Posted on 09/04/2006 3:57:32 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. Army investigator has recommended that four American soldiers accused of raping a a 14-year-old girl and of killing her and her family face a court-martial, a lawyer in the case confirmed on Monday.
Col. Dwight Warren, the investigator in the case, said in a report issued Sunday that "reasonable grounds exist to believe that each of the accused committed the offense for which he is charged."
The report was given to lawyers in the case and obtained by The Associated Press from David Sheldon, the lawyer of one of the defendants.
The four soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division are charged with raping Abeer Qassim al-Janabi in her family's home in Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, then killing her along with her parents and her younger sister. Military prosecutors say the four set the teenager's body on fire to hide their crime.
The soldiers accused of rape and murder — Spc. James P. Barker, Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and Pfc. Bryan L. Howard — could potentially face the death penalty. Another soldier, Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, is accused of failing to report the attack but is not alleged to have been a direct participant.
Another soldier who was said to have allegedly planned the attack, Pfc. Steven D. Green, was discharged from the army because of a "personality disorder" before the allegations became known. He was arrested in June shortly after the allegations became known. He has pleaded not guilty to rape and murder charges and is being held in a civilian court in the United States.
Sheldon, who is counsel to Barker, said the soldiers were abandoned by a military command that did not give them the support that they needed either in the field or in the courtroom.
"I'm not surprised given the events in this case. It was apparent that neither Spc. Barker nor any of the other soldiers were going to get a fair hearing," Sheldon told the AP. He added that he would be filing an objection within the five days allowed after he received the recommendation from the investigator.
Mahmoudiya is an extremely violent region in Iraq in an area known as the "triangle of death" for the numerous attacks by insurgents, and lawyers are expected to use extreme combat stress as a defense.
Testimony in early August during the soldiers' Article 32 hearing — similar to a civilian grand jury hearing — painted a picture of a unit almost constantly on edge from repeated attacks and demoralized by the loss of fellow soldiers.
"Each one of these soldiers had experienced extreme combat distress," Sheldon said.
In his report, the army investigator did not make a recommendation on whether the accused should face the death penalty, but he outlined aggravating factors that could be considered.
"I believe evidence exists that the actions of the accused could have created a grave risk of substantial damage to the mission of the United States, and that substantial damage to the national security might have resulted," Warren wrote.
The allegations of rape and murder have bolstered Iraqi accusations of misconduct by soldiers, including illegal killings, beatings and inhuman treatment. The allegations have increased the mistrust and resentment among Iraqis of the American military and increased calls for their withdrawal.
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Associated Press writer Ryan Lenz in Evansville, Ind., contributed to this report.
Make sure the trial is fair, and if they are guilty, turn them over to the family of the victims. If they actually did what they are accused of we sure don't want them here.
I have been and remain a supporter of the war on "Islamic Facists" (formerly WOT). However, NO amount of extenuating circumstances can mitigate the premeditated brutal rape and murder of a teenage girl and then her family. These men were acting on their lusts not combat fatigue. If they are found guilty after a careful examination of evidence, then they warrant the death penalty. WE CANNOT AFFORD for such a breakdown in troup discipline to occur in the U.S. Army or any branch of armed service. Pushishment here isn't about politics (at least to me), but about maintaining discipline. A breakdown of discipline is a cancer that can spread to the entire military.
God Bless and protect those men and women who have been repeatedly deployed into a topsy turvey situation where it is often hard to distinguish friend from foe. I cannot imagine how difficult that must be. However, for the time being, it MUST be until matters change.
Now there is one thing I am not hearing much about and it concerns me. Where were the leaders over these men? The squad leader, the platoon sergeant, the platoon leader, the company commander, et. al.? It was and is their job to maintain discipline. What happened? Why aren't they facing investigation and possible disciplinary action?
Two E-5s in there. Pretty bad alright.
Same invisible leadership style that was evident at Abu Gharaib.
Mahmoudiya pinglist--if you want on or off, please let me know via freepmail.
If anyone finds articles that I've missed, please ping me so I can ping everyone else. Thanks!
Great post.
Thanks for the ping!
As I understand it, this is the result of the Art 32 hearing.
I'm not particularly interested in any extenuating circumstances that make this a greater or lesser degree of murder.
I'm interested in whether or not these soldiers did this. If they did, they have betrayed a history of honorable soldiers and us current soldiers who have insisted they are innocent until proven guilty.
If they did not commit this act, may it come out at the actual trial that they did not.
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