation for the US. I don't believe Iraqis will ever believe those soldiers didn't do it, so if they are found innocent thru lack of evidence to prove otherwise, they will always believe that there was no justice. If they are found guilty many of us will always imagine it was trumped up.
Frustrating.
susie
Yes, but more importantly, it is a matter of life and death to our troops.
We also find out here that the "medic" was an "Iraqi Army medic", not a Navy Corpsman, nor an Army medic.
Hmmmm ~
And the DNA test proved????? Either those in command keep faith with the troops or it is time to come home.
Yes, and this after another story was posted not long ago where the lawyers claimed their clients had done it, but under duress from stress. Mind you, that article WAS weasle-worded, so that nobody is sure what actually happened. La Enchiladita pointed it out, perhaps she'll repost what she said.
It looks to me like a "staged" headline... eh?
Not true. I suggest you read the DOJ charge of Pvt. Green.
"And the DNA test proved"
That is one of my questions also.
And, from the article above, it appears that that will be the primary defense; i.e., that, while these men may have done what they are accused of, they were driven to it by combat stress.
This part sounds fishy to me. A medic, in Iraq, has seen a heck of a lot worse than this.
This story is falling apart ~ no bodies, and a suspect witness.
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